On Friday I attended the very first Volkswagen Digital Media Day at the Canadian International AutoShow. I have a total soft spot for the VW brand thanks to my Baby Jetta and I was very excited to learn about the 2013 lineup and other new and exciting things happening with Volkswagen. We were greeted by Peter Blackwell Director of Marketing for VW Canada and VW product Planners, ready to answer all our questions. The event was packed with exciting news about addition of new cars to the 2013 lineup, turbocharge and hybrid engines and so much more. It was exciting to be one of the first few people to see the TV commercials for the Jetta Turbocharged Hybrid.

There were so many shiny cars to look at during the event, I’m not even sure how I got myself focused enough to start asking the experts about the cars.

My favourite VW cars beside the Beetles, are the Golf and GTI; they are made for city driving, perky as hell and surprisingly roomy. I got to chat with Sales Trainer and Golf/GTI expert for the event Warren Hoffner to learn a little more about these cars. I have driven both of the cars and I loved the more sporty/luxury look of GTI and the smooth calmness of the Golf, during my conversation with Warren he told me about a new addition to the Golf family for 2013, Golf Wolfsburg. This is the happy medium between GTI and the Golf and it would be available this year in Canada. I can’t wait to jump behind the wheels of one of them!

Did I mention that during the event we got to see the new Beetle Fender, a collaboration between VW and Fender, but more about that later.

I also had an interesting conversation with Mr. Blackwell and Thomas Tetzlaff the Media Relations Managers for VW about the future of the Volkswagen Canada and their marketing plans for the year and from what I understand the plans are to make Volkswagen the people’s car in North America. Opening and upgrading new Volkswagen plants in Mexico, embracing the “Think Blue” engines with addition of Turbocharged and Hybrid engines and designing cars specifically for the North American market are few steps taken to make Volkswagen a household name in the next few years.

Thanks again to Volkswagen for allowing me to be part of this great event!