A 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE with the six-speed manual has just set the record for maximum range on one tank of fuel with an astounding run of 1,626 miles. The Passat with the 6MT is officially rated by the EPA at 43 mpg highway, 31 city and 35 combined and has an 18.5 gallon fuel tank. Estimated highway range for the Passat is 795.5 miles.
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Categories: Diesels,Volkswagen
Certain manufacturers love the idea of getting cozy with the youth market. They chase teens and twenty-somethings by turning out models with trick sound systems and loads of customization options, with the thinking being that the younger buyer can be defined by his love for a great stereo and a highly personalized ride.
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Categories: Dodge,Honda,Jeep,Kia,MINI,Mazda,Mitsubishi,Nissan,Subaru,Volkswagen
One factor that's influential in determining whether a model is one that dealers won't be able to keep in stock on the lot is, of course, demand. If buyers are lining up 'round the block to get their hands on a certain model, this frenzied enthusiasm will likely have an impact on inventory levels.
The other factor concerns supply. Brand-new models frequently make the list of quickest-selling vehicles because with these models, manufacturers often choose a cautious approach when it comes to supply; production is grown slowly and carefully with the intention of making sure that the products aren't plagued with glitches.
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Categories: Audi,BMW,Honda,Hyundai,Kia,Land Rover,Lexus,Mazda,Subaru,Toyota,Volkswagen
Really, the electric car isn't the future anymore. It doesn't smell like an electrical fire. It doesn't make you think of a golf cart with headlights. It's just a car.
The latest proof of concept has come with a short drive in the Volkswagen E-Golf, one of a fleet of 80 built on the last-generation Golf platform that were tested in Germany last summer and now have moved on to new test fleets in Austria, Belgium, France and the U.S.
When we visited San Francisco to drive the 2012 VW Golf R, a gaggle of Volkswagen E-Golfs had been parked in front of the VW Group's Electronic Research Laboratory in Belmont, California. It represented a good bit of the small fleet of 20 cars that Volkswagen will be testing in the U.S. over the next year, 12 of them in the hands of VW employees. Later in the day we managed to get behind the wheel of one for a few miles.
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Categories: Car Tech,Electric Vehicles,Future Vehicles,Volkswagen
A redesign of the Volkswagen GTI could come as soon as the 2014 model year. The current version is expensive for VW to build (and it feels expensive when you drive it, non-defeat stability control notwithstanding), and the company is looking to reduce cost by moving it and the rest of the Golf family to the MQB platform architecture.
The upshot is that, in our opinion, now's the time to buy this bargain-priced luxury hatch, especially since the 2013 model year will bring a new set of wheels... ostensibly off the Europe-only Edition 35 (above).
An apparent VW salesperson has posted MY2013 changes, and it looks like the middle trim levels will get that special-edition model's 18-inch "Watkins Glen" wheels. Base GTIs will continue on with the flashy "Detroit" 18s that we're getting a little tired of, while the Autobahn will keep its exclusive "Serron" wheels. Nothing's officially confirmed, of course.
(Ask a VW Sales Guy)
Categories: Future Vehicles,Hatchbacks,Volkswagen
Yes, those always benevolent blokes at Chevrolet are lending a helping hand to their competitors from Germany. With the arrival of the Chevrolet Cruze diesel on the horizon, Chevy has started a campaign to educate consumers about the benefits of burning oil.
As you can see, diesels are no longer smelly, dirty beasts that don't start in the winter. They're more refined and powerful than ever. Efficient too.
There's only one problem: The Chevy Cruze diesel doesn't arrive until next year.
Until then, Volkswagen will be happy to sell you a Jetta TDI, or a Golf TDI or a Passat TDI. You get the picture.
Categories: Chevrolet,Diesels,Volkswagen
Ward's Auto -- famed for their 10 Best Engines list -- has, for the second year in a row, compiled a 10 Best Interiors list. Ward's staff decided the award by "applying the same proven model used to select Ward's 10 Best Engines."
The field consisted of 40 vehicles with "new or significantly improved interiors" and the winners are...
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Categories: Audi,Chevrolet,Chrysler,Dodge,Hyundai,Infiniti,Land Rover,Mazda,Volkswagen
Volkswagen has just launched the "Golf R Ultimate Fan Experience Sweepstakes" with the intention of sending one lucky fan to Germany for a seven-day VW-athon.
"The Golf R has an incredibly loyal following of fans," said VW Group of American President Jonathan Browning, "and this is a way for Volkswagen to say 'thank you' for their passion and enthusiasm. We are delighted to reward one lucky Golf R fan with the ultimate enthusiast travel experience, including an adrenaline-pumping driving experience on a legendary track."
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Categories: Miscellaneous,Videos,Volkswagen
The keys to the 2012 Volkswagen Golf R came to me while I was standing around with the VW guys under the redwoods on top of the San Francisco Peninsula. There were two choices.
Go down the hill toward the bay and take the fast way home on the freeway. Or go down the hill toward the ocean and straggle back to L.A. all the way on CA Highway 1, which definitely would be the long way home.
The Golf R has a turbocharged, direct-injected 256-hp engine, a close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox, all-wheel-drive, and an upgraded suspension with 18-inch tires. Really, what choice was there?
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Categories: Hatchbacks,Road Trips,Volkswagen
Yup, the dyno rollers, they just keep a-turnin'.
Immediately after wrestling the 2012 Mclaren MP4-12C to the ground, we turned our attention to the car you see here, the 2013 Scion FR-S.
Although it costs nearly one-tenth the price of the quarter-million dollar British supercar, the Scion FR-S arguably carries more significance to the automotive landscape. It marks the return of the tin-top sports car to the common man.
And InsideLine.com is the first to dyno-test it. Our findings are across the jump.
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Categories: Car Tech,Coupes,Hatchbacks,Scion,Sports Cars,Volkswagen
In addition to confirming timing for the Beetle Convertible, Volkswagen of America chief Jonathan Browning talked about the future product plan for North America. Although the Golf will be the first U.S.-bound VW to use the new MQB platform architecture, Browning regards the Tiguan as a more important vehicle for the U.S. First, though, the price will have to come down.
"We need to follow a philosophy that we had with the [2012] Passat of taking it from a more rarefied position within the segment right into the heart of the segment," he told media assembled for a roundtable. "It isn't as big of an adjustment as we needed to make with the Passat, but nevertheless an opportunity to cover more of the segment in terms of content, pricing and powertrains.
"I actually think the Tiguan is a very big opportunity for the VW brand here. And the way I position it with our colleagues in Europe is if you think of what Golf represents in Europe, Tiguan could represent for us in the U.S." (VW sold 25,990 Tiguans in the U.S. in 2011.)
Diesel also needs to happen in the Tiguan, he said.
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Categories: Crossovers,Diesels,Future Vehicles,New York Auto Show,SUVs,Volkswagen
During a roundtable with media at the 2012 New York Auto Show, Jonathan Browning, president of Volkswagen of America, confirmed that the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible will go on sale in the U.S. in early 2013.
And sure enough, the 2.0-liter TDI engine will be optional on the drop-top Beetle -- which right away is an upgrade over the old Beetle convertible. The diesel engine is, of course, coming to the hardtop Beetle this summer. That is all.
Categories: Convertibles,Future Vehicles,New York Auto Show,Volkswagen
Back in the beginning of March, I attended the BF Goodrich Awesomecross event, a night autocross with reactive lights that were hooked up to all sorts of car and driver telemetry. It was all to promote the company's latest high-performance tire, the g-Force Sport COMP-2. I previously posted an in-car video and behind-the-scenes piece as I eagerly anticipated the full video. True to their word, BF Goodrich sent me the final videos. Enjoy them after the jump.
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Categories: Ford,Subaru,Videos,Volkswagen
Around the time the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack production car made its world debut in Tokyo, we asked you, "Would the VW Passat Alltrack Work in the U.S.?"
Now, Volkswagen itself is asking you the same question. A "concept" version of this Outback-style Passat wagon (it has slightly raised suspension like the Audi A4 Allroad, which is a go for the U.S.) is headed to the 2012 New York Auto Show. The concept Passat Alltrack wagon will feature the 2.0 TDI powerplant, a 6-speed, dual-clutch DSG automated manual transmission and all-wheel drive.
"Currently, there are no plans to bring this vehicle to market in the U.S., but the concept is set to gauge market reaction to a potential future model that is similarly sized and combines offroad ability with wagon versatility," says the VW press release.
This is kind of a big deal if you like wagons, we say, because there is no Passat wagon sold in the United States right now, as the Chattanooga, TN, plant only builds the North America-spec Passat sedan. Mind you, we could do without the off-road ability, but we'll take a Passat wagon however we can get it. You?
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Categories: New York Auto Show,Volkswagen,Wagons
53-year old Jost Capito has just left his job as director of Global Performance Vehicles at Ford to take the head job at Volkswagen Motorsports starting on May 1.
Jost has a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Munich Technical University and has an extensive motorsports background that includes stints with Porsche Motorsport (heading the Carrera Cup organization), Sauber Petronas Engineering, Red Bull Sauber F1 and a truck-class win in the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1985. Capito started with Ford in 2001 where he worked on product and motorsports strategy.
Looks like we'll see more all- Volkswagen racing in our future. GTI Cup Series sounds fun.
At Volkswagen, Capito replaces Kris Nissen who will "assist the Group in an advisory capacity." No word who will replace Capito at Ford, but those are big shoes to fill. Good luck.
Categories: Auto Industry,Ford,Volkswagen
What do women look for in a new car? It can be a perplexing thing to try and determine. Of course, generally speaking, they want the same things that men want -- a vehicle that's a match for their budget and lifestyle. But in practice, there are certain models that seem to appeal primarily to members of the fairer sex.
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Categories: Honda,Hyundai,Jeep,Nissan,Toyota,Volkswagen,Volvo
Every week, Edmunds Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell writes a column in our Industry Center called Drive by Numbers. I'll let her explain, "At Edmunds.com, we see a ton of data. Resisting the allure of California sunshine, my group sits dutifully at our desks shuffling through hundreds of megabytes of information daily - some from actual transactions records, some from our website traffic, and some from other great sources on the web. We're constantly asked if there's anything interesting we're looking at, and it's always an easy question to answer as we see interesting things daily sometimes hourly. So, while I can't possibly discuss everything I've found interesting, I can share a few numbers that have caught my eye this week."
This week Jessica recounts her trip to Germany where she attended Volkswagen's 2011 Financial conference and had one of the 4,000,000 currywursts made by VWs in-house butcher. Hey, we didn't say what kind of numbers she'd find interesting...
Check it out at Drive by the Numbers.
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Categories: Auto Industry,Volkswagen
At the 2012 Geneva Auto Show, Volkswagen conjured up another derivative of its Cross Coupe plug-in hybrid concept - this one with a clean diesel engine. In addition to the TDI engine, the latest version of the Cross Coupe features a pair of electric motors, one at the front and one in the rear.
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Categories: Geneva Motor Show,Hybrids,SUVs,Videos,Volkswagen
Volkswagen called out a team of rollerskaters in driving suits to help with the unveiling of the Polo BlueGT at the Geneva auto show. Why rollerskaters? Well, because VW Group executives enjoy them.
The VW Polo hasn't gotten any more available to the U.S. market in BlueGT trim -- we don't expect U.S. imports to happen anytime before this car moves to the new MQB platform architecture, which will bring down costs and make it possible for Volkswagen not to lose money on the U.S.-spec car.
However, the Polo BlueGT previews a new engine that will be used in the MQB cars. It's part of the new EA211 family of three- and four-cylinders. This twin-charged (super + turbo), direct-injected, 1.4-liter TSI inline four-cylinder features cylinder deactivation on cylinders 2 and 3, effectively allowing it to function as a two-cylinder in low-load situations and substantially cutting fuel consumption on the European test cycle. Said low-load situations involve light throttle application at engine speeds of 1,250-4,000 rpm. (Jay Kavanagh sampled a version of this engine without cylinder deactivation in the Jetta Hybrid.)
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Categories: Geneva Motor Show,Hatchbacks,Volkswagen
You can sell a convertible version of pretty much anything in Europe, so frankly, we're surprised it took Volkswagen this long to come out with a cabriolet body style for the MkVI GTI (though, yes, of course, there's already a Golf Cabriolet). The Golf GTI Cabriolet goes on sale this spring in Europe, and there's about zero percent chance of it coming to the U.S.
Still, the existence of this car begs the question, would you rather have the GTI Cabriolet, the next Beetle convertible or an Eos?
If it makes a difference, VW officials advise that "ladies would have trouble if you really step on the throttle in the GTI Cabriolet." You know, because the ladies have the long, beautiful locks, and yes, they really said that today during the Geneva auto show press conference -- at least that's how it came through over our headset in the English translation from the German.
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Categories: Convertibles,Geneva Motor Show,Volkswagen
