Volkswagen
VW Denounces New CAFE Regulations, Claims They’re Biased Towards Large Trucks
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Most automakers have gotten in line with the White House and accepted (even welcomed) the new CAFE regulations. Not Volkswagen. In fact, they criticize the new CAFE standards as being biased towards trucks—which of course, they don’t build. The proposal “places an unfairly high burden on passenger cars, while allowing special compliance flexibility for heavier…
Traffic Camera Enters Law-Abiding Drivers Into Lottery [Video]
From the “Too Brilliant To Be True” Files comes this idea: a traffic camera that monitors drivers who obey the speed limit, and rewards them by entering them into a lottery. For cash prizes. The speed camera lottery photographs the license plates of passing drivers, then either issues them a citation or enters them into…
Sergio Marchionne Has Bold Plans For Maserati’s Global Sales
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has ambitious plans for the Maserati, specifically to drastically improve sales almost tenfold from last years 5,675 units sold to 50,000. Marchionne believes this is attainable through three new Maserati models, all based on systems and components from Chrysler Group. Maserati will introduce two sedans and an SUV with technology from…
White House Pushes For Quick CAFE Approval
The White House announced earlier that it would be lowering its CAFE standard from 56.5 MPG to 54. The proposal, however, won’t be finalized until Friday—and until then, the White House is looking towards automakers to approve the change. Automakers have yet to officially endorse the new limits, but many are expected to favor any CAFE…
Kate Middleton’s VW Golf Sells For $78,383
Kate Middleton’s 2001 Volkswagen Golf with 62,000 miles on it, sold for a whopping $74,500 as the Sunday bidding closed on the eBay auction site. Five bidders fought over the Golf for the last 10 days, and ten minutes before the end of the auction, one person shelled out 48,100 pounds ( $78,383 USD) for…
GM CEO Confirms Chevy Cruze Diesel Version In U.S
General Motors has officially confirmed that there will be a diesel version of the Chevrolet Cruze compact car in the U.S, planned for introduction in 2013. The current Chevrolet Cruze Eco is rated at around 40 mpg on the highway, so the diesel would have to deliver significantly better fuel efficiency than that to justify…
2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Sets New Record On World’s Longest Highway
On July 13, Rainer Zietlow and his team set a new world record for driving the length of the Pan-American Highway covering nearly 16,000 miles through 14 countries in a 2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel SUV. The team set off on this journey to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the legendary Pan-American Highway. The team began…
Volkswagen Up! Released Schedule Leaked; Official Debut in August
Important dates for the release of the Volkswagen Up! models have been leaked. The highly anticipated city vehicle will have its world premiere on August 22 in Paris. Following the premiere, the Up! vehicle will be present at the Frankfurt auto show in September 2011, and the official release for the 3-door hatchback is scheduled…
Next Volkswagen GTI Details Emerged
The Volkswagen Golf GTI is the original hot-hatchback. While many have followed this recipe of putting a tuned engine in a practical hatchback, thanks to its ever evolving state, the GTI is still on the scene and getting faster and faster. Now news from Europe suggests that the next generation GTI will just get a…
Bentley Confirms Luxury SUV in the Works
A Bentley SUV? How uncouth! But damn the recession, luxury SUVs are still the rage—and word from Bentley’s chief executive says a baller Bentley is all part of the package. Being part of the Volkswagen umbrella, after all, doesn’t render this news surprising. The Bentley SUV would ride on the same platform as the Touareg,…
Partnership Between Volkswagen And Suzuki Goes Sour
In 2009, Volkswagen, in its ever growing quest to become the largest automaker in the world, bought 20% of Suzuki for $2.5-billion. The partnership would have given VW insight into Suzuki’s small-car technology, a segment the Japanese auto-maker is very successful at in Japan. Suzuki on the other hand would have gained valuable knowledge on…
Volkswagen Passat Wagon Won’t Be Coming To North America
Volkswagen of America does not have plans to offer the Passat Wagon in North America. Despite reports of the Passat wagon undergoing testing in the U.S, the vehicle was never intended to be sold here. Part of the problem is that wagons have lost substantial market share with the advent of crossovers. Volvo, which has…
2012 Volkswagen Beetle Price: Starting from $18,995
Volkswagen‘s update to the Beetle has been well received, and now there are some pricing figures to go along with it. For its initial launch, the 2012 Beetle will come with two powertrain choices, a 2.5L five-cylinder with a six-speed automatic, or a 2.0L TSI turbocharged four-cylinder with a DSG six-speed dual-clutch automatic. Manual transmissions…
2012 Volkswagon CrossPassat Rendered
A possible accurate rendering has been drafted of what the Volkswagen CrossPassat may look like. The wagon is expected to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show, accented by plastic body cladding, an increased ride height and standard all wheel drive. The engine will likely be carried over from the standard Passat so expect to…
Kate Middleton’s 2001 VW Golf For Sale On eBay
You couldn’t ask for a better time to sell Kate Middleton’s car than right now, just after her royal wedding. The current owner of the indigo blue, three-door 2001 Volkswagen Golf, Sonny Brazil, who lives close to the Middleton’s home in Berkshire, England is auctioning off the car via Ebay. Brazil, 21, bought the car…
Volkswagen And Ford Top Strategic Quality Survey
VW’s position was lead by the results from Golf, Jetta and Tiguan owners and although Jetta drivers reported a higher number of industry problems than average (30 percent versus 22), very few were labeled as serious issues. Furthermore, VW owners attracted the highest level of ‘love’ for their vehicles.
GM Calls Volkswagen’s Opel-Selling Comments “Regrettable”
Well, this is awkward. Volkswagen said some while back that GM might be selling Opel, possibly to them. It was a statement made by a chief executive, then repeated by German media, then finally catching the attention of GM itself. And now GM is distancing itself from such rumors, calling the statement “regrettable.” “In Wednesday’s…
German State Aid to BMW and Volkswagen Under Investigation
In the case of Volkswagen, a grant of some EUR 83.7 million aimed at that company’s manufacturing facility in Zwickau, is under scrutiny.
Youngest Car Buyers Seek Out Foreign Brands
Toyota’s youth-oriented Scion brand had the biggest penetration among Gen Y car buyers, some 21.2 percent, followed by Mitsubishi, Mazda, Nissan, Volkswagen and Kia.
Volkswagen Golf R Set For U.S Debut Early In 2012
The eagerly anticipated high performance Volkswagen Golf R has been confirmed for sale in the U.S in early 2012. With the cancellation of the GTI Edition 35, and the outgoing R32 beast, VDub enthusiasts will be extremely pleased to know that a hot-hatch version of the Golf is coming. Volkswagen’s product and technology communications manager Mark Gillies…
European Union Courts Deny Audi’s Trademark of TDI
Turbocharged direct injection, or TDI for short, has become synonymous with Volkswagen and Audi models over the recent decade. So much so that in many countries, TDI is a registered trademark of Volkswagen AG. Unfortunately that won’t be the case in their own home territory, as the European Union courts has denied Audi (and subsequently…
BMW Tops 6 Million ‘Likes’ On Facebook, Retains Significant Lead Over Competitors
There are approximately 500 million people of Facebook and BMW has used this to their advantage. Just over 6 million people ‘Like’ the BMW brand, holding first place of the Top 10 most liked automotive companies. This means that over 1 percent of Facebook users enjoy the BMW brand. The next closest rival was Audi…
VW Golf Twin Drive Plug-In Hybrid Prototype Begins Testing Ahead of 2013 Launch
Volkswagen has unveiled its latest Golf Twin Drive plug-in hybrid prototype. This vehicle is a more refined and updated version of the Golf Twin Drive hatchback released in 2008. It has an electric-range of 35 miles and will use a direct-injected 1.4-liter gasoline engine that can achieve 559 miles. The electric traction motor cranks out…
ABT Sportsline Builds Speedle, A Rad Volkswagen Beetle
Famed tuner ABT Sportsline has now taken their turn with the new Volkswagen Beetle, putting plenty of blood, sweat and tears into refining the fun automobile. As the world’s largest tuner of Volkswagens, it’s natural to see ABT Sportsline adding some spice to the agile and fun Beetle, which ABT has nicknamed Speedle. Unfortunately exact…
