Finding a way to blend a stylish body package with its economical diesel motor, Volkswagen of American recently announced it will build the well-received Jetta TDI Cup “Street Edition” to arrive in showrooms at the start of next year.

Buy a car, get $1,300 tax cred

If you’re planning ahead on your taxes, you’ll be interested to learn that VW says the Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition qualifies for a $1,300 tax credit. This follows the qualification of an Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle Federal Income Tax Credit that the following members of the TDI family: Jetta, Jetta Sportwagen, Golf and Touareg already receive.

VW notes that the car will start “around $25,000″ keeping it in line with other special edition offerings from the German automaker.

Power Output: Power comes from the 2.0-liter, 140 hp, clean diesel engine that produces 236 lbs.-ft. of torque. The motor utilizes an advanced electronically controlled turbocharger and common rail direct injection technology. The special edition offers either a 6-speed manual transmission or DSG® transmission.

What Makes It Special: Standard upgrades include sport seats with Interlagos cloth, and a leather-wrapped, multi-function steering wheel that features paddle shifters when equipped with the DSG transmission. Your special edition comes with shod with special shoes with a set of 18 inch Charleston wheels with performance all-season tires. Larger brakes with red calipers, poking through the wheels, sway bars and European sport-tuned suspension from the performance oriented GLI keep the SE trim through the twisties.

“Since our inaugural TDI Cup series in 2008 we have received numerous inquiries as to whether or not we would offer a TDI Cup replica vehicle,” said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc in a press release. “We’re thrilled to announce that a special edition Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition will be available in dealer showrooms early next year. What makes this special edition so unique is that it features the optional, race inspired, TDI Cup body kit package combined with our clean diesel engine. The Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition is one exceptional special model that is as fun-to-drive as it is to look at,” added Barnes.

Warranty: Like all 2010 models, the Jetta TDI Cup “Street” Edition also comes standard with Volkswagen’s Carefree Maintenance Program, with this program there are no charges for the scheduled maintenance described in the vehicle’s maintenance booklet for the length of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty — three years or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

Ford scored big in this year’s Consumer Reports 2009 Car Reliability Survey. As the only Detroit automaker to be labeled with “world-class” reliability, 46 of 51 Ford/Lincoln/Mercury products scored average or above average.  General Motors did well with some of its new offerings but Chrysler continued to struggle.  Who took home the “most reliable” and “least reliable” titles? Read on and find out…

The Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan scored as the highest family sedans aside from the Toyota Prius and both beat the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Lincoln’s MKZ also topped it’s rivals, scoring higher than the Acura TL and Lexus ES. Ford’s Flex also continued the good news, but all-wheel-drive versions of the Lincoln MKZ, MKS, and MKX all scored below average.

“It’s rare for Consumer Reports to see family sedans from domestic carmakers continue to beat the reliability scores of such highly regarded Japanese models as the Camry and Accord,” said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Automotive Test Center.

Mr Champion also noted that the last time a domestic sedan had better reliability than Camry or Accord was the Buick Regal in 2004.

But the news isn’t just confined to Ford Motor Company. The most reliable vehicle for 2009 is the Honda Insight and the worse is the Volkswagen Touareg. Interestingly, hybrids took five of the top sight spots for most reliable family cars.

Among the least reliable vehicles in their respective classes are the AWD Lexus GS, Nissan Versa sedan and Subaru Impreza WRX.

It’s a mixed bag for other domestic manufactures. Newer General Motors products such as the Chevy Malibu V6, Buick Lucerne, Chevy Traverse, and AWD Buick Enclave did well. Both the Chevy Silverado 1500 and the GMC Sierra 1500 earned a Consumer Reports’ Recommendation.

Chrysler on the other hand didn’t fair well at all. More than one-third of all Chrysler products tested landed “much worse” than average in reliability. The only Chrysler model that the magazine could reccomend was the new Dodge Ram 1500.

Out of 48 top models, 36 are Asian. 18 are Toyota, eight are Honda, four are Nissan, and Hyundai / Kia / Subaru have three each.

On the European front, Mercedes-Benz has made a signifigant come-back with most models “average or better”. CR noted the GLK for doing exceptionally well. BMW had mixed results with the 535i sedan and X3 SUV declining in reliability. The 135i, making it’s debut in the survey this year also scores below average.

Volkswagen and Audi also gain spots according to Consumer Reports. The VW Rabbit and new CC earn top scores. The Volkswagen Jetta TDi is the only diesel that the magazine recommends.

We could keep going on for hours but with all the same information included in the below press release- take a look for yourself.

Consumer Reports’ Annual Automotive Reliability results will be available at www.ConsumerReports.org soon or on newsstands November 3rd.

Article photograph [Ford Fusion] by Zane Merva / AutoInsane.com

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CONSUMER REPORTS’ 2009 ANNUAL CAR RELIABILITY SURVEY:

FORD SECURES PLACE AMONG WORLD’S MOST RELIABLE CARMAKERS

Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan Reliability Tops Honda Accord and Toyota Camry

YONKERS, NY — Ford has secured its position as the only Detroit automaker with world-class reliability. About 90 percent (46 of 51) of Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln products were found to have average or better reliability, according to Consumer Reports’ 2009 Annual Car Reliability Survey. The results were announced today at an Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit.

Ford’s sustained production of vehicles that are as dependable—or better than—some of the industry’s best dispels the notion that only Japanese manufacturers make reliable cars. Other than the Toyota Prius, the reliability of the 4-cylinder Fusion and Milan ranks higher than that of any other family sedan. Both of those Ford Motor Company products continue to beat the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, while the upscale Lincoln MKZ tops its rivals, the Acura TL and Lexus ES.

“It’s rare for Consumer Reports to see family sedans from domestic carmakers continue to beat the reliability scores of such highly regarded Japanese models as the Camry and Accord,” said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Automotive Test Center. The last domestic sedan that had better reliability than the Camry and Accord was the Buick Regal in 2004, he noted.

Ford’s position as the most reliable domestic carmaker includes good scores for its new Ford Flex SUV. But the Lincoln division has had mixed results; some models score below their Ford equivalents. All-wheel-drive versions of the Lincoln MKS, MKX, and MKZ, essentially high-end versions of the Ford Taurus, Edge, and Fusion, respectively, are all below average.

More details, and a list of models with the best and worst predicted-reliability Ratings, will appear first on www.ConsumerReports.org. The reliability report will also appear in the December issue of Consumer Reports, on sale November 3, and in the latest Consumer Reports Cars publication, Best & Worst New Cars for 2010, which also includes predicted-reliability ratings for more than 300 models.

A large margin separates the best from the worst. The least reliable vehicle, the Volkswagen Touareg, is 27 times more likely to have a problem than the most reliable car, the Honda Insight.

In addition to the Insight, small car reliability scores stood out. Twenty of 37 small cars have above-average predicted-reliability including the Honda Fit, Scion xD and Volkswagen Golf. Family cars fared nearly as well, with 21 out of 42 scoring above average. Five of the eight most reliable family cars are hybrids, including the Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Mercury Milan Hybrid, Nissan Altima Hybrid and Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Even good brands falter. Among the least reliable vehicles in their respective classes are the all-wheel-drive Lexus GS, the Nissan Versa sedan, and the Subaru Impreza WRX.

General Motors shows some bright spots, Chrysler still struggles

Some newer GM products are bright spots. Overall 20 of the 48 GM models Consumer Reports surveyed have average reliability scores, while the Chevrolet Malibu V6 has shown better-than-average scores and is on par with the most reliable family sedans. The Buick Lucerne did well in Consumer Reports road tests, and it scores average in reliability.

The Chevrolet Traverse SUV also makes the cut, as does its cousin, the Buick Enclave, but only in the all-wheel-drive version. The reliability scores of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups has improved enough to earn Consumer Reports’ Recommendation. CR only Recommends vehicles that have performed well in its tests, have at least average predicted reliability based on the Annual Auto Survey, and performed at least adequately if crash-tested or included in a government rollover test.

GM has a number of strong contenders either just released or in the pipeline, but they are too new for CR to have reliability data on them.

Chrysler continues to struggle. More than one-third of Chrysler products are much worse than average, including its new car-based SUV, the Dodge Journey. Last year, Consumers Reports couldn’t Recommend any of its products either because of mediocre performance, poor reliability scores, or both. However, this year CR can recommend one important vehicle in Chrysler’s lineup: the four-wheel-drive version of the redesigned Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. It did well in CR road tests and rates average in reliability.

Asian brands still in command

Of the 48 models with top reliability scores, 36 are Asian—Toyota accounts for 18; Honda, eight; Nissan, four; and Hyundai/Kia and Subaru, three each. With only a few exceptions, Japanese vehicles are consistently good. All Honda and Acura products have average or above average reliability. Although, Toyota, with its Lexus and Scion brands, provides a broader product range, the Lexus GS AWD is the only Toyota model with below average reliability.

Models from Nissan and its Infiniti luxury division have mostly been very reliable. The once-troublesome Infiniti QX56 and Nissan Armada are now average, as is the four-wheel-drive Nissan Titan, although its rear-wheel-drive version is still troublesome. The Nissan Versa has produced uneven results. Over the last two surveys, the hatchback has been average while the sedan has been far below average. The Nissan Quest minivan also remains troublesome.

Hyundai and Kia continue to make reliable cars. The Hyundai Elantra and Tucson, and the Kia Sportage get top marks. The new Hyundai Genesis V6 is better than average; the V8 version is average. Only Kia’s Sedona minivan and Sorento SUV score below average.

European models continue to rally

European brands continue to improve. Mercedes-Benz has significantly rebounded, with most models average or better, and the GLK did exceptionally well in its first year in CR’s survey. Scores from rival BMW are more mixed. The 535i sedan and X3 SUV declined in reliability, and the 135i, debuting in this survey, scores below average. Some BMW models have average or better reliability, but the 328i versions are the only ones that we have tested and can Recommend.

Volkswagen and Audi are also staging a nice reliability recovery. The Volkswagen Rabbit (Golf) and the new CC earn top scores. The VW Jetta’s Recommendation now extends to the diesel version, making it the only diesel Consumer Reports currently recommends.

Both the VW Passat and Audi A3 have improved so that they now have average reliability scores. The new VW Tiguan SUV is average. The Audi Q7 SUV continues to be much worse than average, but not as bad as its platform mate, the VW Touareg, which not only scores poorly but has the worst new-car predicted reliability score in the survey.

All of Volvo’s sedans are average or better, but Volvo’s XC90 SUV is below average. Porsche, which has been doing quite well in our survey of late, has one serious hiccup this year: The Boxster drops to below average, which strikes it from Consumer Reports Recommended list. But the Cayenne SUV im-proved to average.

Findings are based on responses on more than 1.4 million vehicles owned or leased by subscribers to Consumer Reports or its Web site, www.ConsumerReports.org, the biggest response in the Annual Auto Survey’s history. The survey was conducted in the spring of 2009 by Consumer Reports’ National Survey Research Center and covered model years 2000 to 2009.

Consumer Reports’ expert team of statisticians and automotive engineers used the survey data to predict reliability of new 2010 models. Predicted reliability is CR’s forecast of how well models currently on sale are likely to hold up. To calculate predicted-reliability ratings, CR averages the overall reliability scores (used car verdicts) for the most recent three model years, provided that the model remained unchanged in that period and also didn’t substantially change for 2010. If a model was new or redesigned in the past couple of years, one or two years’ data may be used, or if that’s all that’s available.

Consumer Reports Annual Auto Survey is used in determining which makes and models are recommended to consumers by CR. Consumer Reports recommends only models that have performed well in tests conducted at its 327-acre Auto Test Center in Connecticut, and that have average or better predicted reliability based on its annual survey. In addition, vehicles must perform well in government or insurance-industry crash and rollover tests, if tested, in order to be Recommended. Occasionally, Consumer Reports may recommend a redesigned model too new to have compiled a reliability record if the previous generation, and the manufacturer’s reliability track record has been consistently outstanding, and if the model meets the other criteria.

Full reliability history charts and predicted-reliability ratings on hundreds of 2010 models, plus a list of what’s up and what’s down, best and worst models, and a comparison chart of brands can be found online at www.ConsumerReports.org, in the December issue and in the latest Consumer Reports Cars publication, Best & Worst New Car for 2010 ($5.99 U.S./$6.99 Canada), on sale November 17, 2009 everywhere magazines are sold.

It’s time for round two of reader-submitted Volkswagen DSG failure stories. Today we have three stories, each bringing new light to how widespread the DSG failure issues may be while posing an entirely scary question- Is the current recall just the tip of the iceburg? You don’t want to miss this.

UPDATE: Volkswagen announces new recall of 53,000 vehicles and service program to address DSG issues

Read round one here- How long has Volkswagen/Audi known about DSG recall related failures?

Our first email comes from Dr. C. Kolodny, who owns a 2009 Jetta TDI and despite experiencing the “flash of death” , his dealer refuses to fix the transmission under the recent Volkswagen/Audi recall.

Dr K. writes:

Our 09 Jetta TDI transmission failed at 8000-mi. Went into and stuck in neutral at highway speed. The dealer said it was working fine when towed in and said VW of N America would not authorize any going into transmission. Now the big recall 3 mos. later. Guess what? My VIN is not being recalled. Again they will not do anything! My wife and kids are at their mercy again!

I asked Dr K. to elaborate:

Dear Zane, the car is DSG. At 8000 mi. it went into neutral at highway speed and the idiot lights on the instrument panel all flashed continuously. It would not go into gear for 75 min. until the tow truck came and towed it to Autobahn VW in Fort Worth. When the truck came, the trans. had started working again but we of course had it towed anyway. The dealer said that he had never heard of this problem before (if you can believe that now) and that VW would NOT authorize any going into the transmission. He said that they would Reset??? it. I seriously doubt that they did anything at all. I called VW of N. America and spoke with someone in customer care fairly high up in the chain and threatened legal action if they did nothing and put my wife and two young kids in this potential position again. He would not budge. Now they tell me that my VIN is NOT on the recall list and they will absolutely do nothing! I called today and argued rather vehemently with a customer care supervisor and threatened legal action which I may well pursue. The mishap occurred about 3 months ago. Has not repeated itself though I have NO doubt that it will. Now has 15000 on it. Feel free to publish any of the above. Respectfully, C. Kolodny

Also a TDI owner, Kurt K from Orlando, Florida writes:

We purchased a 2009 VW Sports wagon TDI several months ago from David Maus VW in Orlando Florida. This problem started soon after we purchased it. We took the vehicle in for the 90 day inspection and reported the problem. They returned the car stating it was a faulty connector. The flash of death continued while my wife was traveling on the interstate. She parked the car gave me the keys and said “I am not driving this vehicle until this is fixed” I had the vehicle towed to the dealer and they told me they could not find the problem or get the vehicle recreate the transmission failure. I spent hours on the phone with VW of America and they never told me of this DSG sensor issue. My friend sent me the article Saturday and now they are replacing the sensor. The sportswagon has been at the dealer since 8/14/09 for the second time and we have yet to get it back as of 8/25/09 0530. We may get it back today but we have lost faith in VW and fear we have a lemon on our hands with 3,300 miles on a vehicle that should go 300,000 miles.

Up early today had a nightmare of a head on collision and was unable to get back to sleep. Not sure if it was related to the “Flash of Death” but It will take a lone time before we are comfortable with this vehicle.

We’ve even received an email from China.

I am a VW owner in China. We have exactly same DSG problem in China. The only different is that VW China ignore us and won’t recall. I will show you a video first:

This video shows that the VW car lose power when people were driving on highway with a speed of 140 km/h. It’s horrible! There were at least 13 people had such problem in China, who had reported online. VW China just said “there is no such problem in China.” I hope you can report this issue.

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So what’s the deal Volkswagen?  We find it hard to believe that while only certain models with the DSG transmission are being recalled, other vehicles with the same exact transmission are perfectly fine. We encourage not only Dr K. and Kurt K. to keep on pressuring VW to make things right, but anyone who thinks their vehicle may have an issue with its DSG transmission whether it’s on the recall list or not.

As always, we welcome you to share your DSG transmission stories with us.