1985 Volkswagen Vanagon Gl Standard Passenger Van 3-door 1.9l on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover remains bullish on diesels

Despite Volkswagen's recent diesel scandal, Jaguar Land Rover is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to roll out the technology across most of its lineup in the coming years. Jaguar and Land Rover will add diesel engine variants to every model in their lineups, except for the Jaguar F-Type sports car. Land Rover launched the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport with available 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 diesels, and together they have sold more than 330 units so far in September, their first month on sale in the United States. JLA officials say they've seen no fallout from VW's emissions problem and are adamant their diesels meet EPA standards. "That has been our strategy, and it is not changing," Joe Eberhardt, Jaguar Land Rover North America CEO, told the Automotive Press Association on Wednesday in Detroit. "You have to deal with the situations as they arrive. We are confident of diesel." Jaguar will get another diesel next year from its Ingenium engine family, which will initially be sold in the XE sedan and the F-Pace crossover. It's a turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit and makes 180 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. A JLR spokesman said the Ingenium has not yet gone through the EPA certification process, and the diesel-powered models will arrive in the fall. Jaguar also plans to add diesel engines to the flagship XJ and XF sedans. Land Rovers, including the Discovery and Evoque, will also get diesel options, and the company estimates the technology will offer 20- to 30-percent improvements in fuel economy, depending on the vehicle. Eberhardt said it is "too soon to tell" if the diesel market will be weighed down by Volkswagen's situation. The German automaker admitted to cheating on emissions tests to make its diesel-powered cars appear to run cleaner than they actually do in real-world situations. The ensuing outrage forced longtime VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn to step down and prompted a reorganization of the company, which faces legal and regulatory action around the world. Still, Eberhardt maintains JLR is "very confident" in its diesels, which are part of its strategy to grow sales around the world. Land Rover has experienced rapid growth under the ownership of Indian conglomerate, Tata Motors, while Jaguar is set to revitalize its lineup with new entries like the XE and F-Pace to reach a broader market segment.

VW confirms three-row Tiguan to be built in Mexico

Volkswagen has been toying with the idea of a three-row crossover for some time – as evidenced by the CrossBlue concept in 2013 and the Magellan concept way back in 2002. But now the German automaker is bringing it to fruition, and it's doing so right in our back yard (or across the fence, anyway). In its latest announcement, VW confirmed recent reports that it will build a new three-row Tiguan at its plant in Puebla, Mexico. It will be made alongside the Golf and Jetta at the company's largest assembly plant outside of Germany, after a billion-dollar expansion program that will encompass nearly a million more square feet of space and employ some 2,000 workers. Once production of the new Tiguan comes on full steam in 2017, the plant will be pumping out 500 of them every day to be delivered in the Americas, but also exported to markets overseas (save for China and Europe). At that point, VW will be producing 90 percent of its products for North America locally. Of course this won't be the first time Volkswagen will be producing a Tiguan. The current model was introduced in 2007 and underwent a facelift in 2011, but includes only two rows of seating and is imported to North America from factories overseas. VOLKSWAGEN DE MEXICO TO PRODUCE THE NEW THREE-ROW TIGUAN IN ITS PUEBLA ASSEMBLY PLANT Mar 9, 2015 - Investment of $1 billion at Puebla plant - US-CEO Michael Horn: Localization key to safeguard our competitive position - Start of production end of 2016 Puebla/Herndon, March 9, 2015 – Volkswagen de Mexico announced today that a three-row version of the Tiguan will be produced at its plant in Puebla, Mexico. The car will be launched to the markets in 2017. The company will invest $1 billion for the expansion and modernization of its production facilities at the Puebla plant, as well as tooling to produce auto parts at suppliers. Volkswagen de Mexico's strategy of technological upgrading, which started with the production of the new Golf on the Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform, goes to the next step with the new Tiguan. "Localization has become key to safeguarding our competitive position on the global market and manufacturing the Tiguan in Mexico will bring production closer to the U.S.-market," said Michael Horn, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. "It is another proof point that Volkswagen is committed to further growth in the U.S. and North American markets.

The hottest modern sports cars rendered as rally racers

The modern-day World Rally Championship a monumental amount of fun to watch – I should know, as I recently was lucky enough to head to the UK to watch WRC Wales Rally GB – but even the most monstrous of the current WRC cars are based on fairly pedestrian European hatchbacks. Back in the heyday of rally, the Group B era in the 1980s, much hotter cars were the basis of even more incredible competition machines, for the most part. Take the exotic Ford RS200, or the Lancia Delta S4 with its twin-charged engine. And the hatchback-based Group B cars were bonkers, too. So what would some of our favorite modern cars look like if Group B had never ended? A British site named CarWow hired an artist to reimagine everything from the Rolls-Royce Wraith to the Porsche 911 as a retro-inspired rally car, and they were kind enough to let us share the results in the gallery above. The gallery features an Alfa Romeo Giulia in Martini livery, an Audi TT in classic Ur-Quattro colors, a Fiat 500 Abarth sporting massive flares and a hood blister full of auxiliary lights, a new Ford Mustang in RS200 livery, a Lancia Delta in Alitalia colors, a Porsche 911 in Rothmans livery, a Renault-Alpine in classic blue, a Rolls-Royce Wraith tribute to the Jules cologne Corniche Coupe, and a relatively modern-looking VW Touran. So far, the favorite around the office is the incredible Mercedes-Benz S-Class that is an homage to the wonderful 300 SEL 6.8 AMG "Red Pig" that essentially put AMG on the map. Check out the gallery above and see which one you like the best. Related Video: