New Golf Not Good Enough For Greenpeace
Volkswagen launched its seventh generation Golf to high acclaim yesterday, but there are people who think it is not good enough. Greenpeace picketed its premiere in Berlin last night, “accusing the German carmaker of doing too little to reduce fuel consumption and tarnishing the most important model launch in the group’s calendar,” as Reuters writes .
The new Golf is 100 kg lighter and up to 23 per cent more fuel efficient that the predecessor, but that’s not good enough for Greenpeace. Says its transportation expert Wolfgang Lohbeck:
“The Golf is the car that distinguishes the segment it’s in for the next 10 years worldwide and all carmakers benchmark themselves against it.”
A base version of the Golf needs only 4.9 liter gasoline for 100 kilometers, according to a definitely non-EPA conversion, that would be 48 mpg. “It’s lame, it’s disappointing,” Lohbeck complains. Greenpeace wants 3 liter / 100km, or 78 mpg.
Have we got the car for you, says Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn. The upcoming Golf Blue Motion consumes only 3.2 liters of diesel for 100 km.
For years, Greenpeace has been targeting Volkswagen in what many see as an attempt at greenmail. They won’t let a high profile event such as the Golf 7 launch go by unpicketed.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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I don't think I heard any specific plans for engines at the launch yesterday, but I've often felt that one of the things that has held the Golf back is that it doesn't have/couldn't use a 2litre class naturally aspirated motor. The 2.5 5-cylinder really should be a luxury option, but it's not because it makes less power than competitive four cylinder engines, and Golf's until had more in common with midsize sedans than compact cars, weight-wise. However, with the drop in weight, maybe a lot of that will clear up. The Golf in the US isn't gaining market share for the premium hatchback segment, but there's a whole nother market down by the Civic/Elantra that VW once occupied.
I consider myself to be fairly liberal, and I care about the environment as much as the next guy, but Christ.
The environmentalist movement lost its fulcrum in the 90s, when most of the megacorps not only voluntarily adopted many high efficiency methods and processes but in many cases went further by establishing cleaner standards than had been demanded. The only response the greenies could come up with was to go insane and demand the death of the same corporations which had skilfully unbalanced the movement. The next time you encounter someone spouting the current nonsense about CO2 and global warmi - excuse me, the proper term now is "climate change" - politely ask them to answer the following question. When will the Holocene end?
@Felis +10!