VW to Unveil New Experimental One-Seat Electric Car

[VW XL1 SEV Concept from 2011 Qatar Motor Show]

Less than 24 hours after Volkswagen lifted the wraps off the production version of the up! city car, we have news that the German company is planning to reveal a one-seat experimental electric vehicle on September 8 in Berlin, ahead of its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
VW’s chief of research, Juergen Leohold, told theThe Financial Times that the concept is designed for limited journeys, something that the company’s spokesperson, Ruth Holling, also confirmed today.
Although Leohold didn’t reveal the concept’s range or top speed, he did say that it would be “even better” than the XL1 SEV (Super Efficient Vehicle) diesel-electric plug-in hybrid (pictured above). And that’s quite an achievement, since the XL1’s average consumption was an extraordinary 261 mpg (0.9 lt/100 km).
The one-seat concept is just a showcase for VW’s future zero-emissions technology. However, the company has already confirmed that it will soon present an EV version of the Up! which, along with the electric version of the Golf, will be available to the US by 2013.
VW’s CEO, Martin Winterkorn, expects electric and hybrid vehicles to account for 3% of the company’s total sales by 2018. By then, Winterkorn has said Volkswagen aims to sell more than 10 million vehicles annually. If you do the math that comes out to 300,000 electric cars a year.

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GM is World’s Number One Automaker, Toyota Drops to 3rd Place

Well, it was almost certain to happen after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan causing multiple problems to the country's automotive industry. Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, saw its production drop by 23% to 3.37 million units for the first half of the year - and includes sales of Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles.
As a result, the Japanese company lost the title of the world’s largest automaker that it held since 2008 to General Motors, which saw its sales rise by 8.9% to 4.536 million units for the first six months of 2011. For the time being, second place goes to the Volkswagen Group which sold 4.13 million units worldwide.
Toyota has announced that its factories already operate at 90% of their capacity since June and expects production to fully recover by November. Moreover, it will produce an additional 350,000 units from October until next March to make up for the lost ground.
However, analysts like Carnorama’s Takeshi Miyao, don't believe that Toyota can recuperate quickly: “Even if it recovers production it will take another few more months for sales to recover too, as it takes time to deliver the cars to the dealers. Therefore, Toyota may even trail VW in the full year as well”.

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Man Sets Guinness World Record for Tightest Parallel Parking [Video]

Under the supervision of an official Guinness World Records [GWR] adjudicator, German driver Ronny Wechselberger, also known as "Ronny C-Rock" (be careful with the spelling here…), set a new record earlier this year for the world's tightest parallel parking.
Mr. C-Rock was able to slide his VW Polo with the help of the handbrake into a parking space measuring just 26 cm’s (10.24 inches) longer than that of his vehicle. Even though the record was set in April 2, 2011, the Guinness World Records officials released the video today.
However, Wechselberger's record breaking feat didn't last long as on July 21, Chinese driver Zhang Hua managed to squeeze a car into a space just 24cm longer than that of his vehicle. GWR said it will release the new video later in the year.

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VW Says “More Masculine” 2012 Beetle will Appeal to Men

Volkswagen is confident that a higher percentage of men as well as younger consumers will buy the 2012 Beetle compared to its predecessor when U.S. sales start in September.
VW of America’s Vice President of marketing and strategy Rainer Michel told Autonews that “a more masculine appearance, including a higher beltline, and 20 more horsepower for the base model, should do the trick”.
While female buyers accounted for more than 65% of the previous Beetle’s sales, Michel believes that the percentage for the all-new 2012 model will be split between the two sexes.
He also predicts that the new model will attract younger buyers as well and that the average age of Beetle owners will fall dramatically from 58 to 36 years old.
At launch the Beetle will be available in the US with two gasoline engines: a 2.5-liter 5-cylinder engine with 170HP and a turbocharged 4-cylinder with 200HP. Prices will start from $19,765 for the 2.5 and $24,165 for the turbo.
Next spring will see the addition of a diesel variant while Autonews reported that a convertible model will be launched in the summer further increasing the Beetle’s appeal.

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The Best Car Ad You’ll See Today

We’ve seen more car-related ads trying to capture our attention than we can remember, but very few actually manage to pull it off like the way the Brazilian division of the BBDO advertising agency did with its “Volkswagen Tiguan: Translator” commercial.

The TV ad was created to show off the SUV’shands free park assist system. Being that the whole point of this commercial is the element of surprise, we won’t spoil the ending by telling you what happens. Enjoy the clip after the break,

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2012 Volkswagen CrossPassat

Recent rumors have suggested that Volkswagen may introduce a high-riding, faux-crossoverVariant of its latest generation of the European market Passat, as early as at the forthcoming 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

And while we can’t confirm the rumormill, what we can do is show you a very well executed rendering of the VW Cross Passat made by a talented reader of Autoblog.nl.

The designer went for a similar look to VW’s other Cross models such as the Polo and Golf Plus editions, as well as the German car group's Skoda Octavia Scout, increasing the station wagon’s road clearance and adding a protective suite of plastic mouldings all around the lower part of the car’s body.

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Chinese Buyers Prefer European over Local Brands

Car buyers’ preferences in China are shifting towards European models and away from domestic and even Japanese vehicles, according to a new study published today by JD Power Asia Pacific. This is the third year that the study takes place.

The latest edition included 65 brands and 161 separate models in nine segments and is based on responses from 4,979 potential buyers of new-vehicles located in 53 cities.

JD Power said it examined pre-purchase perceptions amongst Chinese consumers who intend to buy a new car in the next 12 months. The results show that the percentage of potential new car buyers considering a model by a European carmaker has increased substantially, from 25% in 2009 to 32% in 2001.

The reasons cited are positive perceptions of safety and engine and transmission technology, as well as strong recommendations from friends and family for European cars.

On the other hand, consideration for models by Japanese carmakers has followed the opposite direction, dropping from 32% in 2009 to 27% this year. New car buyers said that they don’t have the same confidence in quality, reliability and dealer service, nor do they receive positive feedback from family and friends.

Domestic carmakers are also facing a decrease in car buyers’ preferences, from 26% in 2009 to 20% in 2011. Poor quality, negative reviews and a lack of recommendation from family and friends are cited as the main reasons.

The study also showed that brand awareness and perception differs according to location and plays a major role in considering a new model.

“Brand awareness does depend on location; for example, in the South region, Japanese brands have particularly high brand influence due to their long tenure there,” said Dr. Mei Songlin, general manager of research at J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Shanghai.

Models with the highest levels of consideration in each segment:

• Compact segment: BYD F0 and Chery QQ3
• Premium compact segment: Chevrolet Sail
• Entry midsize segment: Volkswagen Polo
• Midsize segment: Chevrolet Cruze
• Lower premium midsize segment: BYD F6
• Upper premium midsize segment: Honda Accord
• Luxury segment: Audi A4L
• SUV segment: Volkswagen Tiguan
• MPV segment: Buick GL8

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VW Record First Half Year Car Sales with More than 2.5 Million Units

Volkswagen announced today that it set a first half-year record in passenger car sales, with more than 2.5 vehicles delivered globally. This represents an increase of 11.8% compared to the same period of 2010 (2.26 million).

“The positive trend for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand in the first half of the year is very encouraging,” said Christian Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand. “It would be a major success if we could keep up this momentum during the second six months”.

VW more than doubled its sales in Russia with 45,500 units compared to 22,400 in 2010. It also increased its deliveries in Central and Eastern Europe by 42.2% and by 16.4% in the Asia-Pacific region, with China being the biggest market with 852,800 units sold (+12.9%).

In North America, the German brand sold 237,700 cars representing a 21.8% increase over the same period in 2010.

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Siemoneit Racing’s VW Golf R Black Pearl

While VW’s 270-horsepower Golf R hatchback is hardly underpowered, the engineers over at the German tuning firm Siemoneit Racing felt like it could use some extra ponies.

Siemoneit Racing calls its tuned VW Golf R the ‘Black Pearl’for obvious reasons- and it offers customers a choice of two performance packages. The first boosts the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine’s output from 270HP and 320Nm to 355-horses and 485Nm (357.7 lb-ft) through thanks to the updated ECU software, custom exhaust and a new air intake system.

The second and more comprehensive package transforms the Golf R into a 530-horsepower monster by further tweaking the engine software, and adding a larger turbocharger, a new intercooler and a different exhaust system.

Other available options include a lightweight hood made out of carbon fiber.

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ABT Kicks Off 2012 VW Beetle Tuning Party

The 2012 VW Beetle tuning wars have began. Leaving aside the Beetle RS project with some very light styling modifications by the enthusiast website VWVortex that we showed you back in June, ABT Sportsline is the first mainstream tuning firm to take on the all-new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle, or as the company likes to call it, the Speedle.

The noted VW Group tuner said it is still working on the performance upgrades for the latest Beetle, which won’t arrive in customer hands until September, but it can give us an idea of what to expect based on its current offerings.

ABT will offer performance kits for the entire engine lineup in Europe with the modified 1.2 TSI petrol estimated to deliver around 140HP, up from 105HP, the 1.4 TSI petrol about 210HP, up from 160HP, while the flagship 2.0 TSI petrol is said to produce close to 240HP, up from the factory model’s 200HP.

As for the diesel engines, ABT said the tweaked 1.6 TDI will churn out 125HP instead of 105HP, and the 2.0 TDI 170HP instead of 140HP.

A lowered sport suspension and a variety of alloy wheel options including a set of 19-inch rims shown on the car in the pictures will also be available.

On the outside, ABT is preparing several packages such as an aero kit comprising of a front spoiler, a rear apron incorporating a diffuser, a large rear wing and side skirts along with unique tail pipes, special paint jobs, headlamps and tail light covers, and carbon fiber accessories.

More detailed information on ABT’s offerings for the new 2012 VW Beetle will be released at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

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VW Fields a Trio of 450-hp Golfs for the Nurburgring 24h

Volkswagen will participate with three 450-hp Golf24 cars in one of the most grueling endurance races in the world, the famed 24 hours of Nurburgring that will take place this weekend at the renowned German circuit.
The event, in which more than 200 contenders will participate, coincides with the 35fth anniversary of the Golf GTI (of which VW has created a special edition), and Volkswagen Motosport has developed a pure racing version.
The Golf24 is powered by a turbocharged 5-cylinder 2.5-litre engine sourced from the Audi TTRS and RS3 models and features four-wheel drive and a sequential 6-speed gearbox. However, the three uber-Golfs won’t be the only VW entries in the race, as the company will also field two Scirocco 24 CNGs.
Interestingly, one of the two 330-hp bio-gas powered Sciroccos will be driven by the winners of the Dakar race for the past three years, namely Nasser Al-Attiya, Carlos Sainz and Giniel de Villiers.

The Volkswagen driver line-up for the 2011 Nürburgring 24-hour race:
#35 – Golf24 – white / red
Peter Terting (D) / Nicki Thiim (DK) / Franck Mailleux (F) / René Rast (D)
#135 – Golf24 – white / blue
Thomas Mutsch (D) / Fredrik Ekblom (S) / Patrick Simon (D) / Edoardo Mortara (I)
#235 – Golf24 – white / yellow
Johnny Herbert (GB) / Patrick Bernhardt(D) / Mark Blundell (GB) / René Rast (D)
#116 – Scirocco GT24-CNG – blue / silver
Dr Ulrich Hackenberg (D) / Vanina Ickx (B) / Peter Wyss (CH) / Bernd Ostmann (D)
#117 – Scirocco GT24-CNG – blue / orange
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q) / Carlos Sainz (E) / Giniel de Villiers (ZA) / Klaus Niedzwiedz (D)

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Volkswagen New Beetle With Black Turbo Launch Edition

The upcοming 2012 Volkswagen Beetle is being billed as a substantial departure frοm the cutesy car it replaces. And if yοu have been waiting fοr your chance tο put your name down fοr one οf the first examples tο hit the road, here it is. Called the Black Turbο Launch Edition, this limited-run Vοlkswagen will represent the first 600 examples οf the new Beetle tο hit American dealerships.

Packing a 200-hοrsepower 2.0-liter TSI inline-fοur with dual-clutch transmission, the launch edition is distinguished by such tοuches as 18-inch allοys packing upsized brakes with red calipers, a rear spoiler, fοglights, and includes an interior bundled with tri-cοlοr ambient lighting, Bluetooth and iPod cοnnection, eight-speaker sοund system, an extra glovebox, aluminum-allοy pedals and sport seats upholstered in clοth.

The special Beetle is the first mοdel tο use Volkswagen's new Vehicle Pre-Order (VPO) prοgram, available for pre-οrder online now fοr a $495 refundable reservation fee that will be applied tο the purchase price οf $24,950, plus a $770 destination charge.

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