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Filed under: Earnings/Financials , GM , Toyota , Volkswagen Scandal isn't affecting VW's overall numbers. Continue reading What scandal? VW tops Toyota as world's largest automaker What scandal? VW tops Toyota as world's largest automaker originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Jul 2016 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2afu6uA

Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Volkswagen , United States , Diesel You wouldn't think that Washington state would be harsher than California when it comes to VW's diesel scandal. Continue reading Washington State slaps VW with $176M fine for diesel cheating Washington State slaps VW with $176M fine for diesel cheating originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Jul 2016 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2aBYdjK

Scott Speed and Tanner Foust have been on fire so far this Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship season. The two Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross drivers have, between them, won four of the first six races so far. Now, the dynamic duo are headed home for the Washington DC rallycross, taking place this weekend. Foust’s season started perfectly, with a sweep of the first two races in Phoenix. The former GRC champion had an unfortunate race last time out, though. With torrential downpours, the MCAS New River rallycross was a bit of a mess for this season’s points leader. Despite performing well in the early stages of the weekend, Foust suffered mechanical issues during the first race and the team decided to pull him out to save the car for the next race. Unfortunately, that race never came as the weekend’s second event was canceled due to the bad weather. This left Foust with no points on the weekend as his teammate, Speed (last year’s champion), took first place in the soggy first ...

The all-new Bugatti Chiron hypercar will not get a convertible version like its Veyron predecessor did. Speaking to Autocar at the London grand opening of the sole Bugatti showroom in the U.K., marketing boss Stefan Brungs confirmed that the French automaker’s latest hypercar will only be sold in coupe format, with “no roadster or convertible” version in the plans. Brungs also said that the company is only planning on selling the allotted 500 Chirons as standard, so faster variants like a Super Sports version also aren’t likely. This is a very different strategy than the Veyron, which has targa top Grand Sport and Super Sports models, as well as a number of special edition models. The Chiron is set to try to break the world record for fastest car and attempt to beat the Veyron’s record of 268 mph. It is believed that the Chiron will be able to hit 288 mph. Powered by an 8.0-liter W16 engine with 1,500 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque, it shouldn’t ...

Jari-Matti Latvala is hoping to win his fourth straight home (Finnish, that is) rally this weekend. This is an important race for the Finn, who sits in fourth place overall in the championship standings at the season’s halfway point. Although fourth is nothing to sneeze at, Latvala, who finished last year’s season in second, was hoping to be in first this season. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for Volkswagen, his teammate Sebastien Ogier is the current leader, followed by their teammate Anders Mikkelsen. As we’ve come to expect, Volkswagen Motorsport is in control this season, and the Rally Finland—both famous and infamous for its enormous speeds—should help them maintain control. Get yourself pumped for the rally with this teaser video from the WRC and follow all the action at wrc.com . The post Volkswagen Looks to Make it Four in a Row at the Finnish Rally appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2adSUTR via IFTTT

Fred Williams is the Motor Trend Channel’s resident off-road expert and on his show he takes all manner of motorized machinery off the paved road. Naturally, he’s had more than a few VWs in his day, and on the latest episode of his show, Dirt Every Day, he takes an early ‘60s dune buggy to an Oregonian beach. Anybody who’s owned, or worked on, or even been near a classic car will know the pain of an engine that just won’t run. Sadly, that’s most of what Williams faces on this episode, number 53. The little 36hp flat four can do little but struggle when faced with batteries that don’t really work and a set of tires that would make Ferdinand Porsche roll his eyes in his grave. As a result, Williams and his co-host spend most of the episode push starting the dune buggy until they give up on the “starting” part of that equation. Fortunately, dune buggies weigh little to nothing, so when the motor eventually fails completely, they just ride it like a Radio Flyer to the beach. It may so...

This year has not been Volkswagen AG’s best, but after six months of 2016, it is the world’s biggest automaker. The German automaker has delivered some 80,000 more vehicles than its closest competitor, Toyota. The news comes on the heels of a positive sales month for the Volkswagen brand. For the first time since January, the VW brand—the biggest and hardest hit wing of the Volkswagen empire— sold more cars in a month (June)  than it did in the same month last year. Whether or not this is a watershed moment for the brand remains to be seen, and whether or not Volkswagen AG will remain number 1 also remains to be seen, since Toyota traditionally does better in the second half of the year. Despite that, the news is good for Volkswagen, whose expenses have been very high this year, cutting into their profits to the tune of 56%. Volkswagen set aside nearly $18 billion at the beginning of the year for expenses relating to the emissions scandal and the Wall Street Journal reports ...

As we draw closer to the Rally Finland, which starts today, it’s a good time to look back on what has happened and forward to what is coming, since the Finnish rally marks the beginning of the second half of the 14 race season. Before the 2016 season started, the smart money would have been on Jari-Matti Latvala as a safe second-placer, maybe even a championship leader. From the very first rally in Monaco, however, things have gone poorly for the Finn. Jari-Matti Latvala is the lowest ranked Volkswagen Motorsport driver this year, even though he’s done well enough to be fourth overall. “It obviously doesn’t look very rosy, but there is no reason to bury my head in the sand and give up,” Latvala says in an interview released by Volkswagen Motorsport. The good news, though, is that this is exactly where Latvala was at this point in the season last year. With one win, a second and a fifth, the Finn had nearly exactly the same record last year, and was in fourth place overall then, to...

JD Power just released the results of their APEAL Study  and the Volkswagen Brand has come out on top among non-premium brands. VW scored an impressive 809 (out of 1000) points, exceeding the non-premium average by 15 points. “The JD Power APEAL Study is a great proof point of a brand’s appeal to new car buyers,” says Hinrich Woebcken, President and CEO of VGoA. “It’s very encouraging for everyone that Volkswagen heads up the non-premium nameplates.” APEAL stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout, and attempts to determine what new cars and features will appeal most to car buyers. This year, the study determined that safety features were among the most appealing to owners. Vehicles equipped with blind spot monitoring and collision avoidance technology scored substantially higher than those without. “Technology-enabled safety features help drivers feel more comfortable and confident while driving their vehicles,” says Renee Stephens, VP of  US Automotive Qual...

Sure, the Volkswagen Motorsport Polo R WRC is dominating this season’s World Rally Championship—as it dominated the last three seasons—but what about next season? Well, things are looking good, as you can tell watching this latest video of the 2017 car testing in Finland. As we reported earlier in the year , the new Polo R WRC will have more power, more aero, and less weight: a great combination if ever there was one. In the video below, you get to see the new car take off from a standing start and take off from the ground. The standing start is pretty entertaining, because the soft suspension set up on the rally car means that the butt dips down lower than a twerker’s and it kicks up more gravel than an angry baseball player. Taking flight is when it’s most impressive, though, for no other reason than seeing a car jump is inherently entertaining. I will never weary of seeing airborne rally cars. The post Watch the 2017 Polo R Literally Fly Around Finland appeared first on VWVort...

Although he’s leading the WRC driver’s standing by a margin of 51 points (ahead of teammate Andreas Mikkelsen), Sebastien Ogier admits that he has found the first half of this season frustrating. After seven rallies, Ogier has won two races, come in second twice, in third twice, and he finished the latest rally in sixth place. Hardly shabby, but the Frenchman says he wants more. “A real battle for a rally win would be nice again,” says Ogier. “Particularly since the field is very strong right now.” The problem, as Ogier sees it, is actually that he is in first. Under WRC rules, the leader in the standings has to be the first one to drive through the rally stage. On gravel stages, the surface on which the drivers have mostly driven so far this year, that’s a major disadvantage. Just how much of a disadvantage? Consider the fact that, despite not winning many rallies so far this season, Ogier has won six of the seven power stages (he came in second in Finland). These are revealing, ...

Filed under: BMW , Fiat , Jaguar , Mercedes-Benz , MINI , Porsche , Volkswagen Luxury brands continue to reign supreme. Continue reading Porsche tops JD Power APEAL study for 12th time Porsche tops JD Power APEAL study for 12th time originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jul 2016 13:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2aa9KD2

The Volkswagen brand is reporting a 4.7% increase in June deliveries as compared to last year, and China and the Tiguan are largely to thank. This is only the second month since the diesel scandal broke that sales for the brand have increased over the previous year. Although the numbers in the first half of the year are still down 0.7%, that’s a 1% improvement over the first five months of the year. “This is a good basis for the second half of the year,” says Jürgen  Stackmann, brand board member for  sales, and “the outstanding response to the new Tiguan provides further momentum for the second half of the year.” Stackmann admits, though that the results are largely thanks to the brand’s best ever performance in China. Sales there for June 2016 are up 23.7% over 2015, with the brand having delivered 220,500 vehicles in June and more than 1.3 million vehicles for the year so far. Despite the good news for VW, the Americas are still proving to be difficult markets. US and B...

We’ve covered a lot of Mk1s on FOTD, but lately the Mk2 hasn’t gotten much love. The Mk1 may be OG, but in many ways the Mk2 made the GTI more usable and this beautiful example of the breed is this week’s Find of the Day. Found on the forum , this Mk2 is being sold by durty:dub, who says that he wants a new project and so is parting with this one. He says that the car runs smoothly, has new fuel lines, brakes, a TT short throw shift linkage, Raceland Optimo coilovers, and more. Overall it’s a great looking Mk2, but there are one or two problems lurking beneath. This Golf is from New Jersey, so it has some rust around the rear. It also has a 159,000 miles on it, which is a fair few. That said durty:dub doesn’t think that this is the original engine, so there may be fewer miles on it. Inside it’s nearly perfect. The seats are tear-free and the dash and binnacle look just about perfect. And it comes with a collection of tapes, too! This Golf may not be perfect, but it’s a looker and...

Speaking in an interview with the UK’s Autocar, Lamborghini CEO, Stefano Domenicali, said that the hypercar manufacturer will not abandon the V12 engine. He goes on to say that Lamborghinis won’t drive themselves autonomously, either. Despite the industry move away from big, consumptive engines, Domenicali told Autocar that Lamborghini’s customers still want 12 cylinders. “Our major customers and dealers around the world say: ‘Please do not touch the V12,’” Domenicali tells Autocar. “So we will continue to work in that direction.” Domenicali adds, though, that electrification could someday come into the picture. “We cannot be disconnected to the world of the future,” he says. “As soon as the technology of electrification is relevant to our car […] we are flexible to shift in that direction.” The Lamborghini CEO is no hurry, though, saying that “it is easy to run off following everyone else, like in football: all players run off following the ball. That is a mistake that we do not h...

Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Volkswagen , Emissions , Diesel This isn't over yet, but it's one step closer now. Continue reading VW's $14.7-billion settlement gets preliminary approval from judge VW's $14.7-billion settlement gets preliminary approval from judge originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Jul 2016 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2acEzIh

Another important step in the Volkswagen emissions scandal has been reached with the preliminary approval of the 2.0L TDI Settlement Program. Effectively, this means that US District Court Judge Charles Breyer has looked over the settlement that Volkswagen and government regulators agreed to last month and thinks that it is fair, reasonable, and adequate. There are a few more steps to go before this saga ends, but the next big one happens in the fall when the agreement goes back to court for final approval. At that time, the agreement will be looked over with a fine tooth comb and the final judgment on its validity will laid down. Following the final approval, Volkswagen says it will begin with the settlement program immediately. The settlement that Volkswagen agreed to will amount to about $15 billion and involves a $5,000-$10,000 for the owners of the TDIs that were involved in the scandal, as well as an option to have their car fixed or bought back at pre-scandal prices. As it ...

Filed under: Green , Read This , Volkswagen , Emissions , Diesel Things haven't changed much for the academics researching vehicle emissions. Continue reading Fame but no fortune for university that discovered VW diesel scandal Fame but no fortune for university that discovered VW diesel scandal originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Jul 2016 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2aj2C9H

The Beetle Sunshine Tour  (August 19-21) is the largest Beetle gathering in the world and so is the perfect chance for Volkswagen to introduce the newly revamped Beetle. The new bug will come in coupe and convertible, with redesigned bumpers, new upholstery, new colors, and a number of customization options. With more than 600 registrants so far, this is already a record year for the Beetle Sunshine tour, which takes place in Travemünde, Germany. The northern port town has hosted the annual show twelve times and it has since become the place to see the best modified and personalized Beetles from every generation. The Beetle Sunshine Tour lasts all weekend with events like the “laid-back group cavalcade,” a rally, and the Beetlewalk, featuring the most original Beetles at the show. Take a look at some of the wilder Beetle from previous Beetle Sunshine Tours below: The post Volkswagen Announces Revamped Beetle appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2au...

Over the past handful of days we’ve been posting pictures of some of our favorite cars from Waterfest 2016, but now we’re getting into the real nitty gritty. What follows is a top 10 list of the best wheels at this year’s show. In no particular order, they are: Vossen VPS-317 – A very modern 19″x11″ take on that ’90s 3 spoke wheel fad, with some serious forged construction and a design that shows a whole lot of dish inside the wheel. More details at http://ift.tt/2ahZ4EH Art in Motion MA7 wheels in a copper finish, holding up a Passat CC that’s sitting low on air suspension. Like a lot of the bespoke 3 piece manufacturers have started doing, they have directional wheels so the left side mirror the wheels on the right of the car – definitely a cool touch. http://ift.tt/2ahZbQS It wouldn’t be a list of wheels on German cars with having some BBS RS on it. One of the recent trends on this quintessential wheel type is ‘Upsizing’ where a 15″ or 16″ wheel is stripped of it’s smaller l...

At the beginning of this WRC season, you would have called an optimist if you’d predicted that Volkswagen Motorsport driver Andreas Mikkelsen would be in second place. At this season’s halfway point, though, Mikkelsen has a firm grip on second, and is setting his sights on first. The WRC driver’s championship standings are currently led by Sebastien Ogier, Volkswagen’s ace driver. The Frenchman was the favorite going into the 2016 season, having won the last three World Rally Championships. Despite that, though, Mikkelsen now finds himself 50 points behind the Championship leader with seven races left in the season. The young driver has exceeded expectations. “I’m really very happy with the way the season has gone so far,” says the Norwegian. The difference, says Mikkeslen, has been consistency. Despite not scoring points twice this season, he has been on the podium four times and finished fourth once. And at the last rally in Poland, he won for only the second time in his WRC ...

Hinrich Woebcken has confirmed that Volkswagen plans to make an electric vehicle in North America by 2020, reports the Wall Street Journal. The question remains, though, as to whether it will be built in Chattanooga or Mexico. “We believe that this country, especially in urban mobility, will have a very strong shift from petrol engines into hybridization and electric car,” Woebcken told the Wall Street Journal. “We are heavily investing in this one—including production in this North American region.” Unfortunately, Woebcken would not provide any more details on what is going into the decision, but said that multiple models will be built in North America. That said, Reuters reported last month that an electric variant of the Audi Q5 SUV will be built at the Mexico plant. It was also revealed this weekend that Audi plans on building three electric cars by 2020. Both brands’ moves towards electric vehicles are part of the Volkswagen AG commitment to have electric vehicles make up 25%...

Forget head-scratching model names like  Tiguan and Touareg. For its new midsize SUV, Volkswagen scrapped its naming-by-German-committee tradition and turned the process over to its American division. When the new model goes on sale next year, expect a rugged, easy-to-pronounce name designed solely for the U.S. market, Automotive News reports. That name could be “Teramont.” Volkswagen isn’t saying what the name is. Hinrich Woebcken, CEO of Volkswagen’s North American Region, claims it might not even begin with a “T.” The model will carry a “bullish, much easier to pronounce, American-style name,” Woebcken told  Automotive News . A Chattanooga-built three-row crossover is a big part of the company’s plan to reverse falling sales. Diesels and semi-premium posturing is out, and money-making crossovers are in. The creation of the North American Region earlier this year means more autonomy for Volkswagen’s domestic operations. When the scandal broke, the company was cri...

[ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] We’re back with another gallery from Waterfest 2016 and this time we’re covering the show’s many Golfs. Although they differ mightily from one car to the next, it’s safe to say that the interplay of  fenders and wheels was, as it always is, a major aesthetic consideration for these hot hatches. Be they hella flush or deliciously wide, the Golfs of this year’s show were a masterclass in stance. Joining them, were Volkswagen’s own Enthusiast Event Golfs . A 1.8T–designed as an homage to the bali green Mk1–and the purple and gold GTI. Both are on H&R coilovers, both are in eye catching colors, and both have been going around the nation hitting the major VW shows, so fear not if you missed Watefest they’ll be at H2O, too. Come back tomorrow at this time to read a list of our favorites from the show. And thanks again to Jamie Orr of Orchid Euro for these shots. The post Waterfest 2016: The Golfs appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVo...

Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Audi , Volkswagen , Emissions , South Korea Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal is forcing the company to suspend sales in South Korea for what could be months. Continue reading VW suspends sales in South Korea ahead of government meeting VW suspends sales in South Korea ahead of government meeting originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Jul 2016 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2akHTkz

Filed under: Green , Plants/Manufacturing , Volkswagen , North America , United States , Electric Nothing says 'diesel? What diesel?' like building EVs in the US. Continue reading Volkswagen could build electric vehicles in North America by 2020 Volkswagen could build electric vehicles in North America by 2020 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 23 Jul 2016 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2a3LgMQ

Filed under: Government/Legal , Green , Volkswagen , Emissions , Europe , Diesel Some European regulators are unhappy that its diesel owners aren't getting paid by VW like the Americans are. Continue reading EU may pressure Volkswagen to compensate dirty diesel owners EU may pressure Volkswagen to compensate dirty diesel owners originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Jul 2016 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2aByDHF

As of July 25, Volkswagen Group will halt the sale of most of its vehicles in South Korea, following controversy over the emission scandal. “We have decided to suspend sales of the affected models to reduce confusion among dealers and customers,” VW South Korea spokesperson told Reuters. South Korea’s environment ministry has already threatened to revoke the certification of 32 VW Group models, but were waiting on a trial set for later this month. Volkswagen will decide whether or not to take legal action against South Korea—as did Nissan earlier this year under similar circumstances—after it presents its case to South Korea’s environment ministry later this month. The post Volkswagen Suspends Sales in South Korea appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2a6hEzH via IFTTT

Volkswagen recently began an efficiency drive to help save money and, reports Automotive News, the drive is working, but even more savings are needed. The Volkswagen Group reported Wednesday that first-half profits rose 7% to €7.5 billion ($8.3 billion). The report means that VW has beat forecasts and that’s thanks, in part, to the Volkswagen Brand, whose sales have been improving of late. With more legal costs to come and the expense involved in Matthias Muller’s ten year plan, Volkswagen is still feeling the need to save more. That means tough talks between management and labor. Volkswagen’s unions are notoriously robust, but talks that are currently going on between management and the unions appear to be going well. “We are facing a lot of work in the coming weeks,” Bernd Osterloh, VW works council chief, told Reuters in an interview, but “we are pulling together with Mr Diess as long as the direction is right.” Osterloh goes on to say that he and brand chief Herbert Diess at l...

AutoPacific has given the Volkswagen Golf a 2016 Ideal Vehicle Award. This is the third year in a row that the Golf has won in the compact car segment, and the fifth time in the last seven years that it has won the award. The award is handed out based on a survey of over 65,000 new car owners in the US. The Golf competed against 18 compacts in 15 categories, including ride and handling, interior storage, safety, comfort, and more. “We’re honored to hear that the Volkswagen Golf has earned [the] AutoPacific Ideal Vehicle Award […] and that our buyers are so satisfied,” says Vinay Shahani, VP, Marketing, Volkswagen of America. “The seventh-generation Golf is the best iteration of a nameplate that’s been in the US for 42 years, now with a stellar combination of versatility, safety features, and innovative App-Connect smartphone integrations.” The post Golf Wins AutoPacific Ideal Vehicle Award for Third Time in a Row appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/29Zc6IO ...

[ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] Today’s gallery features Jettas and Passats of every age. Waterfest 2016 was a good year for these, full of variety and quality. There were some lovely classics, some elegant CCs, and even a Jetta-truck conversion. VW also brought their own Enthusiast Fleet. Among them was the Satin Ocean Shimmer (read: blue) Passat that the manufacturer made specifically for this summer’s car shows. It features the AccuAir E-Level TouchPad air management package and a wood-floored trunk. Volkswagen weren’t the only ones to bring later-model modified VWs to the show and that’s good, because they look great. With some fairly mild adjustments modern Jettas and Passats go from looking respectable to looking sexy. Thanks again to Jamie Orr for the great pictures. We’ll be back with more from Waterfest soon. The post Waterfest 2016: Passats and Jettas appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2a0ldCU via IFTTT

[ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] Waterfest 2016 has come and gone, but the sweet pics remain. Thanks to Jamie Orr’s keen eye and deep love of all things Volkswagen we have excellent coverage of the festival. This year, we’re starting with the classics. Unfortunately, reports Jamie, the weekend did get a little soggy thanks to “torrential rains that [turned] the blacktop into one massive, fast moving river and cleared the crowds out.” But on the plus side the morning  had been beautiful and Sunday dried everyone off. The classic VWs on hand at this year’s Waterfest were pretty clean, with a lot less of the rat rod, mad-max vibe that we saw in Montreal at Eurokracy. Among the clean classics, there are some simply modified ones that have some stance and shaved engine bays. Living up to Germany’s Bauhaus history, these are more focused on clean, minimalist mods than wild and crazy stuff. Still, though, it’s a VW show, so there are one or two crazy cars (looking at you...

The Volkswagen Group is hoping to reach a settlement similar to one it recently reached in the US with Canadian TDI owners, reports German newspaper Handelsblatt, citing an anonymous source. A spokesperson at Volkswagen AG declined to comment on the story, but confirmed that the carmaker is in talks with Canadian authorities, but says that no decisions have been made. Handeslblatt goes on to say that Volkswagen would have to pay up to $2 billion if it reached that settlement in Canada, but does not cite a source for that information. By comparison, the US deal could cost the company as much as $15 billion, with 10 billion of that going to buying back the TDIs. There is no word yet on whether or not a Canadian deal would also involve funding for green technologies and environmental programs. [ source ] The post VW Looking for US-Style Settlement in Canada appeared first on VWVortex . from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2ajT6UA via IFTTT

Rival Road: GTI vs GLI sets out to pit fans of Volkswagen’s two small performance cars against one another. The game is VW’s first, and it allows players from across the nation to compete for their preferred car. The game is a fairly simple one. Racing up a road in your favorite car (either a GTI or GLI) you have to avoid obstacles to last as long as you can. The game is available on both computers and mobile devices. If you enter their competition, though, you could end up winning time on a real racetrack with Tanner Foust and Scott Speed. The two Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross drivers are captains of the opposing teams and on July 26 will compete to help determine if the Golf or the Jetta will win. While watching the livestream, you’ll be able to affect the outcome. Not just because you’re unlucky and your favorite team always loses when you’re watching, but also because you can throw up obstacles in the drivers’ paths. On that date, Speed (team GTI) and Foust (team GLI) will c...

If you’re a Volkswagen enthusiast of a certain age, you know that the brand has a less than exceptional history when it comes to making cars in America. In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, VW took its first crack at building cars stateside at a plant in Pennsylvania. The whole venture ended only a few years after it began amid complaints that the brand had diluted its essence with the move. In 2011 Volkswagen tried again with its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant and now, with the plant’s first attempt at an American VW, they’re trying to get it right with the midsize SUV. The SUV market is massive and sturdy. Even after fears of economic downturns and rising gas prices the market only grows. Until now, though, Volkswagen’s two SUVs (the Tiguan and the Touareg) have missed out on the crucial seven-seater category. The midsize SUV (think Honda Pilot-sized) seeks to remedy that. With three rows of seats it’s Volkswagen’s attempt at an American market vehicle and VWoA’s chance to show its engine...

Filed under: Etc. , Toys/Games , Videos , Volkswagen C'mon you're sick of Pokemon. This has the GTI. Continue reading VW pits GTI against GLI in the name of Fastivus VW pits GTI against GLI in the name of Fastivus originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Jul 2016 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/29WeBeV

Filed under: Green , Volkswagen , Emissions , Diesel VW exec: "We have to accept that the high percentage of diesels that we had before will not come back again." Continue reading VW will continue to offer diesels where they makes sense VW will continue to offer diesels where they makes sense originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2016 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments from Autoblog Volkswagen http://ift.tt/2ad4z5J