I have been having an ongoing email conversation with a man who lives in California about the state of the green automotive choices for someone who fits into the middle-class kind of vehicle, but who wants a sense of style in their car and some driving pleasure. Past vehicles owned by this potential buyer include a hand-me-down Volvo 850 and a Mazda Miata. He is in the market for a new car, and as a reader of AutoblogGreen, would like something environmentally friendly, and possibly a bit "up-market" in appearance. He would also prefer a hatchback for practicality. His claim is that there are no stylish, mid-priced vehicles that fit his needs on American roads today. Is he right? The only logical thing to do is to look at each option, weigh the pros and cons of each and make the best decision possible. Maybe our readership can help pick out a non-economy car that offers style, driving pleasure and is reasonably green.

Please, continue after the break, and help out a fellow reader make a wise decision.

When Martin Winterkorn took over for Wolfgang Bernhard very recently, he examined the next versions of the Rabbit and VW's other models hybrid plans and immediately put them on hold. An unnamed VW executive says, "the hybrid business case doesn't work out, no matter how you look at it." Toyota might have something to say about that thought...

The hybrid Touareg apparently is still on track to be the first VW hybrid, and is expected to be on sale in 2008. Winterkorn also is planning to delay the release of their next Rabbit, citing design changes. It is being reported that Winterkorn did not like the large air openings on the redesigned car.

[Source: Autoweek]

Here's how the Washington Post puts a positive spin on the high oil prices: the rising cost of gas is making car buyers shed their gas-guzzling large vehicles and are turning to smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles. The paper's most recently discussed the impact one of these vehicles, the 2006 Volkswagen Rabbit, can have.

The Rabbit only gets 22/30 mpg, but the WaPo expects a "discernible increase in the fuel economy of new vehicles sold stateside." The Rabbit brings European sensibility (people wanting good, small vehicles because they want to save money as much as they want a good ride) to the American market, the paper writes. The Rabbit shows how Volkswagen is getting back to its economical roots after mild results from vehicles like the Phaeton. The paper likes the Rabbit (decent driving experience and room for the price). The paper's main gripe with the Rabbit is a lack of a diesel option. Who knows when VW will bring diesels back to these shores.

[Source: Washington Post via Belleville News Democrat]