Volkswagen's All-New Clean Diesel Jetta TDI Sets New Guinness World Record for Lowest Fuel Consumption at 58.82 MPG

The world's most fuel efficient couple, John and Helen Taylor, have broken the current world record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States averaging 58.82 miles to the gallon. They ended their 20 day trip in West Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008. To help them break the world record, they drove the all-new, 50-state-compliant clean diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI, fueled by Shell Ultra Low Sulfur diesel fuel under real world driving conditions, simply applying easy to use fuel saving tips and the latest efficient engine technology available for good clean diesel fun.

"We are very excited and grateful to have broken the current Guinness World Record for lowest fuel consumption across the 48 contiguous United States," said Helen Taylor. "We would like to thank Volkswagen for providing us their new clean diesel Jetta that helped us get another World Record and to Shell for supplying the diesel fuel."

The previous Guinness World Record for the lowest fuel consumption on a nationwide drive was 51.58 miles per gallon and the Taylors broke it by setting a new record of 58.82 miles per gallon, a whopping 14 percent improvement. In 20 days, driving across 48 states the Taylors drove 9,419 miles, exceeding 60 mpg on several legs of the record-setting run, spending only 6.9 cents per mile (total was $653).

"The terrain was very diverse, the weather less than ideal, and the traffic heavy at rush hour and the VW Jetta TDI handled it all beautifully, showing its fuel efficiency and its fun-to-drive dynamic capability, just two of this vehicle's many attributes," said John Taylor. "The car efficiently helped us to drive to a fuel economy world record."

People were encouraged to e-mail the Taylors along the way at: fuelacademy@gmail.com with any questions they may have about the tour, the vehicle or about fuel economy tips and join their "Fan" page on Facebook.com. As of the end of the trip, more than 2,000 people have e-mailed the Taylors.

Approximately 12 official check-in and refueling stops across the country were included throughout the duration of the drive. The couple drove on a counter-clockwise route passing through: Washington D.C.; New York City, Rutland, Vermont; Toledo, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Spearfish, S.D.; Missoula, Mont.; Winnemucca, Nev.; Santa Monica, Calif.; Durango, Colo.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Mount Vernon, Ill.; Ponchatoula, La.; and, Beckley, W.V. Some of the fuel saving tips the Taylors advocate include: avoiding idling and higher speeds, minimizing vehicle drag and performing regular vehicle maintenance.

The Taylors have made a 26-year career out of driving economically and conducting workshops globally on fuel-efficient driving techniques. They have collected 82 world fuel economy and vehicle-related records from drives around the globe in Australia, Asia, South Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America.

Volkswagen of America, Inc. recently announced Electronic Stability Program (ESP) as standard equipment on all its 2009 vehicles. As a result, Volkswagen is one of the only original equipment manufacturers to offer an electronic stability control system on their entire product line - ahead of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) deadline requiring vehicles in the 2012 model year to include stability control systems. Volkswagen's ESP technology works in conjunction with anti-lock brakes and helps reduce loss of control and rollovers to avoid crashes. NHTSA predicts nearly 10,000 lives could be saved each year if automakers included stability systems as standard equipment.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Va. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, GLI, Passat, Passat Wagon, Eos, Tiguan and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers.

*Awaiting official confirmation from GWR

SOURCE Volkswagen of America, Inc.