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Volkswagen's De Silva says next Scirocco will be 'completely different'

From our perspective, the reborn Volkswagen Scirocco is a handsome (if squat) little thing. Yet design-wise, it's always struck us as uncomfortably close to the Golf three-door hatchback with which it shares its basic underpinnings. That aesthetic kinship may be part of the reason why Volkswagen has steadfastly refused to import the Scirocco to North America, seeing as how the Golf doesn't regularly set the company's sales charts alight, and it's less expensive.
But that visual similarity might be about to change, says Walter De Silva, who recently told Australia's Car Advice that, "It must be completely different... we don't want to repeat the bodystyle of the Scirocco, we want to change that." Further, the Volkswagen Group's design boss says that the next-generation car isn't terribly far along in development yet - "at the moment, it's only a studio [project]... it's not defined." It's probably just as well, as the new seventh-generation Golf arguably borrows some of its design from the current Scirocco anyway.
So we should expect a much bolder, more differentiated design, right? Well, yes, no and maybe. Back in September, De Silva himself was quoted as saying that the era of flamboyant styling has passed, and that future VW designs will be simpler to better reflect the times and preserve resale value. So... how different could it be?

Pontiac Aztek enjoys rebirth thanks to Millennials

Apparently, Millennials – those between 18 and 34 – aren't afraid to look different on the road, and they like performance, too. A new study by Edmunds is discovering some surprising vehicle choices by this group. Among them, the long-derided Pontiac Aztek is getting a new day in the sun with 25.5 percent its buyers coming from this generation in the first half of 2015. For comparison, Millennials represent an average of 16.8 percent of used car purchases. The Aztek is slowly shaking its reputation as a styling abomination, which seems tied to its appearance on Breaking Bad. The show premiered in 2008, and the Pontiac has been on this list for four of the past five years, according to Edmunds. It even led the pack in 2010. A recent Retro Review from MotorWeek also showed that the crossover wasn't always so hated. While it's still a shock to see the Aztek on any popularity list, the awkward-looking crossover only ranks sixth among Millennials. The vehicle with the biggest portion of buyers from the generation is the Dodge Magnum with 27.6 percent. According to Edmunds, the bluntly styled wagon is especially popular in Detroit and Chicago. The Chrysler Pacifica comes in a close second at 27.3 percent. When it comes to used cars, value and utility appear to trump just about anything else for many Millennial buyers," Edmunds analyst Jeremy Acevedo said in the report. Young buyers aren't afraid of sporty rides, either. The Subaru WRX has 26.4 percent Millennial buyers to rank third place on the list, and the Volkswagen R32 takes fifth at 25.7 percent. Just a few points lower in seventh place is the Nissan GT-R at 25.4 percent, and the final performance machine in 10th place is the Lexus IS-F with 24.7 percent. Related Video:

VW beams in Star Trek stars to promote e-Golf EV

Volkswagen just set its e-mobility commercial phasers on stunning. The German automaker has cast Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame (i.e., actors William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy) in a new advertisement for its growing stable of electric vehicles. Even though it's in German, we think you can get the idea. VW went Hollywood and cast the two veteran actors in a futuristic-themed 45-second ad, which sees Shatner cruise up in the e-Golf (with a toothy Trek-fan kid in tow) while Nimoy rocks the XL1 and the Trek theme blares in the background. Forget for a moment that the kid in the commercial wasn't even born when Shatner started pitching for Priceline, let alone the original Trek series and just enjoy the wholesome good humor of Shatner saying that the electric powertrain is just like the one in a spaceship. If you've got any familiarity with Spock, you should be able to understand his punch line, too. Of course, if you'd rather your German vehicle advertisements were set in the Star Wars universe, we recommend clicking here. VW will bring the e-Golf to the states in November at a price of $35,445, about $6,500 higher than the Nissan Leaf's starting pricetag. You can see the new ad and a number of related behind-the-scenes videos (in English) below. Our Quick Spin of the E-up! are available here. 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.