Underneath its attractive new sheetmetal, the GTI is pretty much the same car as it was before, but a bigger rear antiroll bar effectively eradicates the car's understeer on the racetrack. VW also added so-called XDS programming to the stability control system to mimic a limited-slip differential, helping the GTI put its power down more efficiently. And as good as the GTI is on the road, with crisp steering, a supercommunicative chassis, and a firm but well-damped ride, on the track the car is a revelation.

During our Automobile of the Year and All-Stars evaluation drive program, we drove a rich selection of the hottest new cars for 2010 during a day at GingerMan Raceway in southwest Michigan, including a Chevrolet Camaro SS, a Ford Mustang GT, a Porsche Panamera S, a Jaguar XFR, a BMW Z4, and a Porsche Cayman S. As exhilarating as they all were, the GTI was not in the least bit out of its league as it jostled among them on GingerMan's entertaining road course. Check out the logbook commentary from pit lane: "Remarkably competent on the track," said tech editor Don Sherman. "Superb handling and good feedback," seconded road test coordinator Mike Ofiara, who has a Mark 3 and a Mark 5 GTI at home. "Oodles of fun," enthused contributor Preston Lerner, adding, "front-wheel drive never seemed to be an issue."

Copy editor Rusty Blackwell ordained it "the best slicer and dicer on the market today," while editor-in-chief Jean Jennings succinctly called it "a superb little rocket." Before we hit the track, Cammisa bemoaned the fact that stability control cannot be fully switched off, but even he admitted, at the end of the day, that "it's really a nonissue, as it still lets you get away with murder." Full read at the source...

Source: Automobile Magazine

Volkswagen of America released a sketch of its forthcoming new mid-size sedan, which will be produced at the company’s new plant in Chattanooga, TN. The sedan will be introduced to the market in late 2011. Volkswagen has yet to release the official name of the sedan, which will replace the Passat in the United States.

CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Stefan Jacoby, said that Volkswagen expects to sell about 100,000 units of the sedan annually. Volkswagen also has plans to export the new U.S. built sedan.

Source: eGMCarTech

Porsche is prepared to share the Panamera and 911 platforms with other Volkswagen Group brands, according to new boss Michael Macht.

Macht said Porsche will pursue co-operative projects now that it
is part of VW. “Porsche needs to become a strong pillar of VW, as well as having its own production and research and development capabilities. It is important to 
use synergies as well as having independence,” he said.

These synergies include Porsche components being offered to sister firms. “The Panamera platform could be used by other brands for models that are in development and at the concept stage,” Macht said.

When asked if the 911 platform was also on the table, Macht said it “could be made available to other VW brands”. But apart from the Cayenne’s V6, Porsche will not use any other VW Group engines. “Engine development is a core value for Porsche,” Macht said.

Source: AutoCar

Volkswagen will make Porsche the 10th brand in its stable with a $5.8 billion acquisition of a 49.9 percent stake in the sports-carmaker. The deal was announced in August, was completed Tuesday, and will end in a complete merger by 2011.

The consummation of the merger is the final chapter in a saga that started when Porsche tried to buy Volkswagen — but was unable to raise the money amid a collapsing global auto market. It's also a larger-scale buyout than VW had been expected to make. Porsche had agreed in August to sell 42 percent of Porsche AG to Volkswagen in a $4.9 billion deal.

The 49 percent stake will be effective by year's end, with the full "integration" of the companies effective in 2011.

To finance the deal, The Wall Street Journal reported today, VW will ask shareholders for the go-ahead to issue some $15 billion in new preferred stock. VW will also reportedly put into motion a $6 billion capital increase in the first half of 2010. The Journal says these plans have "revived speculation" that VW has "set its eyes on further expansion."

Source: InsideLine

Volkswagen probably will drop the Passat sedan and wagon in 2011 when VW's new U.S.-built mid-sized four-door is expected to go on sale.

"We are looking at it in detail," Stefan Jacoby, VW Group of America CEO, said this month at a press event here.

The U.S.-built sedan, which has yet to be named, will be larger than the Passat but priced lower.

"We'll have two sedans coming out at the same time, and the smaller one will cost considerably more than the bigger one," said a VW spokesman.

The Passat sedan is 188.2 inches (4789mm) long. VW has not released dimensions for the new sedan.

VW has said it can afford to price the new sedan lower because it will be built at the new factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Unlike the Passat, it will be less affected by currency exchange rates.

Source: Autoweek

Spotted in the Walmart parking lot. Huh!

In late July Porsche announced Wendelin Wiedeking would be leaving his position as the company's CEO to be replaced by Michael Macht, clearing the way for the supervisory board at Volkswagen to lay the foundation for an integrated company with Porsche under VW leadership. Today that merger has moved forward, and reports indicate the Auto Union name could be revived to brand it.

According to a statement released by the VW Group on the announcement of the acquisition, "The integrated automotive group will be formed from the progressive participation of Volkswagen in Porsche AG and the subsequent merger of Porsche Automobil Holding SE and Volkswagen AG. Porsche will remain an independent company headquartered in Stuttgart."

Today's report re-affirms Porsche's independence, and the Auto Union name is apparently being considered to help preserve the idea that it's not Volkswagen running the whole show.


The Auto Union name was originally given to a merger of four German carmakers - Horch, Audi, DKW and Wanderer - in 1932. The brand went on to fame in motorsports through the 1930s, but was disrupted by World War II, and subsequently went through a number of reformations, eventually ending in a renaming to Audi AG in 1985.

Volkswagen is buying a 49% stake of Porsche AG, the company's sports car business, however, with final valuations to be set on Thursday, reports Automotive News. Qatar, which has recently sought a share of Porsche and VW both, has also been welcomed into the deal as well as a key shareholder.

VW board chairman Martin Winterkorn described the company's plans in July, saying, "Volkswagen and Porsche have excellent know-how at their disposal and can use their resources even more efficiently by combining them. For this reason, we expect additional growth opportunities, safeguarding existing jobs and creating new ones.

"At the same time, we can call on our considerable experience in the integration of proud and successful brands rich in tradition. Like Audi today, Porsche can also continue its independent development under the aegis of Volkswagen and preserve its own identity. We have great respect for the achievements of the Porsche workforce and are convinced that Porsche can enrich the Volkswagen Group – just as Volkswagen can vice versa enrich Porsche.”

The comparison to Audi may be the most apt of all, as it will be the balance between Audi and Porsche in the mass market that will likely shape both brands' future product lineup.

Source: MotorAuthority

Volkswagen is usually known for its simple, basic, iconic styling; the classic Beetle and the previous-generation Jetta are perfect case studies. Which is why the svelte and streamlined CC – known overseas as the Passat CC – has come as a refreshing change of pace for the German automaker. We're not the only ones who think so, either, as the four-door coupe from Wolfsburg has been accumulating design awards the world over.

Adding to the list that already includes the coveted iF Product Design Award and the Australian International Design Award, the Volkswagen CC has now been awarded the prestigious Red Dot Design Award. The prize has bestowed annually since 1955 by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, the legendary design museum housed in the reclaimed Zollverein coal mine.

Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced that the CC, which was designed and engineered to blend sports car dynamics and dimensions with sedan comfort and functionality, has received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) TOP SAFETY PICK award for 2009. A TOP SAFETY PICK is the highest rating possible from the non-profit research organization. The annual award recognizes vehicles that perform best in protecting passengers in the Institute's front, side and rear crash test evaluations.

Source: Yahoo

Last month, Volkswagen announced that it will be returning to the 24-Hour Race at the Nurburgring with the 300-hp Scirocco GT24-CNG. Today, the German automaker announced something we’ve all been waiting for a very long time. At the 24-Hour Race at the Nurburgring, Volkswagen will hold the world-premiere of the new 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco R.

Power comes from a 2.0 TSI 4-cylinder engine making 265-hp with a maximum torque of 258 lb-ft.

Design of the 2009 Scirocco R is based on the Scirocco GT24, which made its Nurburgring debut last year. Pricing and availability details will be announced at a later date; however, don’t expect it to come to the United States.

Source: eGMCarTech

BMW is examining proposals for a new Mini GTI, based on the upcoming Mini Crossover model due next year. The new front-drive machine would slot in just below established favourites such as the VW Golf GTI, offering a more compact – but equally well engineered – package.

It’s too early to say definitively how the car will be priced, but it could be around 10 per cent cheaper than a similarly specified and similarly powerful Golf GTI, according to early projections. If it’s given the green light, the Mini GTI would be built alongside the Mini Crossover at the Steyr factory in Austria and won’t appear much before 2012.

The GTI is likely to deliver at least 180bhp and will be lower and more dynamically focused than the jacked-up Mini Crossover. A John Cooper Works variant, delivering at least 220bhp, is also likely. Although the new five-door platform will accommodate four-wheel drive, a super-powerful Mini Quattro is not currently on BMW’s wish list, although it could be introduced relatively easily. The GTI would get its own distinctive styling, with new bumpers front and rear, different sill covers and a unique rear spoiler and wheel designs.

Source: AutoCar

Word leaked late last week via an official-looking dealer communiqué that Volkswagen had finally decided to pass on bringing the Scirocco to the U.S., but to the best of our knowledge, nobody has gotten first-hand confirmation that the sporty hatchback will not make it across The Pond – until now.

We just got off the phone with Tom Wegehaupt, Volkswagen' of America's public relations coordinator, and he has given us an on-the-record confirmation that the car will not be coming to the U.S. Apparently, the business case just couldn't be made for the car, what with fears of the model cannibalizing sales of the forthcoming GTI and the health of the auto market.

Source: AutoBlog

Three years ago, Volkswagen of America—under the guidance of Kerri Martin, then the "director of brand innovation," and then-advertising darling Crispin Porter + Bogusky—ditched the globally successful Golf nameplate and renamed the popular hatchback the Rabbit in the North American market, reviving the name under which the first-generation Golf was produced in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, in the 1970s and ‘80s. And it was as the Rabbit that the perky, fun-to-drive car was "Americanized" and allowed to deteriorate into a low-quality, softened caricature of the German-built original. When its successor arrived, it was rechristened the Golf to erase memories of the Rabbit.

Apparently, this footnote of automotive history was forgotten at company headquarters when Martin, backed by head honcho Wolfgang Bernhard, came up with the astonishing name change for the Golf MkV. She offered this explanation: "Volkswagen customers want a relationship with their cars. Names like The Thing, Beetle, Fox, and Rabbit support this." (Remember the iconic Fox?)

In hindsight, the Golf MkV—a.k.a. Rabbit—did not multiply quite as successfully as VW hoped three years ago, and in fact it will most likely go down in history as the shortest-lived generation of the model ever. So it's no wonder VW has now decided in favor of another name change, ditching the Rabbit moniker for a second time. "The car will be called the Golf again in North America," Jochen Sengpiehl, executive director of Volkswagen marketing, told us as an aside at the international GTI launch in St. Tropez, France, thus ending a mystery that has kept internet forums and chat rooms busy ever since the Golf MkVI was launched last summer.

Source: Car and Driver

Volkswagen's Concept BlueSport should go a long way towards making the term "diesel performance" a household name. While it might seem to be an oxymoron to some, seeing it at the Detroit Auto Show, we can tell you that if it reaches production, everyone will be a believer. While officially just a concept for now (and the interior is a dead giveaway this isn't production-ready), the two-door roadster sports a 2.0-liter turbodiesel four mounted amidships. It puts out 180 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque and pushes just 2,600 pounds via a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Expect a 0-60 of 6.2 seconds and a top speed of 140, all while returning about 35 mpg on the European cycle and upwards of 62 mpg in "Eco" mode.

The BlueSport might look a lot like an Audi TT with a Scirocco nose, but unlike its corporate sibling, the mid-engine layout provides a 45:55 front-to-rear weight distribution. It's also a tidy package at just over 13 feet in length, with a 96-inch wheelbase, a front track of 58.5 inches and a rear track of 60 inches. So it's about the same size as the TT, but in reverse. In person it seems much smaller than the Audi and reminds us of the Porsche Boxster more than anything, which isn't a bad thing. Stylist Walter da Silva explained his design inspiration in great detail for the assembled masses, unfortunately he did it in Italian, without subtitles, so we have no idea what he said. We did understand what Volkswagen Chairman Martin Winterkorn said, and that was that VW is officially committed to growth with cars that will continue to offer maximum excitement with minimum consumption, and the BlueSport is a perfect example of that philosophy.

Source: AutoBlog

We have some bad news for all you Volkswagen R32 fans out there: Thomas Wegehaupt, spokesman for Volkswagen, has informed us that there will be no U.S. version of the R32 for the 2009 model year. It’s an odd move given that the redesigned R32 was on sale for less than a year. The R32 is a VW Rabbit- (or Golf-) derived model that’s been extensively reworked to include a V-6 powertrain and all-wheel drive.

Part of the reason behind this move could be that a redesigned 2009 Golf was just unveiled at the 2008 Paris auto show and is headed to the U.S. sometime next year. We might get a new R32 based on the 2009 Golf but that will most likely be a year or two down the line. Until then, if you’ve been holding out for a better time to get this hot hatch, your time is running out. Doing a quick inventory check on Cars.com unveils a total of 276 R32s spread across the nation. They start at $32,990, but there’s a maximum of $2,000 cash back on them through Oct. 31.

Source: Kicking Tires