Greenpeace renews attack on VW’s eco efforts with Star Wars-themed Golf Jedi Edition

Last year, Greenpeace targeted Volkswagen with its VW Dark Side campaign. A twist on the popular Star War-themed Passat commercial that debuted during the 2011 Super Bowl, VW Dark Side pointed out that VW wasn’t doing as much as it could to further the cause of more efficient vehicles.

This year, Greenpeace is updating the attack with the Golf 7 Jedi Edition (the VW Dark Side URL now redirects to the Jedi Edition site) that launches, coincidentally, right about when the real new Golf comes out next month. The Jedi Edition is a “A hybrid diesel that does 315 miles per gallon” and has, due to some sort of Sith power, “A petrol engine that will do 282 miles per gallon.” It also “Emits 75% less CO2 emissions than your average car.”

As confusing as a diesel/gas powertrain is, the real message here, according to the Greenpeace blog, is:

Don’t you just hate it when someone has the power to make a real difference, but won’t use it? Take Volkswagen for instance. It’s Europe’s biggest car maker, eager to display itself as a friend of the environment and known worldwide for its high standards of engineering.
Yet for years VW has failed to put its money where its mouth is and commercially produce cars that are both cheap to run and emit far less CO2 than the rest of the market. …
So if over the coming weeks you hear gushing stories about VW’s new ‘green’ Golf VII – don’t believe the hype.

A short intro video, which raises more questions than it answers, is available below.