German Car Scene

STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN VEHICLE LAUNCH COURTESY OF VOLKSWAGEN

Posted 22nd May, 2008 in Volkswagen | Leave a comment

Mass Communications students at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder) were recently given the opportunity to participate in the U.S. media launch of the new 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan.

Thirty students from the CU School of Journalism and Mass Communication attended the press briefing which provided an overview of the Tiguan’s technical and marketing specifics. The briefing was then followed by a vehicle “walk-around”, a presentation of its features and a test drive. Students from print and broadcast journalism, public relations and advertising disciplines assisted the Volkswagen launch team in various aspects of the event.

“What better opportunity to give back to our hosts at CU-Boulder than to allow their students the opportunity to take part in a real press event,” said Keith Price, public relations manager for Volkswagen of America Inc. “Boulder reflects the active lifestyle of the Tiguan customer and prospect profile, so the location was a perfect fit and the opportunity to work with the university made it even better for Volkswagen.”

“It’s not often we can give our students hands-on experience in public relations, advertising and magazine journalism in the same event,” said Dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Paul Voakes.

In addition, Road & Track magazine will review articles submitted by students about the Boulder event and will consider publishing the best submission on its Web site. “Road & Track magazine, in both print and online media, needs to contribute to the development of the next generation of automotive journalists,” said Matt DeLorenzo, deputy editor, Road & Track. “We are excited about this opportunity”

For more information on the CU-Boulder School of Journalism and Mass communication visit http://www.colorado.edu/journalism/.

Volkswagen of America, Inc.

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.

[Source: VW]