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.June 23, 2004
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This Week:

• Saab Unveils Alcohol Lock-Out Key Fob Concept To Help Fight Drinking And Driving

• Ford Motor Company Names Robert L. Shanks New Ford Of Europe And PAG Vice President

• The new A-Class adds the Mercedes dimension to the compact-car segment

• New Nissan Design Studio Readied - Farmington Hills, Mich. Space Nearly Tripling

• GM Announces Management Moves, Reorganization in Europe

• Honda Announces Board Changes in Its North American Operations

• MG Rover & Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Announce Co-Operation Agreement

• Nissan's Decherd Plant To Launch New Pathfinder Engine

• iPod Your BMW

• The Passat - A "classic" for over 30 years now

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The Passat - A "classic" for over 30 years now

Photo: VW
 

Wolfsburg - It is one of the most popular middle-class cars on Germany's roads. With just under thirteen million of them built around the world, the Passat is among Volkswagen's most successful vehicle models ever. Accounting for around 80 percent of all Passat purchases in Germany, the Variant is an especially popular version of this model. The engine most often favoured is clearly the high-torque, low-consumption 1.9-l turbo-diesel unit with 96 kW/130 hp which is featured under the hood of almost half of all the Passats on our roads. This engine is closely followed in popularity by the 1.9-l TDI with 74 kW/100 hp. For its part, the 2.0-l TDI (100-kW/136-hp) engine version with a diesel particulate filter was exceptionally quick to gain market acceptance in the autumn of 2003, with twelve percent of all Passat Variants (and five percent of saloons) now featuring this engine type.

40 percent of Passat buyers order the basic equipment version, which already features an extensive range of series fittings (such as driver and front-passenger airbags, the electric stabilisation program ESP and the "Climatronic" air-conditioning system). A very popular finish for the Passat - as for many of the other Volkswagen models - is "reflex silver metallic", with "black magic pearl effect" coming a close second.

Two thirds of all Passat customers order the "Business" equipment package (starts at 530 euros), which was devised specifically for business travellers and other motorists who do a lot of travelling. This package includes telephone fixings with a speaker phone, the "beta" radio system, cruise control, heated seats, fog lights and a rain sensor. One in three Passats now also feature a navigation system.

For more than 30 years now, the Passat has set standards in safety and quality, in spaciousness and economy. It has also set its mark in engineering terms and in terms of comfort and design. Surveys among customers show that they view the Passat as a friendly vehicle of high prestigious value. Since it was first introduced in August 1973, 12,786,000 Passats and Passat Variant have been built around the world (as at 31 March 2004), the first million of which were manufactured in the first three years alone, with the two-million mark exceeded in 1980. In 2003, Volkswagen sold some 728,000 Passats. Around 2,700 units of the vehicle are built every day at the plants in Emden and Mosel (Germany), Shanghai (China) and Anchieta (Brazil).

(June 17, 2004)