LivingFlashily

When it comes to the Phaeton, we really don’t care what anyone else thinks. The only justification we’ll offer is that back in the early 2000s, VW’s ubermensch Ferdinand Piech took off the calf-skin gloves and dropped the mother of all gauntlets. He told commanded engineers to ... 

22-09-2009

The Volkswagen R20 returns some brawn to the styling of the body Golf after a lengthy flirtation with smaller, svelter lines. And we, for one, are happy about it. Things get started right up front with the lower grille and it’s Audi-RS-and-R8-reminiscent openings and strakes. From there it’s... 

20-09-2009

While today might be the middle of September, 2009, Volkswagen is looking to the future. 2013 to be exact. That’s when Chairman Martin Winterkorn says they’ll be launching the E-Up!, an all-electric city specialist. The E-Up!’s killer app is the lightweight lithium-ion battery that... 

20-09-2009

Volkswagen promises to release the “Beetle of the 21st Century” by 2013. Those are some of the biggest shoes in the history of the automobile to fill, and VW plans to do just that with a new car based on the New Small Family architecture that was introduced on the original Up! concept that’s... 

18-09-2009

We still cringe upon hearing marketing types utter the phrase “four-door coupe.” It’s inherently a lie, a scam. Who are they trying to fool? It’s not a four-door coupe, it’s a sedan with a sloping roof – generally one that’s missing a middle rear-seat. And there’s... 

3-09-2009

While we patiently await the release of Volkswagen’s Robust pickup truck on this side of the equator, our upside-down neighbors to the south have received a VW pickup of their own. Called the Saveiro, the truck seen above is made in Brazil exclusively for the South American market to compete with... 

27-08-2009

Just a few months back, Manager Magazin in Germany reported Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech was interested in procuring a small stake in Suzuki. Those rumors were subsequently denied by Osamu Suzuki, chief executive of the automaker that bears his name. Now, news from the same source that there... 

27-08-2009

At least as far back as March 2007, we were reporting that Volkswagen might bring back their range-topping and bank-draining Phaeton sedan to the States. Back then, it was the company’s CEO Martin Winterkorn predicting the car’s return to America, but in more recent times, we haven’t... 

19-08-2009

In the ongoing battle between hybrids and diesels for “payback time” supremacy, the latest round goes to the oil burning posse. That’s the report from Edmunds, which did a recent numbers crunch comparing the two fuel-saving drivetrains and found the scales have tipped in favor of diesel... 

7-08-2009

Undoubtedly, one vehicle with the potential to profit handsomely from this week’s expected rush by Americans to unload old gas guzzlers for newer, more thrifty vehicles is Volkswagen’s Jetta TDI. With owners reporting typical real-world mileage of around 35-40 mpg along with superior dynamics... 

31-07-2009

Adding a vote of confidence to Mexico’s struggling auto industry, Volkswagen has announced that it will begin assembly of a new compact car (working title “New Compact Sedan”) in the country next year. The German automaker will invest about $1 billion in the program, with $400 million... 

24-07-2009

According to reports from Reuters and Manager Magazin in Germany, Volkswagen is keen to purchase a 10% stake in Suzuki in order to cooperate on future small cars for emerging markets. In its home market of Japan, Suzuki is the second-largest automaker behind Toyota and dominates the tiny Kei car market... 

25-06-2009