2002 Golf Gti 1.8t Green Engine Turbo With 22 Pounds on 2040-cars

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MindDrive cruises California with 1972 Karmann Ghia EV

If you need a bit of inspirational EV goodness, spend some time watching the collection of videos we've got for you from Minddrive. Minddrive, as you might remember, is the education mentorship program that "uses real-world issues of our times to teach urban students critical thinking, creativity, entrepreneurship and how to improve their future by expanding their vision for themselves." The focus was on a fully restored 1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Well, restored and converted to electric power. The students previously worked on the Lola EV but this year the focus was on a fully restored 1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Well, restored and then converted to electric power. In early June, almost 50 Minddrive students and mentors flew from Kansas City to California to visit the epicenter of electric vehicles in the US on something called the "Raise Your Hand Tour." Filmmakers Mark Honer and Kelly Creech from DHTV Digital were along for the ride. The videos below show the students flying from to Oakland, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, presenting the Karmann Ghia at the California Academy of Sciences and then visiting the Monterey Bay EV Club, Google, Twitter and Telsa. All of this EV engagement apparently worked. One of the students, identified only as Xavier, wrote a poem and essay about what the electric vehicle project meant to him. Here's a tease: "Minddrive has honestly opened my eyes to sights and things I would have never thought possible. I have finally found the right path to follow." Read the whole thing below, after the videos. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. I used to think that I would never be able to achieve to a greater rank. Always thought that power was given to people with a big bank. Never could imagine that my life would be amazing. Felt that my whole existence was around the weed blazing.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler: Ducati is not for sale

"Ducati is not for sale." Those words, attributed to Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, are about as clear and definitive as can be, and they reiterate a previous statement about the potential sale of the premium Italian motorcycle brand that was made in March of this year. "[Ducati and Lamborghini] belong to Audi and, together with us, have an excellent future," said Stadler. Thing is, Audi, as well-off and established as it may be, still falls under the Volkswagen umbrella. And, as you're surely aware, things haven't exactly been smooth sailing for the VW Group over the last several months. The German automaker has squirreled away billions of dollars in anticipation of the legal fallout that's sure to come from the falsification of vehicle emissions data, and that's going to leave the company strapped for cash. All of that bad news led to speculation that VW could sell off some of its non-core businesses. What of the future of the Scania and Man heavy truck brands? Those don't currently appear to be on the auction block, either. VW's continued involvement in the HD truck segment was announced as part of the brand's TOGETHER - Strategy 2025 plan, in which Volkswagen outlined plans to push further into vehicle electrification and vehicle autonomy. Related Video: News Source: Asphalt & RubberImage Credit: Malte Christians/AFP/Getty Earnings/Financials Audi Lamborghini Volkswagen Motorcycle Performance Ducati Scania

Brazil contemplates safety exemption for VW Kombi as it goes out of production today [w/poll]

Brazil: the country of carnivals, indescribable beauty adjacent to abject poverty, Ayrton Senna and old Volkswagen models. Only they're not old - they're new, they're just based on old designs. The original Beetle continued production there long after it had been phased out elsewhere, but the original Kombi van has lasted much longer. That ends today, however, with the iconic VW Microbus ambling out of production on the last day of 2013.
VW kept making the van in Brazil with the original air-cooled 1.2-liter boxer four until 2005, after which the original design was updated with a 1.4-liter water-cooled engine. Today, however, it ultimately falls prey to safety regulations that mandate that all vehicles - no matter how old their design - need to have airbags and ABS, forcing Volkswagen do Brasil to cease production of the Microbus after a 56-year production run. But the latest word is that the Kombi (as it's presently known) could get a stay of execution - or at least a resurrection in short order.
According to reports, the Brazilian government is looking into granting the Type 2 Microbus an exemption from said safety regulations, reasoning that the van was designed long before the advent of airbags and ABS. If the measure goes through, the Kombi Last Edition (pictured above) could prove not to be the last at all. So what do you think, should the Microbus get an exemption from Brazilian safety regulations for nostalgia's sake? Vote in our poll below, then have your say in Comments.