2004 Volkswagen Beetle Gls Convertible 2-door 2.0l, Sharp on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Volkswagen building budget car family planned for China in 2018

Volkswagen has publicly pondered a low-cost car for China, something akin to Nissan's Datsun revival in Southeast Asia, for at least three years. In 2013 it tapped Chinese partner FAW to help develop an entire budget brand, with plans to have something on the market in 2016 in the 6,000- to 8,000-euro range. About a year ago, VW said it couldn't figure out how to engineer an inexpensive car that didn't run counter to the brand's values, then three weeks later said it had overcome the issues. Reuters now reports that VW CEO Martin Winterkorn told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, "We will bring a budget-car family to market in 2018, with an SUV, saloon and hatchback." Winterkorn didn't offer any other details like who VW would work with to build it - VW has partnerships with both FAW and SAIC, but the announcement will be welcomed by the brand's Chinese outpost. When this adventure started, VW said it was working to create a model that would cost 6,000 to 8,000 euro. That estimate has increased. Winterkorn is now saying the 2018 offerings will come in between 8,000 and 11,000 euro. In a straight euro-to-yuan conversion, that would equate to Chinese pricing of 56,000 to 77,000 yuan. For comparison, the New Polo with a 1.4-liter engine and a manual transmission starts at 85,900 yuan. Perhaps with an eye on the success of the Nissan-Renault sub-brand Dacia in Europe and emerging markets, Winterkorn told Bild, "We will see if this is something of interest for other markets as well." On the opposite end of the price/performance spectrum, Winterkorn also said that VW is working on two new models for Bugatti, one powered by a traditional gasoline engine and another with some sort of hybrid setup. The latter model would reportedly be the higher-performing of the two, though it's not clear whether there would be two vehicle lines or two versions of the same vehicle. As ever, as soon as we know more, so will you.

Meet ZelectricBug, the amazing '63 VW Bug converted to EV power

No word a lie, we here at AutoblogGreen are fans of classic cars. What we are not fond of, however, is the pollution that their inefficient engines create, and so it's great to see our old favorites lovingly up-cycled with electric drivetrains. The ZelectricBug is a beautiful example of how new, cleaner life can be breathed into an old Volkswagen Beetle. Now, we first came across this particular automobile during the Refuel event last summer and we were struck by its cleanly done conversion then. Aside from a few snaps in our gallery, though, we didn't give it the kind of attention it deserves. Fortunately, the good folks over at Roads and Rides have rectified this by turning their pro video camera skills onto the 1963 V-Dub and producing a nice little segment to accompany their write up. Scroll below to see the finished footage and head over to their website for some stills. If all this gives you a hankering for your own Zelectric, the company does have plans to sell to the public starting this summer. If you don't want to wait, EV West, the guys who did the drivetrain work on this car, have conversion kits available for Beetles, as well as a number of other vehicles. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Recharge Wrap-up: meet the '66 ZelectricBug, DOE announces home-scale H2 refueling competition

The US Department of Energy has launched the $1 million H2 Refuel H-Prize competition to create small- to medium-scale hydrogen refueling systems. The systems could be home-scale systems that produce hydrogen using utilities at home for refueling, or medium-scale systems to supply locations such as retail centers, apartment complexes or small fleets. The DOE sees hydrogen fueling infrastructure as the biggest obstacle to fuel-cell vehicle adoption and putting the production and refueling in the hands of the consumer could be a way around that obstacle. Read more at Energy.gov and at Green Car Congress. Hyundai has announced a new six-speed automatic transmission with integrated electric motor for new hybrid models. The new configuration puts most of the hybrid powertrain components within the transmission, and the torque converter has been eliminated. The new engine clutch reduces drag with fewer clutch discs, and the mechanical oil pump has been replaced with an electric one. The result is fewer energy losses, improved efficiency and greater mileage. Read more at Hybrid Cars in Reuters or in the press release from Hyundai below. Zelectric Motors has completed its electric 1966 Volkswagen Beetle rebuild, and has put it up for sale. The '66 ZelectricBug, as it's called, is powered by a 50-kW electric motor and 20-kWh battery pack, and offers 120 pound-feet of torque. It has a range of 80 miles, and is capable of at least 100 mph. The stock transmission has been rebuilt. It also has some new goodies like high-performance sway bars, custom shocks, and LED lighting. The '66 ZelectricBug is priced at $45,000. Check it out in the video below and read more at Hybrid Cars. A startup called Alevo says it will build a billion-dollar factory in North Carolina to make longer-lasting lithium iron phosphate batteries. Alevo has purchased an old cigarette factory in Concord for $68.5 million, but it's unclear whether or not the company has secured the $1 billion investment to begin producing batteries. The company plans to create 2,500 to 6,000 jobs and produce several gigawatts worth of batteries per year, which is a tall order for a relatively unknown company. Read more at Gigaom, or in Alevo's press release below. Tesla owners in Shanghai will be exempt from the city's $12,000 registration fee. About 400 people have already received the free license plates in Shanghai, where the government wants to encourage alternative fuel vehicles.