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Filed under: Minivans/MPVs , Volkswagen , Rumormill Click above for a hi-res gallery of the '01 VW Microbus concept The 2001 VW Microbus concept was really cool; so much so that it looked like it was headed for 2005 production. Then the project started getting expensive at the same time the U.S. dollar began to hit the skids. So, then-boss Bernd Pischetsrieder swung the axe, and it was curtains for the retro breadbox. Fast-forward to the present. Instead of a spiffy new Microbus, we now have the Routan, which is fake German for "Dodge Caravan." Not very exciting, to say the least. A revival of Flower Power's official vehicle seemed hopeless -- until now. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that VW's entertaining the possibility of a 21st-century Microbus built on the same platform as the new sedan that'll pe produced at VW's Chattanooga, TN facility . An unnamed "senior Volkswagen official" told the paper that European production's basically a non...
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Filed under: Time Warp , Minivans/MPVs , Volkswagen Click above to enlarge the five VW Campervans There are few vehicles which can approach the Volkswagen van for sheer classic presence. Today, early examples of the first-generation models are so desirable that they can fetch more money than any current van on the market. That's mighty impressive for a vehicle which sold for very low prices when new. And who could possibly forget the Campervan conversions which were available right from the factory? Apparently, Volkswagen isn't completely unaware of its illustrious rear-engined past. The automaker has selected five Campervans to take part in a special part in this year's Vanfest, which takes place this month in the U.K. The five winners represent one model from each of the five generations that VW has been selling its commercial vans. Our favorite has got to be the 1966 split-window Transporter, complete with Safari windows. Seriously, as far as Campervans go, it just doesn't...
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Filed under: Etc. , Safety , Volkswagen The above image is a dramatization. Bugs don't really have jet engines. It's being reported as the second most incredible thing next to cold fusion - a VOLKSWAGEN traveling above 100 mph? What next? We suppose a bunch of kids from England will kick Elvis off the top of the charts. Welcome to the 21st century, out of touch news-ninnies. Volkswagen Beetles - proper air-cooled medieval rollerskates - indeed have a tough time cracking 100 mph in stock trim. A New Beetle, which is really just a modern Rabbit in drag, can easily crank that speedo right around to 125 with its 5-cylinder mill. In this case, the news media is just piling its idiocy on top of a stupid driver who tried running from the police. It rarely ends well when a driver decides to run, and the case of Nathan Hurlbirt and his gray VW are no different. Hurlbirt and a female colleague were nipping along I-25 in Littleton, Colorado when a Sheriff's deputy took issue with the pair's...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Wagons/Estates , Green , Marketing/Advertising , Volkswagen We recently received a note from an anonymous source indicating that there's a mildly strained relationship between VW and some of its dealers. The source of the consternation seems to be the highly anticipated Jetta TDI , which was just recently released in the U.S. market. Apparently, Volkswagen of America has gotten complaints that some dealers are adding a significant markup on the new and desirable model -- a big problem for many automakers when a new model makes its initial introduction. The dealers are eager to make some money on the new cars while VW is concerned that customers may just look elsewhere because they feel they're being treated unfairly. What's more, some VW dealers may not be all that excited by the new model as there aren't that many available quite yet. This is a situation that's frustrating for the dealers, VW and, most...
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Filed under: Coupes , Audi , Volkswagen , Rumormill Over the past week, CAR has donned its prognostication cap and tapped it's "internal sources" in an attempt to foretell Audi's future product plans. A few of stories have ranged from inane to insane, but one post seems entirely plausible and has blinded us with excitement. Audi's mid-engine R4 was pronounced stillborn this past year, but with Volkswagen bringing its own midship concept to the Los Angeles Auto Show this November, Audi might revive plans its own version to market in the next five years. The new R3 would effectively replace the TT, providing a better business case for VAG to produce a mid-engine platform and silencing critics that have constantly complained that the TT is merely a tarted up Golf. If the Volkswagen version is well received and given the green light, expect it to debut in 2013, with Audi's variant following shortly thereafter. In an attempt to keep from directly competing with the...
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Filed under: Ford , Volkswagen While Toyota and General Motors continue to duke it out for first place among the world's largest automakers, the lower rungs have been equally hotly contested. It came as a shock to many that Hyundai-Kia had surpassed Honda to take the Number 5 spot , but if you think the battle is being waged purely between the Far East and North America, don't discount Europe for long. The continent's largest auto group, Volkswagen, has claimed its place on the podium as the world's third largest automaker, beating out Ford in the first half of this fiscal year. The numbers, of course, are based on sales worldwide, and they could very well change by the end of the year. Although Ford's own namesake brand surely accounts for the bulk of its sales, the FoMoCo multi-brand conglomerate that once included the Premier Auto Group has dissipated of late, while VW's numerous subsidiaries - including Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Lamborghini, Bentley and...
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Filed under: Toyota , Volkswagen , Earnings/Financials Last September we told you of Volkswagen's plan to overtake Toyota in global sales by 2015. Some Autoblog staffers giggled at the prospect. That was before Toyota reported a 39% drop in profit and began writing down leases , and long before today's news of the Japanese automaker reducing its sales goal for 2009 by almost 7%. Instead of the 10.4 million vehicle sales it predicted for 2009, Toyota says it now may only sell 9.7 million. While 7% may not sound like a big reduction, consider that Toyota has seen steady growth since its founding in 1934, and any drop is a big deal. Last month, Toyota reported an 18% drop in sales from last July, while VW posted a 4% drop. If those sales rates continue, VW's goal of total domination should be much easier to attain. [Source: Reuters ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Minivans/MPVs , Euro , Volkswagen , Misc. Auto Shows , Lifestyle Click above for high-res gallery of the Topos Sail concept Turns out the recreational and commercial vehicle show in Dusseldorf, Germany has attracted more concepts than the just the Fiat Portofino . Volkswagen showed up with the Caddy Topos Sail concept, another nautical-themed vehicle that brings the boat life to land locked lovers of the water. Based on the Caddy MPV, the Topos Sail concept's biggest attraction is its roof, which is covered in wood decking and surrounded on all sides by aluminum roof rails. The roof deck is designed for lounging in the sun just like on the deck of a yacht, and the panels flip up to act as back rests. The concept also features a nifty ladder built into the rear lift gate with wooden steps, as well as wood trim elsewhere on the vehicle's exterior. We're certain it doesn't float, but you could park the Topos Sail down by the docks, climb up on the...
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Filed under: Spy Photos , Euro , Paris Motor Show , Volkswagen Not too many surprises lie under the camoflage, the next-generation GTI will be the Angry-Teut-Box version of Volkswagen's forthcoming Golf VI, which we've already seen . The overall milieu is an evolutionary step from our current fifth-generation Golf/Rabbit, though the detail changes to the GTI that KGP snagged add some sporty stylistic touches which will undoubtedly be backed up by hardware. The front end gets honeycomb grilles for every opening and eschews foglamps in favor of brake cooling, with bright red calipers now squeezing away. A dual exhaust setup might have you thinking R32 instead of GTI, but there are rumors floating around that the R32 will be kaput after the current generation. We hope that the MkVI keeps or even expands upon the current GTI's demeanor, which finally returned to some of the original hot-hatch magic after years of bloat. Rumors are that the GTI VI will show up at the Paris Motor...
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Volkswagen , Misc. Auto Shows Click above for high-res gallery of the VW CC Gold Coast Volkswagen has used the occasion of this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance to unveil its new CC Gold Coast edition. The most obvious change that sets the CC GC apart from more plebian CCs is the tri-coat paint - DuPont's light brown 'Pepe Pepper' to be specific, which reportedly has gold, brown and silver tones all mixed in for your ocular pleasure. Of course, such a high-end exterior color must be paired with an equally special interior hue , in this case it's leather done up Starbucks-style in 'Latte Macchiatto Cornsilk' with Bronze Piping on the seats and matching accents on the dash and door trim. Also on the docket are 19-inch propeller style wheels that fill the wheel arches rather nicely. A unique ground effects package rounds out the visual mods. Underhood is the familiar 3.6-liter TFSI engine with 280 horsepower and 265 lbs....
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Filed under: Car Buying , China , Volkswagen Volkswagen was one of the pioneers in infiltrating the booming Chinese market, and now the automaker's early efforts are paying off handsomely. VW is planning to sell over 1 million vehicles in the land of the Great Wall in 2008, which should mean that the automaker's China sales will surpass those in Germany for the first time ever. While that may make it sound like there's a problem with VW's Germany sales, it's more a testament to a 19% market share in a country with 1.4 billion people. Volkswagen is also keeping the heat on the Chinese market, with 14 new vehicles scheduled for launch during the next two years. That's a substantially faster pace than the 11 products VW updated in the previous three years, and a big reason why sales will likely continue to rise. The automaker is turning a serious profit in China, and with products like the affordable and efficient up! on the horizon, Germany's volume automaker looks...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , Wagons/Estates , Green , Volkswagen Lovers of both fuel mileage and torque can finally rest easy; Volkswagen of America is now officially selling its 50-State-approved, clean diesel engine in either the Jetta sedan for $21,990 or Jetta SportWagen wrappers for $23,590. Equipped with the six-speed DSG transmission, both Jetta gets an EPA rating of 29 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on the highway. We expect to see better real-world numbers, though we're a bit wary of VW's advertising its alternate rating of 38/44 -- a number that is impossible to compare with anything else currently available. In any case, the $2,000 premium for the TDI engine will be lessened somewhat by the Fed's $1,300 tax credit which applies to either TDI model. Look for an early test of the oil-burner on these pages shortly. [Source: Volkswagen] Continue reading Diesel rush begins: VW Jetta TDI now being delivered Permalink | Email this...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Green , Mercedes-Benz , Volkswagen We knew last month that the Jetta TDI was qualified for the tax credit . Now, word is out that all of the new-generation clean diesels for Volkswagen (TDI) and Mercedes-Benz (Bluetec) will be joining the elite handful of vehicles that qualify for a federal alternative-powertrain tax credit. Formerly reserved for just hybrid vehicles, the diesels have been designated as advanced lean-burn-technology vehicles that meet the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit standards of the IRS. The credits vary based on the vehicle. In the case of Mercedes, the ML320 qualifies for $900 while the GL320 is good for $1,800. If diesel still isn't your thing, the IRS has also qualified several Ford hybrids as eligible too. Of those, the highest credit (a sweet $3,000) goes to those consumers who take home an Escape or Mariner two-wheel drive hybrid crossover. [Source: Automotive News , subs. req'd] Permalink |...
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Filed under: Convertibles , Volkswagen Click above for high-res gallery of the VW Golf VI With the next-generation Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit looming on the horizon, Wolfsburg is gearing up for an array of new derivatives. First came the report of the next GTI and R hot hatches and now it's confirmed that VW intends to produce a convertible variant as well. Positioned between the New Beetle convertible and the Eos, the Golf cabrio will feature a cloth top borrowed from the Audi A3 convertible. The Edscha-supplied collapsible roof mechanism should help VW get the new cabriolet to market in a cost-effective and timely manner, and reportedly preclude the need for a roll bar. Expect to see the Golf/Rabbit convertible, which will be made exclusively at Volkswagen's plants in Wolfsburg and Mosel, popping up on the market by 2010. Gallery: Volkswagen Golf VI [Source: Automotive News Europe - Sub. Req.] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Hatchbacks , Volkswagen Click above for high-res gallery of the VW Golf VI In what may be the least shocking news you will read today, Volkswagen will indeed be launching a revised GTI model shortly after its recently revealed sixth-generation Golf (or, Rabbit, as it's known in the U.S.) hits the market. According to Autocar , the next GTI will steer even closer to its original hot hatch mission, with VW reportedly giving the new model a "harder edge" than the current GTI. Underhood, at least in Europe, will be the same 2.0L TFSI engine that powers the base Audi A5, featuring Audi's valvelift technology that helps it offer up 208 hp at 4300 RPM and 258 lb-ft at 1500 RPM. That ought to make for a very spirited, though still relatively frugal ride. What may be even more interesting news, though, is the replacement for the R32 model. Volkswagen won't be keeping its narrow-angle V6 underhood any longer, instead opting for a high-boost 2.0L with 265 horses...
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