2004 Lamborghini Gallardo Twin Turbo Brushed Aliminum Wrap on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Group sales down 15% in pandemic year, but EV sales up 214%

FRANKFURT, Germany — German automaker Volkswagen said its global sales fell 15.2% during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but showed significant recovery toward the end of the year. The company more than tripled its sales of battery-only vehicles. Global sales for all of Volkswagen's brands amounted to 9.3 million vehicles. The fourth quarter showed a smaller decline of 5.7% and within that quarter the month of December was still further improved, showing a shortfall of only 3.2% from the same period the year before. Volkswagen said Wednesday that sales fell the most in Western Europe, by 21.6%, while China, the company's largest single market, was down 9.1% Sales of battery-only cars jumped 214% to 231,600 from 73,700 across all the company's brands. The company's electric sales leaders included the Volkswagen ID.3 compact, with 56,500, the Audi E-Tron SUV with 47,300, and the high-end Porsche Taycan with 20,000. Volkswagen said that its sales fell by less than the overall market, meaning it had slightly expanded its market share. “The COVID-19 pandemic made 2020 an extremely challenging year,” said group sales chief Christian Dahlheim. “The Volkswagen Group performed well in this environment and strengthened its market position." Volkswagen Group's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, and Skoda as sell as truck makers MAN and Scania.

Lamborghini Urraco ownership is traumatic but awesome

Gene Ondrusek and his 1975 Lamborghini Urraco have a relationship forged in heartache. He bought the car on a whim in 1987 and had barely driven it when the timing belt snapped thanks to a bad previous engine rebuild. With the interior already a wreck, Ondrusek set off on a restoration that would take years to get the Lamborghini back together.
All of that time arm-deep in the car's mechanicals has turned Ondrusek into a pretty persnickety owner. Passengers have to remove their shoes before getting in, and he has a mat to protect the carpet on the driver's side. However, despite his fastidious temperament, this Urraco isn't a garage queen and gets driven often.
Ondrusek doesn't exactly make the Urraco sound like an unmitigated joy behind the wheel, either. The seating position forces the driver to sit at an angle, and with no power brakes or power steering, the wedge-shaped coupe is not exactly easy to handle at low speeds. Still, all that time fixing the car has clearly created a strong bond behind man and machine, and we think the wedgy, underappreciated mid-Seventies Marcello Gandini design has held up well. Get a feel for both the car and the owner's connection by watching this latest video from Petrolicious.

Lamborghini sold a record 3,245 supercars last year

Lamborghini sold 3,245 vehicles last year. That figure represents new record for the Italian automaker, which moved more supercars in 2015 than it has in any of its past 53 years in business. And that number only stands to grow in the coming years. This represents an enormous increase over the 2,530 units it sold in the previous calendar year – which itself set a new record in 2014. Lamborghini's previous high-water mark stood at 2,430 units sold in 2008, but dipped in subsequent years through the global economic downturn that hit exotic automakers particularly hard. What's more is that the Raging Bull marque is gearing up to increase its sales even further in the coming years. The factory in Sant'Agata is preparing to add a third model line to the existing Huracan and Aventador with the introduction of the Urus. Once production of the new crossover ramps up, Lamborghini expects to sell approximately 3,000 of them each year, potentially doubling the record numbers from last year. Even at those figures, the Italian brand remains among the smallest in the Volkswagen Group. Sales numbers from 2014 reveal that Bentley sold approximately 11,000 units, leaving only Bugatti as a smaller producer than Lamborghini with sales of its multi-million-dollar supercars counted in the hundreds, not thousands. Though it also posted record sales last year, rival McLaren sold roughly half the number of supercars that Lamborghini did at 1,650 units. By comparison Ferrari currently limits its production to 7,000 units per year – more than double Lamborghini's figures – and could raise that limit in the near future. Related Video: AUTOMOBILI LAMBORGHINI: 150 NEW JOBS IN 2015 FOR THE URUS PROJECT WITH FURTHER HIRINGS TO FOLLOW IN 2016 Sant'Agata Bolognese, 26. January 2016 – Automobili Lamborghini just ended 2015 with exceptional results. The all-time record of 3,245 vehicles sold worldwide comes with a rapid growth in workforce, which now stands at 1,300 employees. More than 150 assembly line workers, technicians and highly qualified specialists have been hired recently with open-ended contracts, bringing the total of permanent employees taken on over the past five years to more than 600. Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, commented: "Lamborghini is experiencing strong, steady growth in sales and also in its workforce.