They have more cargo space than sedans, slurp less fuel than SUVs, plus they’re fun! What are they? Well, wagons of course! And going by the recent news/gossip trickling down from Germany, it seems wagons are on the comeback at Volkswagen.

Carscoop reports a confirmed hearsay (if ever there is one) that a station wagon edition of the Golf will be unwrapped at next month’s Geneva Motor Show, along with the debut of the Passat Bluemotion and maybe, the much anticipated Passat Coupe. The Golf wagon will likely be based on the Jetta platform and is scheduled to arrive here in the US later this year.

Joining the..uh.. bandwagon is the 2009 Passat-based wagon. Taking the cue from the Dodge Magnum, the wagon will feature a lower roofline and a wider body than its Passat cousin. Since the model will be marketed as a premium Passat wagon, several amenities will be made available such as bucket massage functions and compensating cushions. As for the choice of Volkswagen engine, you can select between two: a 200-hp, 2.0-liter turbo and a high performance 3.6-liter VR6.

Wagons have taken a backseat here in the US but it would be nice to see these quirky machines on the streets again.

Power drivers who are always on the lookout for muscle machines have something to rejoice about in the confirmed production of the R Touareg.

Volkswagen has ended months of speculation and has verified rumors that it is working on an R edition of the Touareg SUV. Industry watchers believe the final design will resemble the R-line accessory package that is currently available for the Touareg. Despite the similarity in appearance, the new R Touareg will feature performance Volkswagen parts befitting a V Dub carrying an R label.

At 365 hp, the current Touareg is already a workhorse. But VW engineers are fine-tuning its 4.9L V10 TDI diesel engine to give the SUV more power. It is more likely that the new Touareg will be coupled with a 450hp version of this engine, and that could mean a bigger-sized Touareg. This is the only plausible explanation at the moment because it seems superfluous to upgrade an already powerful engine for the same vehicle.

As for the name: Following the naming convention Volkswagen set for its performance car lineup, you can expect the Touareg to be called the R50.

It was during the years of the 1940’s, with the German economy suffering from the effects of the Great Depression that hit Europe, when the charismatic political leader, Adolf Hitler, released a command to Ferdinand Porsche to implement alterations on his 1931 car model. The resulting design was intended to be sold to German workers and laborers who were going to avail of the cars by way of “coupons” and financial schemes. This was the time when standard production automobiles were still relatively new and owning one was a novel experience reserved for the rich and the powerful. Thus, cars were notoriously expensive for the pockets of average individuals earning average salary rates. So that when the notion of building cars solely and deliberately with them in mind came out, it was thought by many to be a great idea. Hopes for the emergence of such a vehicle were high until the war started, when a number of private factories and plants came under military supervision and directive. As Hitler caused carnage and devastation all across continental Europe and beyond, German car production immediately turned to military vehicles and trucks. It wasn’t until the post war years, with Porsche chief engineer Erwin Komenda’s considerable skills in car body design that significant developments on the car body construction of the Beetle, which is still recognizable today, would finally arrive.

In the 1950s, campaigns for the VW Beetle were underway and gaining remarkable success in American markets. But by the end of the decade, with newer cars and fresh car designs inundating the market, the Beetle, although made popular still by advertising and marketing brilliance, was fast loosing the market to many of its competitors that emerged over the years, especially to aggressive Asian automotive companies like Toyota and Honda who were able to offer consumers with cars that catered to the new generation that was becoming the main base of the market.

(more…)

A chaotic way of looking at, as well as dealing with, things is certainly not to everyone’s taste. Most people need detailed plans in their lives so they could get from one goal to another. There are others, of course, who can plow through their day-to-day affairs without the slightest idea of how to go about the things they need to accomplish or even what these matters are that they must see to. But unless these individuals are robots or people with genetically altered human DNA that make them supremely resistant to the aches and pains typical of the human body, it’s a sure bet that they will almost always find themselves frazzled, irritable and definitely exhausted by the end of the day.

This was often the kind of professional perspective that most people in the workforce employed. And though some did manage to perform brilliantly despite the occasional confusion and bedlam, such practices did not suit everyone. The rate of failure, of risks, of mistakes happening was very high. Until the term organized, for most, became a word fraught with so much that they couldn’t casually toss it around any longer. It had to be earned.

Thus was the idea of organization as it made its way into corporate life and when put in the context of automotive construction, this kind of perspective managed to manifest itself into the strict planning and definitive strategies that companies like Volkswagen invested considerable amounts of their time and energy into. Take the Cabrio for instance. That sensation of driving with the wind in your hair and in your eyes—well perhaps not in the eyes—has often been a constant draw for consumers so that incorporating such a design into one’s one line-up of production cars was a reasonable move—except, Volkswagen didn’t just incorporate it. The automotive company successfully stamped their look onto the resulting model that the Cabrio was born. Even the matching VW Cabrio Parts Schematic conveyed a sense of a design that was so wonderfully integrated with the Volkswagen gene pool that it couldn’t have been mistaken for anything else.

(more…)

The 2007 New Beetle was chosen as the “Best Overall Value of the Year-2007″ by industry analyst IntelliChoice.

The award acknowledged manufacturers for producing vehicles whose cost is considerably lower than its counterpart models.

“We are delighted to receive this important award from IntelliChoice,” says David Goggins, director of product marketing and strategy at Volkswagen of America, Inc. “It is particularly satisfying to be recognized for value and low ownership costs.”

The announcement was made during the 2007 Chicago Motor Show.

Intellichoice analyzed value and ownership choice in more than 1800 vehicles to determine the automotive market’s best values for the consumer. standards used to identify a vehicle as having the most value were determined using title verification, roadside assistance, special financing, certification inspection process, manufacturer warranties, return/ exchange policies.

No one outgrows a Bug. Well, at least not the Volkswagen Bug. In every part of the world, no such other vehicle catering to the needs of the individual earning the average income rate has ever garnered such a degree of recognition and enthusiasm from the public. Drivers and non drivers alike know what a bug is. Hybrids of the platform are recognized widely since every single living person knows what a bug looks like. And if they don’t, some other individual will be more than willing to tell them about it.

The extensive consumer awareness and consciousness of the Volkswagen Bug was the result of one of the most remarkable advertising marketing schemes to ever come across in the industry. Resorting to a tone that was casual, and hip, the bug achieved phenomenal success, not just as the car for people who lived their lives trying to earn decent paycheck in their office jobs but as a cultural icon, especially in American markets. For the best part of the 50’s, the Bug reached undisputed dominion over a number of its competitions that came along in the market, with the most notable among them being Asian automotive companies Toyota and Honda that, although were relatively new players in the field, were just about ready to take over a huge portion of the car consumer base in a number of markets, including that of America.

But by the arrival of the 1970s, the streak seemed to be thinning out. With the continued appearance of a new generation of customers, new consumer tastes in car design began to emerge and the well known bug from Volkswagen began to grow all too familiar—in short, too common. The new generation demanded a new look to go with the new decade. Thus came the Volkswagen Golf. Another Volkswagen bug, manufactured between the years 1974 up until the end of the year 1983, the Golf proved successful, securing a hold on consumers and Volkswagen enthusiasts. The Golf model, with its production, counting several years of Bug parts assembly, including that of 79 Bug parts, continued to provide Volkswagen with premium consumer items. In fact, public reaction to the Golf bug was overwhelmingly positive that a number of variants appeared, models that exhibited their distinctive Golf heritage.

(more…)

After making its debut in last month’s North American International Auto Show (aka the Detroit Auto Show), the Tiguan will be heading back to the drawing boards. Joining the Tiguan for some makeover treatment are the new Passat Coupe and the Scirocco. This development came after new Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, disappointed at the discordant front end designs, ordered product evaluations for the said models.

The Tiguan, Passat Coupe, and Scirocco are major pieces in the company’s brand offensive, which was instituted by VW brand chairman Wolfgang Bernhard under former CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder. By competing in niche markets, these models are supposed to open an alternative source of income for Volkswagen, as well as present the company as an exciting brand to first-time customers. However, production delays could put these objectives into question.

Winterkorn did not give details as to when the Tiguan will finally roll out of the assembly lines. It was also uncertain if the Tiguan and the Scirocco will be able to make it to their respective opening sales scheduled on the 4th quarter of this year. Volkswagen may also pull out the Passat Coupe from its initial public presentation in next month’s Geneva Motor Show. VW fans may get impatient but they should put their trust on Winterkorn, who transformed Audi into a force in the motoring world before becoming Volkswagen CEO.

The Passat BlueMotion, set to be unveiled at next month’s Geneva Motor Show, will also come in diesel variant.

A highly-tuned 105 horsepower, 184 lb-ft, 1.9L, 4-cylinder diesel engine powers the Passat. It comes with a particulate filter and other clean diesel technologies. The Passat will come out in both sedan and wagon versions, according to its maker, Volkswagen.

The BlueMotion technology is still not sure for sale in the United States, but VW had announced previously that it will bring a 2008 Jetta with a 2.0L common rail diesel engine. The VW engine meets the stringent emissions standards of the Tier 2/Bin 5 standards and would be sold in all 50 states.

It will be the secong BlueMotion system for VW, the first being the Polo, which VW rolled outv in 2006.

The BlueMotion technology was developed by VW, in partnership with Mercedes-Benz and Audi. It is known in Mercedes-Benz as the BlueTec.

Volkswagen is abuzz with excitement after new Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn took the reins of the company in January this year. In an interview with German newspaper Süddeutschen Zeitung, Winterkorn announced that Volkswagen will be better than Toyota. This is quite a challenge when you consider that Toyota is the most profitable carmaker in the world. Just how will Winterkorn go about achieving this goal?

Winterkorn told the Süddeutschen Zeitung of his proposal to develop a new four-seater subcompact model. The economy car will be initially offered in Europe, and then marketed to other countries like China and India, where price is a major factor in vehicle purchases. In a surprise move for a company focused on improving diesel technology, Winterkorn has revealed plans to develop hybrid engines for the smaller car ranges like the Polo and Golf. This decision appears to be the result of the lukewarm reception for Volkswagen’s Lupo 3L TDI. The vehicle, while light and fuel efficient, costs too much to produce. To boost company morale, Winterkorn has also promised a halt to the rounds of job cuts affecting 20,000 employees.

Volkswagen beating Toyota remains to be seen but it seems that Volkswagen’s new boss is serious in fulfilling his claim.

Ahead of its scheduled debut on March 6, Volkswagen has dropped some tantalizing details about its new Passat BlueMotion. With a superb conversion of 55.4 miles per gallon, the Passat BlueMotion is the most fuel efficient vehicle in its class, according to Volkswagen. Not only that, it also has the lowest emissions at just 136g of CO2 per kilometer.

Volkswagen intends to use the BlueMotion platform to launch fuel efficient and environment-friendly vehicles. The company plans to have a BlueMotion variant for each of its brands, starting with the Polo BlueMotion in March 2006. The success of the BlueMotion Polo thus far has given fuel to Volkswagen’s commitment of producing only efficient and hybrid cars in the next 50 years.

Aiming for efficiency usually has the downside of reducing the vehicle’s agility. Ultra-diesels and hybrids have a reputation for being slow and poor in rounding corners. But with a top speed of 193 km/h, the Passat BlueMotion escapes this compromise, promising low fuel consumption without sacrificing the fun of driving.