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[extract] Chief designer-group interior of VW

[extract] It was a hot Sunday afternoon but that did not dampen my enthusiasm in paying a visit to the annual CATS Classified Car-nival event. I was there for 3 main reasons

Volkswagen has introduced the European edition of the new Jetta model. "Never before has a Jetta had this much sports appeal, this much fuel efficiency or this large a size," Volkswagen says in the press release. Personally, I don

Based on the Volkswagen NCC seen at the NAIAS in January, the new Jetta is much longer than the fifth-gen car. The latest sedan has a wheelbase that is seven centimeters longer, and a body that is nine centimeters longer than the outgoing model. As such, the car measures 4.64-meters long by 1.78-meters wide by 1.45-meters high and has a 2650-mm long wheelbase. Compared to the NCC, the new Jetta appears to have a shorter rear end, with a steeper rear windscreen. Although the car was developed to be more cost effective, the new Jetta will not share body parts with the VW Golf as it had in the past. In the States, customers will be able to choose from four different engines, including a brand new 138-horsepower 2.0-liter common rail TDI that produces a robust 320Nm of torque. Also new is the 114-horsepower entry level petrol engine. The other two petrol engines available in the US are the 2.5-liter unit producing 168 hp and a 2.0-liter TSI that generates 197 horsepower. Each of the two turbocharged units are available with a six-speed DSG transmission, though a manual transmission comes standard. Six engines will be available on the Euro-spec Jetta, four of which are new to the model. Two of the new engines are common rail turbodiesels, including the 1.6-liter TDI BlueMotion 103 hp and 138-hp 2.0-liter TDI . Also new are the 103-hp 1.2 TSI and 158-hp 1.4 TSI engines. All four of these will not be sold until 2011. Until then, the car will only be available with two TSI units: a 1.4-liter model kicking out 121 horsepower, and a 2.0-liter 197-hp model. Both 1.4-liter models will be mated to a seven-speed DSG transmission, while the 1.6- and 2.0-liter TDI, and 2.0-liter TSI can be hooked up to a six-speed DSG. Expect the Singapore spec'ed models to be similar to the existing Jetta sold here. My guess is that the new Jetta will reach our shore some time in 2011.

For all the Jetta fans, start your count down to the next generation. Volkswagen has just launched a dedicated countdown page on its U.S. website for the all-new 2011 Jetta saloon. According to the German company, the sixth-generation of its bread-and-butter sedan will be revealed to the world live on June 15 at 11:25 a.m. EST / 8:25 a.m. PST. From the prototype models we've seen so far, it appears that the 2011 VW Jetta will get a much crisper look than the current model, with the styling resembling the almost-production ready New Compact Coupe (NCC) concept that was shown in Detroit earlier this year. It is believed that the new Jetta will use a modified version of the platform found on the Golf VI which in turn is largely based on the previous, fifth-generation Golf. Under the hood, the Germans will most likely continue to offer the base model with the outdated, but cheap to produce 2.5-liter five-cylinder petrol for the US market. For markets such as Singapore