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2012 Earth, Wind & Power Car of the Year Awards

2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI Named
4th Annual Earth, Wind & Power Car of the Year
- Most Earth Friendly Vehicle -


by Earth, Wind & Power Magazine


Sponsored by
Bridgestone Tire Sponsors 2011 International Car of the Year Awards

For Immediate Release

DETROIT - January 10, 2012 – Earth, Wind & Power Media announced today the winner of its 2012 Earth, Wind & Power Car of the Year for Most Earth Friendly Vehicle…

The all-new 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI

Review | Press Release

“The 2012 VW Passat TDI beat out its competition by a landslide,” said EWP founder and producer, Courtney Caldwell. The vehicle is not only fuel efficient and eco-friendly, but its styling, performance, power and pricing leaves one feeling like they’re driving a high performance vehicle with no tell tale signs of lag or noise that other eco-friendly vehicles tend to still come with,” adds Caldwell.

2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI receives 4th Annual Earth, Wind & Power Car of the Year Award for Most Earth Friendly Vehicle.
2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI receives 4th annual Earth, Wind & Power Car of the Year Award for Most Earth Friendly Vehicle. Presenting trophy to Kevin Joostema (l), GM of VW Product Marketing are (l-r) Courtney Caldwell, EWP Media publisher; Mike Martini, president Bridgestone America OE and ICOTY sponsor; and auto contributor for Road & Travel Magazine, Martha Hindes. (Photo by Jeff Kowalsky)

Accepting the award for Volkswagen was Kevin Joostema, General Manager, Product Marketing. “We are delighted to win the Earth, Wind & Power Car of the Year award,” said Joostema. “The German Engineered Passat has been an immediate hit with consumers—and we are proud that so many of them are choosing to buy the TDI® Clean Diesel model that has great gas mileage and a range of nearly 800 miles on a tankful of fuel. As further proof of our commitment to sustainable mobility, the Passat TDI is produced in Chattanooga at the first and only manufacturing plant to receive LEED Platinum certification.”

“With climate change and dependence on foreign oil a major concern, more people than ever are turning to fuel-efficient or alternative fuel vehicles,” said Caldwell. “It’s become of vital interest to consumers, automakers, and the future of the Earth to produce vehicles that are compatible with our planet.”

In response to the acceleration and urgency of global warming and climate change, automakers are taking swift action by reducing their energy consumption through the use of earth friendly power supplies, thereby producing more fuel efficient vehicles and upgrading to cleaner power sources such as hybrids, electric, diesel, flex-fuel and ethanol. Volkswagen has been leading the way in recent years with the advancement of numerous energy efficient vehicles, which led them to win EWP’s first EWP Car of the Year Award in 2009 for the VW Jetta TDI.

Sponsored by Bridgestone, Caldwell adds, "We are very grateful to Bridgestone for their continued support of the Earth, Wind & Power Awards. Their understanding of how important it is to our planet to build vehicles with more earth friendly products and supplies is vital to our mission to honor those vehicles that meet eco-friendly standards.”

“It’s our honor to sponsor this award recognizing the excellence in innovation by auto manufactures, and we appreciate the longstanding partnerships, both in the showroom and on our highways, we’ve enjoyed with them. We congratulate Volkswagen on their prestigious award and look forward to creating world-class products for OEM’s in the years to come,” said Michael Martini, President Bridgestone’s OE Division, of BATO.

Said Caldwell, “It's amazing to see the rapid progress automakers are making with the development of alternative power sources and the examples they’re setting to other nations. Their progress will prove significant in the return of Earth’s natural balance, which in turn will improve the quality of life for all people on the planet.”

About Earth, Wind & Power Media – The goal of EWP Media (blog, website and awards) is to educate, enlighten, and empower consumers about alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, water and other natural resources so they can make informed decisions on which energy efficient vehicles to buy, improve and change their daily living habits with greener home and garden products and services, explore cleaner travel options such as LEED hotels, and support airlines that are transitioning to fuel efficient planes, as well as other eco-friendly travel options. EWP aims to help educate consumers on where to find and how to use the tools necessary to convert their everyday lives into an organic and balanced state of living with and on our one and only planet.

The mission of the EWP Awards is to honor vehicles that are driven by a power source that helps improve climate change by reducing the amount of CO2 emissions poured into the Earth’s atmosphere, promote a cleaner environment, and support the ultimate mission to achieve energy independence through alternative power sources. Vehicles are judged on how environmentally progressive they are in reducing greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.

SEE ALL 2012 INTERNATIONAL CAR OF THE YEAR WINNERS

Media Contact: Courtney Caldwell
Phone: 310.322.8000 PT
Email: ewpmedia@gmail.com