Car of the Day # 20 Volkswagen IROC Concept

This photo is from 2006, Auto Show Istanbul. And this is the IROC concept, which became Scirocco.

Published at: http://uygarr.blogspot.com http://carsandlife.net

Volkswagen is Peaceful with the Green: Lupo 3L

Nowadays, there are some campaigns against VW's environment concern. When all these things happened, I remembered a car from 1999! VW Lupo 3L; this car was introduced at 1999 and achieved 3 lt of petrol consumption per 100 kilometres! Sounds crazy but it achieved this crazy figure. If you don't use lt per km scale, it is 94 MPG!

This car had a 1,2 lt turbo diesel engine with 61 hp, aerodynamic design, low weight materials (whole was 830 kg) and automatic transmission. And it was capable of achieving 1000km with 34 lt of diesel! It was creating only 79gr/km CO2 on 1999, twelve years ago! But at those years, people were not concerned about CO2 or environment and the demand was too weak. As VW is a company to make profit, they stopped the production. Honestly, they did everything to sustain production until 2005 but customers did not wish to buy an environmental small car! 3L Lupo had a wrong schedule!

By the way, in automotive industry low weight materials mean one thing. It is more expensive! It is not cheap to make a car weight less. Lower weight means more composite components and this means complicated manufacturing. And this leads to increase manufacturing costs. Basically, making something lighter is more expensive than the standard production.

Before criticising an automotive company, please think twice and also consider the demand of consumers to products! It is not always possible to sustain a product with a very low demand. If you want to see the efficiency improvement in automotive industry just check the consumption of a vehicle in 2000 and now! You will see the difference.

And I am sure that VW will reveal a 1 lt vehicle soon to market.

Pictures' Copyrights
VW


Published at: http://uygarr.blogspot.com http://carsandlife.net

VW Reportedly Put a Price on the Table for GM’s Opel after Hearing Rumors about Hyundai’s Interest

German monthly publication ‘Manager Magazin’ reported in its latest issue that the Volkswagen Group has a far deeper interest in Opel than originally thought.

Citing unnamed sources close to the automaker, the financial magazine said that Volkswagen gave General Motors a rough estimate of what it is willing to pay for Opel after the German company heard rumors about Hyundai’s alleged interest in the European brand.

Read more »

Volkswagen CrossPassat matches with Louis Vuitton!

Again the same; VW is going to offer a taller Passat Estate and brand it as CrossPassat (Audi did it this by turning A6 Estate into A6 Allroad). It will probably have four-wheel drive and many plastic bumpers! Similar Audi A6 Allroader and BMW 5GT, I don't see an emotional reason to buy these vehicles.

On paper, this type of vehicles fills the gap between the SUV and the estate. These cars are not as high as SUV and more practically than usual estate. However, consumers never think like this and usual find vehicles like Audi A6 Allroad, BMW 5 GT and upcoming CrossPassat a bit odd! You can see this from the sales performance of Audi Allroad family and BMW 5GT. Unfortunately, a similar scenario may happen to VW CrossPassat. I wish it won’t happen but history tells the opposite.

The rendered picture of CrossPassat reminded me Louis Vuitton Zipped Totebag. It looks very similar to SUV-Estate cars. It offers different colours in the same bag! The black parts look like the black plastics of CrossPassat. Based on this product evaluation, I can see that Zipped Tote bag is as practical as a CrossPassat or Audi Allroader. If you are planning to you buy this type of car, you should also buy this bag.

CrossPassat in second picture is under heavy camouflage!

Pictures' Copyrights

BMW, Audi, VW, Autoblog.nl, WorldCarFans, Louis Vuitton

Published at: http://uygarr.blogspot.com http://carsandlife.net

VW Says “More Masculine” 2012 Beetle will Appeal to Men, Convertible Said to Join the Range Next Summer

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.

Read more »

VW Begins Series Production of 2012 Beetle in Mexico

Volkswagen announced that it has commenced regular production of the 2012 Beetle at its factory in Puebla, Mexico, where its predecessor was also built. To mark the occasion, Germany’s Federal Foreign Minister Dr. Guido Westerwelle, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, and Board Member for Production and Logistics at VW Passenger Cars Hubert Waltl visited the plant in Puebla. Read more »

The Best Car Ad You’ll See Today: Volkswagen Tiguan Translator

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’s hands 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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Would You Pay $50,000 for Kate Middleton’s Used VW Golf?

Say want you want about the media’s obsession around Britain’s newly-wed royal coupe, Kate and Williams, but for some people, like Sonny Brazil, it’s a gift from the heavens.

You see, Sonny’s father Al, bought Kate Middleton’s inky-blue 2001 VW Golf hatchback back in 2009 from her brother James for a reasonable £1,400 (about US$2,300 or €1,600 at today’s exchange rates).

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Frankfurt Rumors Fuel Design of 2012 Volkswagen CrossPassat

Recent rumors have suggested that Volkswagen may introduce a high-riding, faux-crossover Variant 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.

Frankfurt Rumors Fuel Design of 2012 Volkswagen CrossPassat

Recent rumors have suggested that Volkswagen may introduce a high-riding, faux-crossover Variant 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.

Frankfurt Rumors Fuel Design of 2012 Volkswagen CrossPassat

Recent rumors have suggested that Volkswagen may introduce a high-riding, faux-crossover Variant 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.

Frankfurt Rumors Fuel Design of 2012 Volkswagen CrossPassat

Recent rumors have suggested that Volkswagen may introduce a high-riding, faux-crossover Variant 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.

Read more »

New Study Finds that 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.

New Study Finds that 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.

New Study Finds that 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.

Skoda Posts Record Worldwide Sales in First Half of 2011

Skoda revealed today that it delivered 454,700 vehicles in the first half of 2011, which represents an increase of 20.1% compared to the same period in 2010. The Volkswagen Group brand also achieved its best ever June sales, with 81,300 deliveries, compared to 71,300 units in 2010, scoring a new sales record for the fourth month in a row.

Skoda Posts Record Worldwide Sales in First Half of 2011

Skoda revealed today that it delivered 454,700 vehicles in the first half of 2011, which represents an increase of 20.1% compared to the same period in 2010. The Volkswagen Group brand also achieved its best ever June sales, with 81,300 deliveries, compared to 71,300 units in 2010, scoring a new sales record for the fourth month in a row.

Skoda Posts Record Worldwide Sales in First Half of 2011

Skoda revealed today that it delivered 454,700 vehicles in the first half of 2011, which represents an increase of 20.1% compared to the same period in 2010. The Volkswagen Group brand also achieved its best ever June sales, with 81,300 deliveries, compared to 71,300 units in 2010, scoring a new sales record for the fourth month in a row.

Union of Concerned Scientists Releases 2011 Hybrid Scorecard: Prius = Good, Touareg Hybrid = Bad

The Union of Concerned Scientist, a non-profit science advocacy group in the U.S., has released its second annual Hybrid Scorecard. The organisation criticised hybrid car manufacturers for not delivering on the technology’s promise, for placing performance above fuel efficiency and environmental benefit and burdening hybrids with features that put them out of the price range of average Americans.
A total of 34 hybrid vehicles from the 2011 to 2012 model year were tested for their fuel efficiency, environmental impact, value-for-money and their so-called “forced-feature premium”. The latter is features that don’t improve fuel efficiency but probably make the cars more appealing to money-conscious consumers.

Union of Concerned Scientists Releases 2011 Hybrid Scorecard: Prius = Good, Touareg Hybrid = Bad

The Union of Concerned Scientist, a non-profit science advocacy group in the U.S., has released its second annual Hybrid Scorecard. The organisation criticised hybrid car manufacturers for not delivering on the technology’s promise, for placing performance above fuel efficiency and environmental benefit and burdening hybrids with features that put them out of the price range of average Americans.
A total of 34 hybrid vehicles from the 2011 to 2012 model year were tested for their fuel efficiency, environmental impact, value-for-money and their so-called “forced-feature premium”. The latter is features that don’t improve fuel efficiency but probably make the cars more appealing to money-conscious consumers.