Passat wins Eco-Friendly Car of the Year award
Passat for Volkswagen’s Chattanooga-made Passat TDI clean diesel has won Cars.com’s Eco-Friendly Car of the Year award.
“Volkswagen is committed to building the best eco-friendly vehicles for our customers,” said Ulrich Heimann, an executive vice president at Volkswagen in Chattanooga.
Cars.com recognized the Passat for its efficiency and drivability, and cited its highway mileage of 44 mpg. The Passat won this same award from Cars.com in 2012. In 2014, VW introduced the lighter and more fuel efficient TDI engine, improving EPA highway fuel economy between 10 percent and 16 percent.
The Chevrolet Volt, Honda Accord Hybrid, and Passat were nominated for this award. Nominees were selected based on ratings of “acceptable” or higher in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests, a reliability rating of average or higher, strong ride and handling, and average or better gas mileage in its segment.
Marietta paper buys Rome News
The parent company of the Marietta Daily Journal has purchased the Rome News Publishing Company at a bankruptcy auction.
Times-Journal Inc. bought the publisher of the Rome News-Tribune for $3.05 million during an open auction Thursday in Carrollton, beating out competing bidders. The sale remains subject to approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Grace Deal, who has scheduled a hearing Jan. 28.
Rome News Publishing Co. filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in January 2013. The sale includes the Rome News-Tribune as well as Georgia weekly papers Calhoun Times, Walker County Messenger, Catoosa County News and the Polk County Standard Journal. It also includes the weekly Cherokee County Herald published in Alabama.
Times-Journal Inc. Publisher Otis Brumby III will take over for the Rome News-Tribune’s third-generation owner, Burgett H. Mooney III. The Marietta Daily Journal and the Rome News-Tribune reported that Mooney will stay involved as a consultant for at least 20 months.
“We want to acknowledge our family’s long friendship and association with the Mooney family and their historical and continued contributions to Rome, northwest Georgia and our state,” Brumby said. “The Rome News-Tribune has a storied history of newspaper excellence, and we are excited about the opportunity to continue in that tradition.”
In addition to the Marietta Daily Journal and the Cherokee Tribune, Times-Journal Inc. and publishes 22 Neighbor community newspapers and two monthly magazines.
Co.Lab accept startup requests
The Company Lab, also known as Co.Lab, will take applications for its spring Accelerator. Deadline is Jan. 25.
The program, Jan. 30-April 30, connects high-growth-potential startups with mentors and resources. Co.Lab will not charge a registration fee this season. The group is expected to be the first to complete the program in Chattanooga’s new Innovation District. Co.Lab is scheduled to relocate to the site in April. Startups from the fall 2014 Accelerator include Granola, The Treehouse Project, Temperate, Chattanooga Sports Leagues, The Purple Scarf Project, Rangemark, Go Time, Eduity and Loopies. Registration information is available at colab.co.
S&ME to work on VW addition
Volkswagen is continuing to move ahead with construction of its Chattanooga plant expansion with a contract for geotechnical inspection slated for approval by a city panel next week. S&ME is expected to be awarded a $697,000 contract for the work related to the expansion of the plant from the city’s Industrial Development Board when it meets Wednesday.
“We are familiar with this project as we previously completed the geotechnical site assessment for the original plant construction,” the company said in documents.
VW last year gave the green light to spending $900 million on expanding the plant to build a midsize SUV based off of the CrossBlue concept that was unveiled in January 2013. Production of the SUV is slated for late 2016.
The Chattanooga plant also could build the Cross Coupe GTE that VW revealed this week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit if the smaller version of the CrossBlue receives the OK for production.