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VW CEO Winterkorn happy with rebounding Seat, Skoda

Martin Winterkorn is a happy man: Volkswagen is putting up big numbers in North America, its latest field of dreams, Audi, is breaking records every month, there are exciting cars in the pipeline - from Bugatti down to the XL1, Porsche's digestion continues, and now Skoda and especially Seat are turning in no-questions performance.
It seems Skoda has been on the ups for years, making the most of keen pricing and modern redesigns of the chassis and tech it gets handed down from big brothers VW and Audi. Winterkorn predicts the Czech brand will just about double its 2010 sales by 2018, going from 762,000 to 1.5 million.
Seat, on the other hand, wasn't just on the hotseat a year-and-a-half ago, phrases like "uncertain future" - code for "possible demise" - were rumbling in the background. A new CEO was brought in, new money and new models were thrown against the wall, and the efforts have stuck. The Spanish brand has hit three strong chords with Winterkorn, with increased sales, strong performance in China and anticipated models due. If this keeps up there won't be much left for him to do but, a la Alexander the Great, break down and cry with no worlds left to conquer.

Skoda Superb Combi Outdoor is Czech for "Allroad"

The Škoda Superb Combi has picked up on the "Allroad" habit of its flashier brother, Audi. As is to be expected, though, in Škoda guise, the design-package makeover as applied to the Superb Combi Outdoor isn't quite so flashy. The ride height and suspension are unchanged, and there are no steel undertrays installed fore and aft. But there is "robust synthetic paneling" that runs all around the lower rim of the car, as well as a revised font bumper with fog lamps and a larger lower intake.
This is said to enable the Combi Outdoor to "hold its own even beyond paved roads," but we'd take that with a few grains of whatever the Czech word for "salt" is. It is available now with any engine and drive layout in the range other than the GreenLine. Scroll down for a brief press release, and check out its angles in our gallery.

2013 Skoda Rapid offers Czech flair in a Volkswagen world

Czech automaker Škoda has splashed down at this week's Paris Motor Show with its new Rapid sedan. The 2013 Rapid may bear a brand-specific front end, but the rest of the car isn't a far leap from its Volkswagen Jetta roots. We think that's a good thing, though perhaps the best instantiation of this corporate model is the new Toledo from Seat? We'll let the Europeans fight that one out.
The Rapid will serve as an entry point into the larger Volkswagen corporate universe for many buyers, offering a value-laden vehicle that is slightly less upscale than its German and Spanish counterparts. The Rapid will be served up with no fewer than five engine choices at launch: a pair of diesels and three different petrol-engined cars will fill out the roster.
Curiously, the Czech automaker already markets a very different model under the Rapid banner, a smaller VW Polo-derived model sold in India.