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2015 Volkswagen GTI: Introduction [w/video]

If you've ever met me, listened to me on the podcast, or come to know me through my writing during the last five years at Autoblog, the following phrase should not surprise you: I freaking love the Volkswagen GTI. I've long said that the GTI is the perfect daily driver for the everyday enthusiast – a car that offers as much practicality as it does performance, served up in a semi-premium, attractive package. I've preached the GTI's story to anyone who would listen, and I've managed to convince several people to actually go out and buy one (those folks later telling me they're super happy with their cars, by the way). As for this new, seventh-generation GTI, I'll offer a little backstory. In 2013, Volkswagen flew me to Germany to attend the Frankfurt Motor Show, where I also got to drive a number of the company's products, including the CrossBlue crossover concept. While waiting for my turn to pilot the CrossBlue in an airport hangar, one of the German PR folks directed my attention to a white, four-door GTI sitting outside, and said I was free to have my way with it for, oh, 20 minutes... on an empty runway... in the rain. This was my first experience with the new GTI, in a fairly loaded spec, with all the performance goodies. Needless to say, I loved it. But my other big belief about the GTI is that this car is truly perfect in its base form. The sixth-generation car was a blast without any dynamic controls or performance whats-its, and while those things certainly help make this new hot Golf a more enthusiastic package than ever, in my eyes, they aren't completely necessary. That's why, when it came time to order a long-term car, I took control of the options. The end result is the carbon steel gray GTI you see here, in four-door S (base) spec, with a six-speed manual transmission. Yes, I did outfit our car with the only two options available to S shoppers (aside from the $1,495 performance pack) – the $995 lighting package and $695 driver assistance pack – but other than that, it's a no-nonsense hot hatch. No sunroof. No leather. No fully power-adjustable seats. No navigation. No dual-zone climate control. No automatic headlights. No upgraded audio. The bottom line is that our long-term GTI comes in with an as-tested price of $27,895, including the $820 destination charge. That's right: a $28,000 GTI. What our car does have is everything you'd want in a GTI.

Weekly Recap: Volkswagen moves forward under Muller

Most stunning was the speed of it all. On the morning of September 18, Volkswagen AG stood atop the automotive world. It was profitable and sold more cars than Toyota and General Motors, its two main rivals for global supremacy. By nightfall, the company would be embroiled in scandal. Revelations the German auto giant cheated on diesel emissions testing in the United States reverberated from Washington to Wolfsburg, Germany. What started out as a problem with 482,000 VWs and Audis in the US exploded into an international scandal. Millions of vehicles have the rigged software, meaning VW broke environmental rules as its cars spewed pollutants all over the world. The fallout began immediately. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn – one of the most respected and capable executives in the business – apologized on Sunday and Tuesday. On Wednesday he resigned. As the week progressed, the company's stock took a beating and credit agencies threatened to drop their ratings. VW dealers and owners said they felt betrayed. The automaker hired a law firm that defended BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The EPA is already extending its testing procedures to look for "defeat devices" like the ones used by Volkswagen. On Friday the company announced a major restructuring. Matthias Muller, Porsche's chief for the last five years, took over as CEO of Volkswagen and is charged with picking up the pieces of a shattered company facing regulatory action and lawsuits. With GM, Toyota, and Takata scandals still fresh, Volkswagen will likely experience unprecedented levels of scrutiny. Additionally, VW's markets in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will be combined into a North American region under the leadership of former Skoda boss Winfried Vahland, though US chief executive Michael Horn will stay on. The company is also realigning its brands by specialty and streamlining its board. Firings, government action, restructurings, and international outrage – things that usually build up over months or years – all occurred in about a week. With dizzying speed, Volkswagen's future has changed dramatically. It all happened, it's still happening, so fast. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Buick Cascada to start at $33,990 Buick hasn't made a convertible in 25 years. That's a whole person who can drink plus a kindergartner. So it's been awhile. Enter the 2016 Buick Cascada. It has top-shelf Opel engineering, slinky design, and it's reasonably priced.

Recharge Wrap-up: VW CEO mulls battery factory, voters approve $201B in transportation funding

Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Muller says that it would "make sense" for the automaker to begin producing its own batteries. As the company moves toward electrification, Muller says it would be a smart move to build a battery factory. "If more than a quarter of our cars are to be electronic vehicles in the foreseeable future then we are going to need approximately 3 million batteries a year," he says. Volkswagen has agreed to cut 30,000 jobs in its restructuring, while committing to creating 9,000 jobs in Germany through battery manufacturing and mobility services. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Election results show a desire for transportation funding. Earlier this month, voters in 22 states approved ballot measures adding up to $201 billion in funding for transportation projects, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. California passed 15 transportation measures, including one in Los Angeles worth $120 billion for roads, bridges, and transit. The state of Washington secured $54 billion for light rail and buses. Atlanta approved about $4 billion for road and transit projects. Illinois and New Jersey passed measures to prevent the diversion of transportation user fee revenue to other industries. Read more from ITS International. The US Department of Energy (DOE) must hand over confidential documents about Fisker's bankruptcy. A Delaware federal judge ordered the DOE to give the documents – which concern a presentation by Fisker to the DOE in which it falsely claimed to meet milestones set forth in a government loan – to lawyers in a case in which investors claim Fisker lied to them about financial troubles. While the DOE has given over documents already, they were incomplete and heavily redacted. "I understand that such disclosures may have a negative impact on future DOE analyses," says US District Judge Sue Robinson. "but conclude nonetheless that under the circumstances at bar – the public money at stake, the Congressional hearings, and the fact that Fisker Automotive is now a defunct company – the balance of interests favors plaintiffs." Read more at Law360. Related Gallery Volkswagen I.D.