Long-Running Jetta

We know that Toyota and Honda cars are reliable. They have proven that to us in the past and they are continuing that tradition although I've been hearing about recalls after recalls from Toyota. Anyway, when it comes to reliability, Volkswagen is not far behind these Asian automakers. Want proof? Well, Volkswagen has one for you, a Jetta that has been running since 1986 and has 562,000 miles on it.

This car was discovered by Volkswagen of America after it announced that as part of its Diesel Heritage Search, they will locate the Volkswagen diesel vehicle in the United States with the highest mileage. And they have found it in the 1986 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Diesel which I think still has its parts in good condition just like Oil Filter Canada. The vehicle is owned by Syl Schmid of Blue Rock, Ohio. The mileage on Mr. Schmid's car was recently verified by the American arm of the largest European automaker and Byers Imports, a Volkswagen dealership in Columbus, Ohio.

Steve Keyes, Volkswagen Public Relations Director said: "Mr. Schmid has a story that is like so many of our diesel owners; he loves the longevity of the engine and fuel economy that his diesel Volkswagen has delivered these last twenty years. Throughout all of entries that we received for our Diesel Heritage Search, we found many VW owners who were passionate about their cars and the economic benefits of the diesel engine."

Fuel economy is indeed one of the strong selling points of diesel engines. The way that the fuel is burned and the amount of power it produces means that you would need to burn less fuel to get the amount of power that you would get by burning more gasoline fuel. But the emission of diesel engines has been in question in the past. But today, Volkswagen is leading the charge in the development of clean diesel engines which was exhibited by its subsidiary Audi in the two latest staging of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Winning the endurance race with a diesel race car has elevated the reputation of diesel engines not only among racing enthusiasts but among consumers too.

The Jetta owned by Mr. Schmid was originally leased by him for three years. But I think that the reliability and the good performance of the Jetta made Mr. Schmid decide to keep it so he bought the car after the lease period. More than half a million miles have been traveled by the Jetta but its powertrain and its muffler is still the same that came with it when Mr. Schmid leased the car.

Subaru of America Foundation for Clean Air Campaign

In my concern of knowing the status of the world with regards to moving towards a cleaner environment, I found this inspiring article from drive.subaru.com. I have learned that in Atlanta, there is a clean air campaign that perseveres to “…motivate Georgians to take action to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion.”

That was according to their mission statement which obviously shows their interest for a greener environment. And, a good thing is that the Subaru of America Foundation opted to help them in educating and involving schoolchildren in their quest.

More than their care to bring up less emissions coming out from the Subaru muffler, the campaign discussed about the problems caused by the burgeoning population of Atlanta Metropolitan. They have found that poor air quality in the area were the effects of long commutes and gridlock.

Currently, The Clean Air Campaign focused on Atlanta’s air quality issues through three approaches:

• Suggesting and rewarding commuters for using alternative ways to get to work
• Partnering with employers to enable their employees to use alternatives to commuting
• Educating and involving students in schools

Since it is a nonprofit campaign, they rely resources from private funders. That is to possibly attain the mission.

As I have said a while ago, the Subaru of America Foundation is well concerned with this matter. They have contributed to the “Better Air Schools” program. As tackled in the site, the Education Outreach Coordinator, Brooke Barnes, characterized the program as possessing three educational components:

• Where the pollution comes from
• What air quality is
• How pollution affects our health

Aside from that, the program has three action components:

• Reduce harmful emissions on school grounds
• Reduce vehicle miles traveled to and from school
• Reduce traffic congestion at school

They have also included a musical assembly program. It is called “Fresh Air”, which will be featuring the Better Air Bear (BAIR).

It has been stated that Lewis Perkins, the Marketing and Development Director, said, “We work with the schools to educate the next generation of commuters. It’s not unlike the recycling programs of the ’70s and ’80s that changed the mind-set of a generation.”

This campaign would surely inspire older individuals to make their own simple ways to help the environment and most importantly to the next generations.