Volkswagen of America’s all-new Passat is ridding a strong wave of success. Not only did it recently receive a “Top Safety Pick Award” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a recent win in a Car and Driver comparison test against the Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata, but it also became the 10,000th vehicle to roll of the still-teething Chattanooga, Tennessee assembly line. Just as the 2012 Passat is getting ready for its nation-wide debut later in September, it joins seven other VWs to become their eighth car to carry a Top Safety Pick Award.
Born in Chattanooga, the all-new Passat is just as young as its home plant. Officially opened on May 24, 2011, the plant was made-in-part by way of a $1 billion investment into the local economy. It was given one main goal, make a car for the people for the American people: the 2012 Passat. As the 10,000th model, a white TDI clean diesel with a premium chrome package, rolled off the line, it carried with it the most prestigious award issued by the IIHS.
“The performance of the Passat is another example of Volkswagen’s ongoing commitment to engineer vehicles that earn the highest safety ratings,” says IIHS president Adrian Lund. The Passat joins seven other VW models on the list, including the Touareg, Tiguan, Jetta, Golf and CC. Volkswagen is rather proud of their American-made sedan, especially after a recent Car and Driver comparison test revealed it can accomplish what VW set for it.
“The new Passat is an important vehicle for Volkswagen,” said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “It has been engineered in Germany specifically to compete in the heart of the U.S. mid-size sedan segment.”
Source: Volkswagen & CarandDriver
