Here is what I found: :dance:
VW says its diesel-powered V-10 Touareg will return to the U.S. for '06 model year
HARRY STOFFER | Automotive News
Posted Date: 6/22/05
WASHINGTON -- Volkswagen of America Inc. vows to return the Touareg's V-10 diesel engine to the United States for the 2006 model year.
First, though, the company must persuade the EPA.
VW introduced the heavily promoted V-10 in last year, but it dropped the diesel from its engine lineup for 2005. The company could not certify that the engine would meet federal standards for tailpipe emissions.
For 2005, Volkswagen proposed injecting a compound called ferrocene into the V-10's exhaust. That would help the particulate filter work properly, the company said.
But ferrocene is not registered for use in the United States, the EPA says.
VW insists it will find an acceptable alternative.
"We are confident this flagship product will be back in the U.S. market for 2006," said David Geanacopoulos, VWoA's director of industry-government relations.
The same particulate issue does not affect the company's smaller diesel engines in other models, he says.
Halo engine
VW says it initially expects to sell about 450 V-10 diesels a year in the United States. That estimate falls far short of its prediction two years ago, when company officials said the V-10 would account for about 12 percent of projected annual U.S. sales of 40,000 Touaregs, or 4,800.
In 2004, U.S. sales of the Touareg were 27,706.
Regardless of numbers, the engine became a source of great publicity. VW cited the engine as evidence of its engineering prowess. It called the V-10 an example of the promise of modern diesel engines to provide clean, efficient power. Automotive reviewers generally raved.
Growing pains
VW's experience reflects the challenges diesels face in meeting increasingly tough U.S. clean air standards. Those standards are being phased in through the 2009 model year.
Geanacopoulos says VW sought to use ferrocene as an interim step until low-sulfur diesel fuel is widely available.
Federal rules require extensive production of the fuel by late 2006.
He did not describe the technology VW plans to use to get the engine back in the United States.
VWoA Vice President Len Hunt said in a February letter to dealers: "Sometimes being at the forefront of new technology entails setbacks, but we are confident of the next technological solution."
Merrylin Zaw-Mon, director of certification and compliance at the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, says she understands VW is seeking a particulate filter that does not need ferrocene.
She adds: "To Volkswagen's credit, it was their decision to pull the car off the market."
Zaw-Mon says such a decision probably has been made before but surely is rare.
here is link where I found this news: http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102623
Hurry UP!!!! I can't wait!!! \
/
VW says its diesel-powered V-10 Touareg will return to the U.S. for '06 model year
HARRY STOFFER | Automotive News
Posted Date: 6/22/05
WASHINGTON -- Volkswagen of America Inc. vows to return the Touareg's V-10 diesel engine to the United States for the 2006 model year.
First, though, the company must persuade the EPA.
VW introduced the heavily promoted V-10 in last year, but it dropped the diesel from its engine lineup for 2005. The company could not certify that the engine would meet federal standards for tailpipe emissions.
For 2005, Volkswagen proposed injecting a compound called ferrocene into the V-10's exhaust. That would help the particulate filter work properly, the company said.
But ferrocene is not registered for use in the United States, the EPA says.
VW insists it will find an acceptable alternative.
"We are confident this flagship product will be back in the U.S. market for 2006," said David Geanacopoulos, VWoA's director of industry-government relations.
The same particulate issue does not affect the company's smaller diesel engines in other models, he says.
Halo engine
VW says it initially expects to sell about 450 V-10 diesels a year in the United States. That estimate falls far short of its prediction two years ago, when company officials said the V-10 would account for about 12 percent of projected annual U.S. sales of 40,000 Touaregs, or 4,800.
In 2004, U.S. sales of the Touareg were 27,706.
Regardless of numbers, the engine became a source of great publicity. VW cited the engine as evidence of its engineering prowess. It called the V-10 an example of the promise of modern diesel engines to provide clean, efficient power. Automotive reviewers generally raved.
Growing pains
VW's experience reflects the challenges diesels face in meeting increasingly tough U.S. clean air standards. Those standards are being phased in through the 2009 model year.
Geanacopoulos says VW sought to use ferrocene as an interim step until low-sulfur diesel fuel is widely available.
Federal rules require extensive production of the fuel by late 2006.
He did not describe the technology VW plans to use to get the engine back in the United States.
VWoA Vice President Len Hunt said in a February letter to dealers: "Sometimes being at the forefront of new technology entails setbacks, but we are confident of the next technological solution."
Merrylin Zaw-Mon, director of certification and compliance at the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, says she understands VW is seeking a particulate filter that does not need ferrocene.
She adds: "To Volkswagen's credit, it was their decision to pull the car off the market."
Zaw-Mon says such a decision probably has been made before but surely is rare.
here is link where I found this news: http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102623
Hurry UP!!!! I can't wait!!! \
/
