This is more of a proof of concept, so don’t expect to see these on the road anytime soon, unfortunately. Hydrogen fueling stations and other infrastructure still need to be put in place across the nation. But the technology does seem promising. Honda and BMW have also been experimenting with hydrogen fuel cells for some time, so it appears that this may one day be a viable option.

I can’t help to wonder though, and maybe you scientists can help me out, but what if we had the same amount of vehicles on the road that we have today, only they’re emitting tons of water vapor instead of noxious fumes? Could that actually have an impact on the weather or environment somehow?

* Volkswagen Press Release

Volkswagen highlights commitment to environment by showcasing Tiguan HyMotion concept, clean diesel TDI’s and efficient 2.0 liter TSI Tiguan

HERNDON, Va.—Volkswagen of America, Inc. is showcasing its broad range of near-term and future fuel-efficient powertrain technologies with the all-new 2.0 liter TSI Tiguan, the upcoming 2.0 liter Jetta TDI and the North American debut of the Tiguan HyMotion Fuel Cell Concept.

Originally shown at the Shanghai Motor Show and the 2007 Michelin Challenge Bibendum, the Tiguan HyMotion highlights the current state of Volkswagen’s hydrogen fuel cell research and development. The Tiguan HyMotion features a hydrogen fuel cell system, which provides over 107 horsepower and produces zero tailpipe emissions (clean water vapor is its only bi-product). The innovative new Tiguan builds upon Volkswagen’s ongoing development of the fuel cell as previously demonstrated with the Touran HyMotion.

Volkswagen has long been committed to fuel efficient, environmentally responsible vehicles and this is evident with the new Tiguan utility vehicle and the Jetta TDI, offered in both sedan and SportWagen body styles. These vehicles provide efficiency, utility and performance in the refinement and interior appointment that is the hallmark of all Volkswagen vehicles. The well-refined four cylinder turbocharged engines – the Jetta utilizing Volkswagen’s TDI technology and the Tiguan the fuel efficient TSI – provide ample horsepower and prodigious torque to make these vehicles sporty, efficient and fun to drive.

Tiguan HyMotion
The Tiguan HyMotion concept features a fuel cell system integrated in the engine compartment capable of 107 horsepower. With an assist from the electric motor, the Tiguan HyMotion advances to 134 horsepower. The top speed of the Tiguan HyMotion is 93 mph and it accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in about 14 seconds.

A lithium ion battery with a charge capacity of 6.8 Ampere-hours (Ah) serves as an auxiliary energy storage device with a maximum power output of 22 kW. The battery is charged by recovered braking energy (recuperation) or by the fuel cell. This increased functionality and efficiency does not impair the interior space of the vehicle. The battery system is installed in the trunk beneath the dual cargo floor available on the production Tiguan. The 700 bar hydrogen tank was integrated in the area beneath the floor in the rear bench seat and cargo area. It can hold up to 3.2 kilograms of hydrogen (H2).

Basic operation of fuel cells
The key component of each individual fuel cell – a number of them are combined into a stack – is a proton-conducting membrane. It is located between each anode and cathode pair. Hydrogen flows on the anode side, and air flows into the cell on the cathode side. When many of these cells are combined in a stack, enough energy can be generated to drive a vehicle.

In each cell, hydrogen and oxygen react to form water on the cathode side. The fuel cell thereby converts chemical energy directly into electrical energy in an oxidation, or “cold” combustion process. The generated “exhaust” is clean water vapor.

The fuel cell is supplied fuel from the hydrogen tank and oxygen from the air by an external air inlet and outputs the electrical energy it generates – the power – via a converter and a downstream electrical system rectifier – to one or more electric motors. The Tiguan HyMotion is nearly silent when driven, and it is emissions-free.

Current Fuel Efficient Vehicles
Fuel efficiency, performance and convenience all come standard with the 2009 Jetta TDI sedan and SportWagen. The eagerly anticipated, 50-state compliant clean diesel TDI’s come to the United States in August 2008.
The Jetta TDI will have an immediate impact on fuel savings in a big way – up to 35 percent savings compared to a similar gasoline engines. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the Jetta TDI at an economical 29 mpg City and 40 mpg Highway.

Volkswagen engineers have been able to reduce NOx emissions by 90 percent on the TDI engine, through internal engine modifications and new catalytic converter technologies. This advance in diesel technology allows the Jetta TDI to exceed the toughest emissions requirements, including the “LEV2” standard, which limits NOx emissions to 70 mg per mile.

The new Tiguan comes standard with a 2.0L TSI engine delivering turbocharged acceleration while maintaining responsible fuel efficiency of 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway. This award winning turbocharged four-cylinder power plant delivers 200 horsepower and 207 lbs –ft of torque. The combination of four valves per cylinder, direct fuel injection and turbo charging delivers the optimum balance of power and economy. Adding to increased efficiency is a choice of either six-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission options.

And while the audio system’s 6.5 inch HD touch sensitive display, iPod connectivity and 30 gig hard drive make me feel a bit better, the Tiguan’s starting price of $23,200 still makes it the most expensive of its notable competition, the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V (priced at $21,250 and $20,700 respectively). Sigh.

Still, the Tiguan looks like it’s going to be a great addition to the VW family. For even more info, head over to VW’s site or read the review at Leftlane.

This is the first automaker I’ve heard commit to converting it’s entire lineup to hybrids, and I have to say that I’m surprised it’s VW. I would have expected this move from Toyota or Honda. Don’t get me wrong – I’m actually pretty happy about this particularly bold statement, and think it’s a move in the right direction. But I’m thinking that this will get caught up somewhere, and we won’t see a hybrid VW for years.

Could this decision possibly be an attempt to cater to the now hybrid hungry American consumer, and a sign of VW’s newfound understanding for the American market in general? Or is this due to increasingly stringent U.S. emissions standards? I fear it may be the latter, but I’m holding out hope.

But will this be enough for VW to see significantly increased sales? The only really successful hybrid is the Toyota Prius, and I think most folks would say that it has more to do with the car’s design than anything. As Honda can probably tell you (after the failed Insight and Accord hybrids), just slapping a hybrid logo on a car isn’t enough. A hybrid has to be…well, a hybrid…of distinct design and power. People don’t want to crawl down the highway. And at the risk of over generalizing, I think a good chunk of people want to be seen driving their hybrid more than they want to do something for the environment.

So will VW have that killer looking design that screams “I’m a hybrid!!!“? Only time will tell…I just hope they don’t think it’s the UP! concept.

The frontend remains just aggressive enough with Volkswagen’s now signature waterfall grill. The lines carry through over the roof, sides, and down the backend, hinting to the fact that this is the Touareg’s little brother with it’s softly squared build.

One thing I could pick a bone with are the taillights’ shape. Instead of the roundness on the outsides of the lights, I would rather have seen it cut sharply off at the top and follow the body panel line down the sides, if you can visualize what I mean.

But overall, I’m diggin’. Two thumbs up from this guy. If the timing’s right, I might pick one of these up.

* Click to view larger version.

Concept Version:

* From Volkswagen’s Press Release:

With the first pictures of the new Tiguan Volkswagen is starting the countdown for the debut of it’s 14th model series. The Sports Utility Vehicle – SUV for short – will be presented to the public for the first time in September as part of the International Motor Show (IAA in Frankfurt).

A combination of power and elegance characterizes the design of the new Tiguan. It was conceived as a borderliner between the urban world and endless landscapes, between business and leisure time. The Tiguan is a multitalent with driving characteristics that are just as agile as they are comfortable, high utility value and groundbreaking technologies.

Like the Touareg, the second Volkswagen SUV also presents a self-confident design. Shaping the front of the new Tiguan are the sexy proportions that Volkswagen first introduced with the Concept A Study that garnered worldwide attention – a crossover of a coupe and SUV. On the sides an elongated and powerfully modulated silhouette spans between the extended wheel arches with a – typical Volkswagen – unmistakable C-pillar. A very short overhang characterizes the steep rear end. Also significant are the front headlights and rear lights with matching shapes.

First facts on Tiguan engines: Volkswagen will offer the SUV – and this for the first time worldwide – exclusively with turbocharged direct injection engines. This “high-performance turbocharging” significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions, yet immensely increases dynamics and driving fun.

Overall there are three TSI and two TDI engines. Of these the completely new developments are the extremely quiet TDIs with common rail fuel injection. They achieve 103 kW / 140 hp and 125 kW / 170 hp and at 1,750 rpm already output 320 Nm or 350 Nm in four-wheel drive. Both TDIs already meet the limits of the Euro-5 standard first coming into effect in 2009.

Also getting to the point powerfully, economically and cleanly are the turbocharged direct injection gasoline engines in the performance levels 110 kW / 150 hp, 125 kW / 170 hp and 147 kW / 200 hp. New to the Volkswagen program are the 150 hp and 170 hp versions. A glance at the torque values makes one sense that the TSIs are very high torque. The 150-hp TSI already develops a self-assured 240 Nm (from 1,750 rpm). In the 170 hp and 200 hp performance range it is 280 Nm (from 1,800 rpm each).

“Tiguan Base” on the internet shows just how big the interest is in the new Tiguan. Visitors to www.tiguan-base.com can log in to the virtual world of the Tiguan. The development stages of the new SUV are presented in photos, films and facts. Within just 15 weeks – and this is sensational – more than one million people have made use of it worldwide. It looks as though the Tiguan is developing into an exciting chapter in the history of the automobile.

My take 1: Exterior
While I’m not too hip on the orange color scheme, I dig its aggressive stance and scowling frontend. I can’t say that there’s any one thing that really jumps out at me and says, “Here I am, I’m ugly!” The proportions seem to be well balanced.

My Take 2: Interior
Aside from the odd “concepty” touches like the leather dashboard piece, there’s not too much spectacular about it. It looks clean and orderly like a typical VW interior, and from the one photo we have, it seems the designers took some cues from the IROC concept for the door pull area. I’m not feeling the silver accents around the vents. And speaking of the vents, something seems off about them. Maybe they’re too big, too round?

The photos:

* Photos courtesy media.vw.com

Delving into some details from the VW press release:
The concept car being presented in Los Angeles is powered by a “Clean TDI” that is an entirely new development – a diesel engine of the next generation. In this diesel of the future Volkswagen will employ a modular concept of different systems to once again significantly reduce emissions. One of these powertrain systems includes a NOx storage catalytic converter and as a whole reduces nitrogen oxides by up to 90% compared to engines known today.. The “Clean TDI” from Volkswagen will satisfy the strictest emissions standards in the world.

The “Clean TDI” introduced in the Concept Tiguan is also one of the first components of the BLUETEC offensive initiated jointly by Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. The goal of this partnership is to establish the concept of BLUETEC as a uniform label for clean and low consumption cars and SUVs with diesel engines. BLUETEC denotes diesel drives that comply with even the strictest emissions regulations of the US market. The technologies used and individually developed by each manufacturer serve to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) in particular – the only exhaust components that lie above the rates of gasoline engines due to the conceptual design of diesel engines. The BLUETEC partnership was recently started in the course of the LA Auto Show.

“It was very important to us to have the car appear powerful. Muscular. For us that had a higher priority than anything else”, explains Klaus Bischoff, Head of the Design Centre in Wolfsburg. Bischoff continues: “An offroader needs a long hood and an upright position. That lends the vehicle self-assuredness and power.”

And that has consequences: The Concept Tiguan comes across as self-assured, with high value, grown-up, astute. It transfers the Touareg idea of a highly capable touring car and SUV into another class. The Tiguan does not stop where normal tracks end. But it does not acquire this talent at the cost of refined street manners, rather it masters the ride through both worlds – of asphalt paths and nature’s paths. The design of the Concept Tiguan, specially built for the auto show in Los Angeles, makes precisely this clear.

Front End
A typical, familiar, congenial Volkswagen. Yet everything is new, further developed. The lead exterior designer Klaus Bischoff: “We gave the insignia front grille a powerful contour.. Although we have taken a step forward, we still retain the same symbols introduced on our new models of the recent past.”

Silhouette
Nothing less applies to the silhouette of the Concept Tiguan. Here too clarity and power dominate the forms, and here too there is no detail that is random in appearance or not thought out to its conclusion.

Rear End
Typical of Volkswagen is the design of the rear end. Here too the description is: Typical and yet completely different. Typical, because the basic construction of the taillights follows that of the Eos or Passat variant, and they are part of the powerful shoulder section.. Different, because the overall design takes new directions, the steep tailgate extends far into the bumpers and is a design component that joins classic, pure SUV elements to contemporary, urban forms.

Interior
In the interior the study holds to the colors black, silver and orange. Black components include the leather seats, the instruments, some of which are also trimmed with a vintage style leather, the door trim and leather steering wheel. Silver: The instruments themselves as well as the door handles, inside and out. Orange: All leather seams and the orange tire stripe pattern integrated in the center seat panels. The reason that a friendly atmosphere prevails in the Concept Tiguan in spite of the dark interior equipment lies not only in the interior design but in the transparent 1.34 meter long and 0.85 meter wide panoramic sunroof.

Click on a thumbnail to view a larger version.

Here it is displayed on the cover of the latest edition of the Autobild magazine:

* Image courtesy LeftLaneNews.com