Visit Capitol Volkswagen of San Jose

2012-02-10T17:48:00.001-08:00

CHATTANOOGA, TN--February 7, 2012: SSOE Group, an international engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) firm, along with Vertegy, announce their involvement in the success of first and only LEED® Platinum automotive manufacturing plant in the world. Volkswagen's Chattanooga manufacturing plant was recently awarded a Platinum certification, the highest designation possible from the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification program.
SSOE has successfully performed design work for more than 50% of all automotive assembly plants built in the United States over the last 10 years. Based on that experience, Volkswagencalled upon SSOE to oversee the architecture, engineering, and construction management for this $1 billion+ production facility which produces the all-new 2012 Passat. Once it was determined to pursue LEED, SSOE performed the role of Project Team Administrator (PTA) and Design Lead for all LEED credits with Vertegy provided commissioning and third-party verification.
"Think Blue is Volkswagen's commitment to reach the highest level of environmental protection and corporate social responsibility in everything we do. It was this commitment that drove the team to strive toward designing, constructing, and applying for LEED accreditation. Being the first automotive plant worldwide to receive a Platinum certification is an enormous accomplishment and wouldn't have been possible without the innovative design and construction management of SSOE. Their LEED knowledge and expertise supported us in moving forward with the certification process and achieving the Platinum certification successfully," said Dr. Jan Spies, Head of Factory Planning, Volkswagen AG.
The Volkswagen manufacturing plant earned 52 points out of the 69 possible to earn the Platinum title in October. Sustainable highlights of the plant include:

Certification of the paint shop facility. Previous assembly plants have excluded their paint shop in the LEED certification process due to the complexity of the manufacturing process and the challenge of getting them certified. VW's sustainably designed paint shop will save more than 50 million gallons of water a year.
The construction team salvaged or recycled nearly 78 percent (4,602 tons) of construction and demolition waste.
48 percent of total building materials were manufactured using recycled materials.
Through low-flow water closets and urinals, the plant achieves a 58 percent reduction in potable water used for sewage conveyance. Additionally, the plant harvests rainwater from its roof that is collected for use in the sanitary waste system. Together, these strategies save 1.7 million gallons of potable water each year. Low-flow showers, lavatory and kitchen faucets further decrease potable water usage, resulting in total savings of more than 3 million gallons of potable water each year.
A white, reflective roofing material was installed on 100 percent of the roof area of the building, which reflects heat, lowering cooling costs and saving energy.
All exterior lights at the facility provide only the minimum lighting required for safety to ensure that light does not spill into the night sky, adversely affecting the surrounding nocturnal environments through excessive glare.
Measures to promote environmentally friendly commutes include the provision of bike racks for visitors and employees, availability of showers and lockers for employee use and preferred parking for those driving low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles and for those who carpool to the site.

The Volkswagen Academy was also certified by USGBC as a LEED Platinum facility earning 54 points of out 69 possible and received this designation in November. The Volkswagen Academy is used to train new employees for work at the plant.
In addition to the Volkswagen Chattanooga manufacturing plant, SSOE is also responsible for the first Gold LEED certified facility in the state ofOhio and first Gold LEED certified central utility plant in the U.S. Currently, SSOE has more than a dozen projects underway at various stages of the LEED certification process around the world and was ranked first nationally among green industrial and manufacturing design firms by ENR magazine.
About Volkswagen Chattanooga
Volkswagen will invest $1 billion in the local economy for the Chattanooga plant and create more than 2,000 direct jobs in the region. According to independent studies, the new Volkswagen plant is expected to generate $12 billion in income growth and an additional 9,500 jobs related to the project. The Chattanooga manufacturing facility builds the all-new 2012 Passat sedan, specially designed for the North American market and winner of the Motor Trend magazine 2012 Car of the Year award.
About SSOE Group
As the 14th largest engineering, architectural, and construction management firm (Building Design + Construction), one of Inc.magazine's fastest growing firms (2011), and one of the "Best AEC Firms to Work For" (Building Design + Construction), SSOE Group focuses on delivering Great Client Service to clients through a full range of EPCM services.
With 24 offices around the world, SSOE is known for making its clients successful by saving them time, trouble, and money. Over the company's 60-plus year history, it has earned a reputation for providing quality project solutions to food and consumer products, chemical, government, power, automotive, glass, healthcare, and science and technology industries. SSOE has completed projects in more than 30 countries. VisitSSCE for additional information and career opportunities.

The Dog Strikes Back

2012-02-03T14:05:00.000-08:00

Volkswagen has just released a :75 second piece of their Super Bowl ad... check it out and tell us what you think? The Dog Strikes Back: 2012 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T15:05:00.001-08:00

From the Del Grande Dealer Group and Capitol Volkswagen; we wish all our fans and followers a very Merry Christmas.

Volkswagen Wikipedia

2011-12-08T12:06:00.001-08:00

Volkswagen Wikipedia

Putting the “room” in “vroom”: Practical fun in the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI

2011-10-28T17:44:00.001-07:00

http://blogs.vw.com/jetta/2011/10/04/putting-%e2%80%9croom%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%9cvroom%e2%80%9d-practical-fun-2012-volkswagen-jetta-gli/

VW wants to be people’s car in USA again

2011-10-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-news/2011/10/10/vw-wants-to-be-peoples-car-in-usa-again/

2012 TDI Passat Challenge: San Jose to Los Angeles

2011-10-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Capitol Volkswagen took part in the "Bay to LA; 2012 Passat Challenge. Let us know what you think of the fun video we put together?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKMPfeydc2Y

All-New 2012 VW Beetle To Start At $18,995

2011-09-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

All-New 2012 VW Beetle

Latest Volkswagen News

2011-08-12T17:36:00.001-07:00

Volkswagen News

8.4.11

VW Creates Customer Experience Organization Herndon, VA -- Volkswagen of America (VWoA) today announced senior management changes focused on improving customer experience performance across the company.
Mark Barnes, 52, current head of sales for the company, is appointed to the position of Vice President, Volkswagen Customer Experience. In this newly created role, Mark will determine and implement strategies and initiatives to support the customer experience in all business activities. This includes the integration and alignment of each customer interaction at both the dealership and VWoA corporate levels.
"We know we need a systemic approach to better manage the entire customer experience within VW," said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America and VWoA. "Now that we’ve put actions in place to address the customer voice in the product development process, and built a strong Quality organization, this is the next step in improving the foundation of our business."
The Volkswagen Academy, Customer Care, Customer Experience and the CRM/Loyalty functions will report to Barnes.
"Mark has done an outstanding job of building momentum in the sales organization, and throughout the dealer network," said Browning. "His enthusiasm and passion for building loyalty among our customers is well known across the company. Combine that with the depth of his relationship with dealers, and he is the perfect person to lead this new team."
Frank Trivieri, 48, will head all sales operations within the company. Trivieri comes to VW from General Motors of Canada, Ltd where he was most recently General Director, Sales.
In this role, Trivieri will have responsibility for leading and developing the dealer network and continuing the strong sales momentum currently seen at the company. This role directs the activities of the U.S. regions, sales planning and strategy, network operations, retail programs and fleet and remarketing.
"I am looking forward to Frank joining the Volkswagen team," said Browning. "His experience, enthusiasm and personality will help him settle into his new role very quickly."
Trivieri’s automotive experience spans more than 25 years including various positions in sales, marketing and customer support in both Canada and Australia. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Western Ontario.
Both of these positions will report to Browning, and are effective August 15.
Volkswagen of America, Inc.
Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. 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 Eos, Golf, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2011 Volkswagen vehicles come standard-equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC). This is important because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at www.vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.
CONTACT:
Scott Vazin
703-364-7103
scott.vazin@vw.com

VW hires its 2,000th employee

2011-07-29T18:12:00.001-07:00

http://www.nooga.com/11296_volkswagen-chattanooga-hires-2000th-employee/

From classic to current: Jay Leno drives the oldest and the newest Beetle

2011-07-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.vw.com/beetle/classic-current-jay-leno-drives-oldest-newest-beetle/

Volkswagen GTI: A History in Pictures

2011-07-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

http://blog.caranddriver.com/volkswagen-gti-a-history-in-pictures/

The new face of turbo.

2011-07-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.vw.com/conceptcars/2011/04/21/face-turbo/

Volkswagen: What's Going On With Chattanooga's Newest Resident?

2011-07-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/29/volkswagen-whats-going-on-with-chattanoogas-newest-resident/?a_dgi