Car Automotive and Design

Showing posts with label VW. Show all posts

VW to Hire 800 New Workers at its Chattanooga Plant to Meet Growing Demand for Passat

Business is going good for Volkswagen and its new Tennessee manufacturing facility, which builds the North American Passat. The company today announced that it would be adding 800 new jobs at the factory to meet rising customer demand for the mid-size sedan model.

This latest move comes on top of a previous announcement this year of 200 additional jobs at the Chattanooga plant, bringing the total new jobs in 2012 to 1,000 and the total workforce to 3,500 by year-end.

Volkswagen to Test a Fleet of Pure-Electric E-Golf Prototypes in the USA

It's no secret that Volkswagen is developing an all-electric version of the Golf as the automaker itself has confirmed that a production model based on the soon-to-be revealed Golf Mk7 is scheduled for an introduction sometime next year.

In the meantime, the German brand continues to evaluate the car's electric drivetrain on a fleet of prototypes based on the five-door version of the current Golf.

Today, Volkswagen announced that it will begin a pilot scheme to assess 20 prototype E-Golf Battery Electric Vehicles over a nine-month period in the States. The company said that twelve of these vehicles will be given for evaluation purposes to select Volkswagen employees.

VW Reportedly Developing a Smaller CC Model Based on the Next Jetta

A four-door sedan is a four-door sedan regardless of the height and styling of the roof but automakers had to find some way to market their sportier looking saloons so they coined the somewhat ambiguous term "four-door coupe".

Among the many cars to sprout from this sub-segment are Audi's A5 and A7 Sportback models, BMW’s 6-Series Gran Coupe and of course, the founding Mercedes-Benz CLS.

In all cases, form takes priority over function as these saloons are merely more stylish and more often than not, less spacious and practical versions of the regular four-door models they are based on.

VW was the first mainstream manufacturer to introduce a four-door coupe with the Passat CC, which after its recent facelift, goes by the name of CC. Now the German carmaker plans to add a second, smaller model to its line-up of sporty sedans.

Volkswagen Releases Pricing for UK Market Passat Alltrack

The new Volkswagen Passat Alltrack is now available for order in Britain with the first cars arriving in dealer lots on May 28. The high-riding, crossover version of the Passat Estate is offered in one trim level and a choice of two diesel engines, both of which are equipped with VW's 4MOTION four-wheel drive system as standard.

The base model is powered by a 2.0-liter TDI producing 138bhp (140PS) linked to a 6-speed manual gearbox and is priced at £28,475. It returns a combined fuel economy of 49.6mpg UK (41.3mpg US or 5.7lt/100km) with CO2 emissions of 150g/km.

Volkswagen Up! for Sale in Britain, Starts from £7,995

After announcing preliminary prices for the Up! back in October of 2011, the most compact of Volkswagen models is now in UK showrooms. On the road prices for the three-door Up! start from £7,995 for the entry level model and rise to £11,180.

Buyers can choose from two 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine options producing 59bhp (60PS) and 74bhp (75PS) as well as a more fuel efficient 59bhp BlueMotion Technology version.

CFC Adds a Lot of Ponies and Even More Color to the Volkswagen Golf GTI

German tuners were never shy to experiment with strange color combinations, even though most of the times, the results are questionable, to say the least.

CFC, which is short for Car Film Components, is a German firm that specializes on vinyl wraps but it also offers complete tunes. In its latest project, CFC has reworked a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

The hatchback's body is covered in a matte grey vinyl wrap, with the roof and the exterior mirror caps finished in carbon fiber, and the passenger side front fender, the GTI logos, the fuel cap and the inner part of the lower front grille featuring a comic strip-like wrap.

VW CEO Almost Doubles his Pay to $23 Million in 2011 after the Group Sets Record Sales and Profits

Saying that 2011 has been a very good year for the VW Group would be an understatement of huge proportions. Almost as huge as the 8.36 million sales the German group recorded in its best-ever year.

Naturally, the man running the show should get a handsome award for this success, which brought its company to second place overall in worldwide sales.

According to VW's annual report, VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn earned €17.5 million (US$23 million) in salary, bonuses and profit incentives. That’s almost double the €9.3 million (US$12.2 million) he got in 2010, and according to Reuters, the higher payment for a CEO of any German company listed on the DAX index.

1964 Volkswagen Hippie Bus is a Blast from the Past

You may know it by different names such as the Type 2, Transporter, Bulli, Kombi and Hippie bus, but Volkswagen's classic van is one vehicle that you will never confuse with something else.

Found for sale on eBay is a meticulously restored example of the Volkswagen Dormobile Kombi Deluxe Model Micro Split Window Screen Bus (try saying that twice) from 1964.

Volkswagen Blows the Top off the New Golf GTI Cabriolet in Geneva [Video]

Unless Volkswagen has another production surprise under its sleeves (think Golf R Cabriolet), then the new open-top Golf GTI that made its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show could very well be the last hurray in the Mk6 series before the Germans reveal the seventh generation model at the Paris Motor Show this fall.

The first ever GTI Cabriolet in the history of the Golf features the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine as its famous hatchback brethren producing 210PS (207hp) and a peak torque of 280Nm (206 lb-ft).

Volkswagen Amarok Canyon Concept Shapes up for Extreme Sports

The Volkswagen brand's commercial division is represented at the 2012 Geneva Auto Salon with a new concept version of the Amarok pickup truck named Canyon that has been configured for those that compete in the extreme sport of ‘freestyle kayaking’.

The two carbon fibre kayaks are mounted to the cargo floor while the paddles are latched on the inside surface of the tailgate.

New VW Polo Blue GT with Cylinder Deactivation System is Fast and Frugal

VW’s “Blue” moniker is applied to the firm's most fuel-efficient models. The new Polo Blue GT that made its debut today at the 82nd Geneva Motor Show, however, manages to combine both low fuel consumption and close to GTi levels of performance – hence the GT in its designation.

Designed to fill the gap between the 1.2 TSI and GTI versions, the Polo Blue GT is powered by a new 1.4-liter TFSI gasoline engine that has an output of 140PS (138HP).

Volkswagen Cross Coupé Concept Take Two at the Geneva Motor Show

If Volkswagen's Cross Coupé Concept looks familiar, that's because we saw it at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show last autumn. So are we going to see the same study at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show? The answer is yes and no.

For starters, the Geneva concept gets a two-tone red and silver exterior paint work but it's what's hiding under the hood that justifies its existence.

Whereas the Cross Coupé shown in Tokyo features a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid system the newer versions replaces the TSI gasoline engine with an even more frugal turbodiesel four-cylinder unit with direct injection.

How to Remove the Engine from Your Car in 5 Seconds

Who knows why some people do the things that they do, but luckily for us, there's YouTube just in case something does happen.

Discovered by the chaps over at Jalopnik is this video footage of a group of people laughing and rubbernecking at a driver in an older generation Volkswagen Golf with its engine chained to a tree. Fun times indeed.

Do we really need to tell you what happens next? Watch the clip after the jump and if you figure out where it took place, leaves us a comment.

CPT's LC Super Hybrid Volkswagen Passat to Debut at the Geneva Motor Show

Zero emission vehicles are as "green" as you can get, but fuel cells are still a long way from mass production and EVs' limited range and high prices are a deterrent for a large percentage of new car buyers. Hybrids, while more affordable, still command a higher price than regular models.

And here's where UK-based Controlled Power Technologies (CPT) and U.S. Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) come into the picture.

The two companies have teamed up to develop the LC Super Hybrid, which is a new technology that promises to lower a gasoline engine’s consumption to levels comparable to a diesel, but at a much lower cost that a traditional hybrid.

It's a Swiss Thing: Volkswagen Prepares Four New Concepts of the Up! for the Geneva Salon

Joining the new Golf GTI Cabrio and the Polo GT Blue at Volkswagen's Geneva Motor Show booth next week will be four specially themed concept versions of the Up! city car called the Swiss Up, Winter Up!, X Up! and Cargo Up!.

Though you may have a hard time figuring it out just by looking at it, the Swiss Up! pays tribute to the hosts of the motor show. It supposedly does so by adopting the basic red color of the Swiss flag in its ‘tornado red’ exterior paint together with white ‘porcelain paint’ accents on the door mirror housings and wheel caps.

MTM's Colorful Geneva Motor Show Debuts Include 306hp Audi Q3 and $215k, 466hp VW T5

German-based tuning company MTM has shared photos and details of the vehicles it plans to debut at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon in a just a few days' time.

We'll start with the Audi Q3 crossover with the 2.0-liter TFSI engine. MTM's tune includes a power kit that lifts output from 170PS (168hp) to 310PS (307hp) allowing for the improvement of its 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time by two seconds to 6.1 seconds, its top speed from 212km/h (132mph) to 250km/h (155mph).

The tuning house also adds a custom exhaust kit, a rear diffuser, a sports suspension kit, 20-inch Bimoto lightweight alloy wheels shod in 255/35 ZR20 tires and the optional black-red-gold foil wrap seen on this car.

Volkswagen Whisks the Covers Off the New Golf GTI Cabriolet

With each passing day, we are edging closer to the 82nd Geneva Motor Show premiere on March 6 and more models are coming out in the open.

One such case is the Volkswagen Golf GTI Cabriolet. Just yesterday, we received word that the production version of concept model shown at last year's Wörthersee meeting in Austria will be displayed at VW’s 2012 Geneva motor show stand, and today we have the first official details and images of the car.

New VW Golf GTI Cabriolet and Polo GT Blue Confirmed for the Geneva Motor Show

We heard earlier this month that Volkswagen might introduce the production version of its Golf GTI Cabriolet at the 82nd Geneva International Auto Salon.

Carscoop can now confirm the news and add that the German company will also premiere another new model, the Polo GT Blue fitted with VW's new 1.4 TSI with a cylinder deactivation system.

The Golf GTI Cabriolet was previewed as a thinly disguised concept model at last year's Wörthersee fest in Austria, alongside the Golf R Cabrio study .

SPIED: 2013 Volkswagen Golf Mk7 Shows Up with a Three-Door Body Style

The seventh generation of the Volkswagen Golf is on its way with the world premiere planned for the Paris Auto Show in the fall of this year. But you already know about that.

Chances are you are also aware about the fact that it will be the second VW Group model after the upcoming Audi A3 to make use of the company's highly flexible and more lightweight or MQB platform, as well as a new version of the 1.4-liter TSI petrol engine with a cylinder deactivation system to further improve fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

Blog Archive