1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle Base Sedan 2-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

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Bentley Bentayga bodies to be built in Bratislava

Volkswagen's plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, has come a long way. After getting its start in 1971 by subcontracting the production of Skoda-branded vehicles, the plant was purchased by VW in 1991, where it was quickly put to further good use as it began producing Volkswagen Passat models for export. More recently, Bratislava has become a bastion for SUVs, assembling the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne, in addition to the VW Touareg. Color us unsurprised, then, to learn that the Bentley Bentayga, which will be built atop the same large SUV platform as its cousins from Audi, Porsche and VW, will also be used for at least part of the production of Bentley's first SUV. Surely, though, one of the hallmarks of the Bentley brand is that its cars are handmade in England. Won't the Bentley-buying populace feel slighted by production in Slovakia? Not to worry. As is the case with the Porsche Cayenne, all that will be produced in Slovakia is the Bentayga's body. According to a report from Automotive News, bodies for the Bentayga will be shipped from Bratislava to Crewe, England, where they will be finished into fully operational vehicles. In order to accommodate the additional work, VW will reportedly invest 500 million euros into the plant in Slovakia and hire hundreds of workers.

Skoda launching two new CNG-powered vehicles in Europe in June

Skoda's second- and third-ever production compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles aren't exactly speed burners, but they are efficient. The Czech automaker, which is owned by Volkswagen, will introduce its Octavia G-TEC and Octavia Combi G-TEC models to most of Europe next month. Skoda's first CNG model was the Citigo, which debuted in 2012. The Octavia models will have a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine that will deliver about 109 horsepower. Quickness isn't these cars' virtue, as their 0-60 mile per hour acceleration time will be almost 11 seconds. But they can go as far as 826 miles on their tanks of gas and CNG, enough to go from Prague to Rome in one shot, in case anyone was curious. Or nuts. The move by Skoda makes sense, as the CNG market in Europe has long been far further along than it is on this side of the pond, where CNG has primarily been used to move delivery trucks, but it's now available in pickups form Chrysler, Ford and General Motors as well as passenger cars from Chevy and Honda. The Skoda Citigo has moved almost 2,000 units since its debut, with 1,300 vehicles sold last year alone. That car can go as far as 385 miles on CNG and gasoline combined, which is impressive but not quite as bladder busting as the Octavia models. Check out Skoda's press release below. SKODA continues its CNG offensive with the new SKODA Octavia G-TEC Launch of the new SKODA Octavia G-TEC and new Octavia Combi G-TEC in June First SKODA Octavia with natural gas drive as standard; 97 g CO2/km High-performance technology: bivalent turbo engine 1.4 TSI/81 kW The ultimate in fuel economy: up to 1,330 km with natural gas and petrol SKODA Citigo G-TEC has enjoyed market success since 2012; only 79 g CO2/km Natural gas is the environmentally-friendly, cost-effective alternative Mlada Boleslav, 19 May 2014 – Expanding its environmentally-friendly model range, SKODA is renewing its emphasis on compressed natural gas vehicles. The new SKODA Octavia G-TEC and the new SKODA Octavia Combi G-TEC will be given their market premiere in June. This will increase the brand's CNG range to three models. Since the end of 2012, the little natural gas-drive Citigo has been successfully touring the European markets. "With the new Octavia G-TEC and the Octavia Combi G-TEC, our model range is becoming even more environmentally-friendly," says Dr Frank Welsch, SKODA Board Member for Technical Development.

Germany says nein to EU ban on new fossil-fuel cars from 2035

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's government will not agree to European Union plans to effectively ban the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Tuesday. In its bid to cut planet-warming emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels, the European Commission has proposed a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2035. That means it would be impossible to sell combustion engine cars from then. European Parliament lawmakers backed the proposals this month, before negotiations with EU countries on the final law take place. Speaking at an event hosted by Germany's BDI industry association, Lindner said there would continue to be niches for combustion engines so a ban was wrong and said the government would not agree to this European legislation. Lindner, a member of the pro-business Free Democrats, which shares power with the Social Democrats and Greens, said Germany would still be a leading market for electric vehicles. (Reporting by Christian Kraemer; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Miranda Murray and Edmund Blair) Green Government/Legal Green Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Opel SEAT Skoda