On a warm summer evening in 2005, four middle-aged men drove a silver Volkswagen Jetta out of their city and into the Chinese countryside. Two of them were managers in foreign joint-venture factories. Another worked for the government. One was a middle-school administrator. Before they left town, they called their wives and told them they would be tied up all evening with meetings. They carried cigarettes in their shirt pockets, and rolls of pink hundred yuan bills. A couple bottles of distilled liquor rode between two of the men in the back seat. They drove to the village of White Crane Fort not far from the city. It nestled alongside a stream with lush rice fields on one side and wooded hills on the other - a beautiful and serene setting. The sound of a thousand croaking frogs greeted them as they opened their doors and stepped out of the car into the damp coolness of the rural evening. White Crane Fort was a tourist site for urban white-collars like them. A banner hung over the entrance, proclaiming it a state-level cultural heritage preservation site.
The VW Jetta has been a popular option in the lineup since the 1980s, and it remains one of the top choices. There鈥檚 only one problem: It hasn鈥檛 been redesigned since 2010. Now is the time, and the model is coming this year as a 2019 model year. So when is the official release date for the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta? The automaker says it is coming to the U.S. 2018, so sometime between April and June. If we were to guess, we鈥檇 expect a June release as that鈥檚 around the time that the VW Atlas was released last year. Here are the key details of the redesign. What鈥檚 new for the 2019 VW Jetta? Aside from fresh new models, there are few things more exciting in the automotive industry than a redesign. The 2019 Volkswagen Jetta is gaining design elements that bring much of the upscale appeal we see for the Passat, which was recently refreshed for the 2016 model year. The Jetta will receive similar design DNA, with a chiseled hood, slim headlights and a bolder chrome bar grille. The model is also increased in size, and the roofline has a greater slope for a 鈥渃oupe-like鈥?feel. Though it retains the 1.4-liter standard engine paired with a six-speed manual transmission, the automatic transmission option has been upgraded to an eight-speed for improved fuel economy and a smoother driving style. Models with the automatic transmission also gain the Start/Stop system that turns the engine off at stoplights to improve fuel economy. The VW Jetta will come in S, SE, SEL and SEL Premium trim levels. We don鈥檛 have a complete breakdown of features but we do know standards will include Volkswagen App-Connect, LED lighting, driver personalization settings and a rearview camera. Available features will include a host of driver assistance features, interior ambient lighting, a panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated leather seats, a 400-watt BeatsAudio system and the Volkswagen Digital Cockpit. Curious about the 2019 VW Jetta? Stay tuned here at the Brandon Volkswagen Blog for updates.
With its crisp styling, the 2019 Jetta is one of those sedans that should be at the top of any list if you are in the market for a very good family sedan. With its crisp neat styling, and roomy interior, it鈥檚 a winner. Powered by a 1.4L turbocharged four engine with auto stop-start technology that makes 147 horsepower and a healthy 187 lb-ft of torque from 1,500 rpm, the Jetta arrives with either a six-speed manual transmission or an eight-speed auto. Volkswagen offers three trim levels in Canada- Comfortline, Highline and Execline. 20,995 with six-speed manual, as standard LED exterior lights, 16-inch alloy wheels, heated fabric front seats, 6.5-inch touchscreen interface with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth, USB, back-up camera, four-speaker audio, cruise control and more. 2,985) with unique grille, R Line badges, sport shock absorbers, and R Line multi-function steering wheel. Also added was unique 17-inch alloys. 995 Driver Assistant package that adds rear traffic alert and blind spot detection, and front assist autonomous emergency braking, the cabin is as usual restrained, with logical, ergonomic controls. Interior room is generous with decent enough room in all quarters, and a huge family sized trunk. On the road, the turbo engine is delightful unit that offers robust power delivery and plenty of torque for highway and around town driving. The eight speed transmission is a good choice with its smooth transitions and snappy response in sport mode. Handling is faultless, with a light feel from the steering, and a nice planted feel to the Jetta that make it feel like a typical German -well engineered car. Volkswagen claims fuel economy of to 5.9 L/100 km, with 7.0 combined and city mileage of 7.8 (auto)/7.9 (manual). To sum up, the 2019 Jetta has been improved in all areas and is to be highly recommended. When only a Volkswagen will do.
Still, a period of financial contraction means that designers are going to have start thinking a bit differently. Less expensive materials, more efficient use of those materials, and finding ways to build products using less labor. If we're really clever, maybe we can also find ways to marry reduced cost with more ecologically sustainable processes. And, as Bruce Nussbaum writes, it's an outstanding opportunity to innovate in economical ways and develop some career-building "cred." Perhaps not too surprisingly, such innovation occasionally becomes massively popular, but the history of such innovations isn't always pretty. Sometimes, the results aren't anything to write home about, either. Most of you have probably heard something of the story of how, back in 1933, the new Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler, submitted drawings to Ferdinand Porsche for an inexpensive car that could be a "people's car" or volkswagen. Designer Erwin Komenda developed a strange new body design to go with the small car's efficient engine - but the plan had to be scrapped to deal with the catastrophic world war that Hitler was setting into motion.
After the war, German industry couldn't afford to stand on ceremony or an excess of good taste, nor did their Allied occupiers want them to. The design for the car that would later become the iconic Volkswagen Beetle was utilized to help revive the devastated economy of post-war Germany, which had become a crucial bulwark in the West's Cold War battle with the Soviet Union. Another product with an interesting connection with the war is Hormel's best known meat product, Spam. The creation of the product was a simple efficiency. Hormel had been selling canned ham, but that was just one part of the hog. Why not grind the inexpensive and otherwise useless pork shoulder meat into a ham-like product that could also be sold? Though Spam was first marketed in the 1920s, it didn't really take off worldwide until the war made canned meats an essential means of providing protein during war time shortages and other privations.
