NewsChannel 9 In Germany

NewsChannel 9 photographer Brent McDonald and myself are in Wolfsburg, Germany to bring you the Volkwagen story from where the auto maker is making worlwide headlines as it builds it's U.S. assembly plant in Chattanooga.

We arrived in Wolfsburg, VW's home city, early Sunday morning after completing flights from Atlanta to Munich, then onward to Hannover which is near Wolfsburg in the German Federal State of Lower Saxony.

Despite our flight leaving Atlanta being delayed by two hours we were able to arrive within an hour of it's regularly scheduled arrival in Germany thanks to some very stiff tail winds blowing from the U.S. to Europe. During our flight tailwinds were clocked at more than 200 miles per hour according to the Boeing 767's on-board flight mapping system. That pushed our top speeds toward Germany at 720 miles per hour during the flight's crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, much higher that the plane's average speed of 550 miles per hour during cross-Atlantic flights.

When we arrived in Munich my aunt, Erika Goettler, greeted us at the airport with a "Welcome John and Brent" sign, then took us to her house about 30 minutes away in Bavaria for a hearty Bavarian-style feast that included some of my cousins whom I have not seen in a number of years, Joachim Brandl and Robby Brandl. Robby is known in South America and parts of the Mediterranean as a world-class windsurfing and kite-boarding instructor.

Of course I was quickly reminded at how fast and orderly Germans drive on the Autobahn, the German freeway system where during some stretches there is no speed limit. Amazing, how one can be cruising at 140 miles per hour only to be passed by faster moving cars that appeared to have left us in the dust. 

Weather wise it is much cooler here and the leaves are approaching peak colours. A chilly morning fog quickly lifted giving us beautiful sunshine in Bavaria. This provided spectacular views of beautiful villages that dotted picturesque vistas of farmland where the soil is black and very rich.

After our brief visit we were taken back to the Munich airport to catch a flight to Hannover. As expected the flight departed exactly on time as Germans are known for their punctuality and precision. Brent, who has never been to Germany, was quite taken by the beauty of the country, it's people and customs. And he learned that many Germans also speak English so it makes a trip from the United States that much more enjoyable.

What amazed us as we began our travels is how many homes are now equipped with roof-top solar panels. The German government provides incentives to companies and it's citizens to install solar panels so that people actually sell electric power to the companies that provide energy to the power grid. And the panels are designed so that they compliment the look of homes, almost all of which have either grey slate or red terra cotta roofs.

And it's not just solar panels that makes Germany so "green." As we flew from Munich to Hannover we saw numerous wind mill arrays from above. The towers appear to be 150 to 300 feet tall with propellers that rapidly spin in the wind. Most are placed in the wide, open farmland that is maintained between cities and villages to prevent the kind of urban sprawl we know so well in our country.

After we touched down in Hannover Volkswagen hired a driver to pick us up at the airport and drive us to Wolfsburg. Gordon Sobirey, a computer science student, arrived in a VW Phaeton. This is the company's flag-ship luxury four door sedan that's only available in Europe and due for a major re-release that could include future U.S. sales. After an almost hour-long drive at speeds of 120 to 140 miles per hour or better at times on the Autobahn, Brent and I were amazed to learn what kind of engine was under the hood - a six cylinder turbo diesel. This is the kind of engine technology Vollkwagen is most proud of and known for around the world. We will have more stories this week and in November about Volkwagen's initiatives to develop and produce engines like the turbo diesels and others that use alternative fuels.

Once in Wolfsburg we saw that this is truly the city Volkwagen built. For a German city is it quite young, having been founded in the late 1930's to build Volkwagens and to be home to the many industries that supply the auto maker. This city lives and breathes VW - it provides the large majority of jobs.

Coming up later this week we'll give you previews of our in-depth reports about Wolfsburg and Volkwagen. You will hear from top VW executives, their plans and ambitions to be the world's number-one auto maker and how Chattanooga is so important to their goals.

You willl also see Tennessee Governor Phil Bredeson and a delegation of Chattanooga-area city and county mayors in Germany as they embark on a trade mission to bring more German companies to the Chattanooga region to supply Volkswagen's soon-to-be built auto assembly plant.