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US-spec 2015 Volkswagen Golf and GTI to finally debut in New York

The seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf is hardly new to us. In fact, we've already driven it. And elsewhere in the world, the new Golf is already winning awards. Even so, we still have yet to see the US-spec version of the car, though that won't be the case much longer. As part of the New York Auto Show festivities later this month, Volkswagen will finally show off the 2015 Golf models destined for our shores.
Three different versions of the Golf will debut under the lights of New York City's Javits Center: the turbocharged TSI, oil-sipping TDI and hotter GTI. The first model in that list uses Volkswagen's new 1.8-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, replacing the outgoing 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline five-cylinder. The latter two models use familiar engines: the 2.0-liter TDI diesel and 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, respectively.
Even though the new Golf officially debuts later this month, it won't go on sale in the US until the first quarter of 2014. We'll be waiting patiently.

VW previews huge screens, gesture control with Golf R Touch Concept at CES

Volkswagen is showing off the future of infotainment and connected driving at CES 2015 with a fleet of concepts that highlight its latest technology. According to its displays, the coming years might mean gesture-based vehicle controls and electric cars that drive themselves to find their own charging locations. VW's biggest debut at CES is its next-gen infotainment system, dubbed MIB II. The setup supports a wide array of smartphone integration standards, including MirrorLink, Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto, to make sure that practically every smartphone user can pair the device's interface with the vehicle. Beyond just keeping occupants entertained, MIB II offers a system called Regular Routes that detects traffic along the driver's regular commute to work and suggests alternatives. The Parking Guide also helps find parking spots that are likely open. If MIB II represents the near future of VW infotainment, then the technology on the Golf R Touch Concept is the next step from there. It takes the brand's hot hatch and adds support for gesture controls inside, plus a trio of massive infotainment screens. This R features a 12.8-inch central infotainment screen, an 8-inch screen below it for things like the climate control and switching media and a customizable 12.3-inch display that digitizes the instrument panel. A camera in front of the central display waits for the driver's hands to make specific movements that activate various vehicle functions. Despite all of the potentially distracting screens, VW says the system offers control without requiring a look away from the road. VW hopes the technology reduces driver distraction and creates a closer relationship with the car. Another of the German automaker's big tech showcases is an e-Golf that demonstrates the potential future of both electric and semi-autonomous driving. This version can be charged inductively, rather than through a traditional power cord, and the exterior lights show when the vehicle is fully recharged. It's also equipped with the e-Station Guide that helps drivers find a charging location and tells them about the payment options there. This e-Golf's other major innovation is VW's Trained Parking system. A camera at the front scans the route to a parking space, and if the driver returns later, then the process can be done semi-automatically.

The UK votes for Brexit and it will impact automakers

It's the first morning after the United Kingdom voted for what's become known as Brexit – that is, to leave the European Union and its tariff-free internal market. Now begins a two-year process in which the UK will have to negotiate with the rest of the EU trading bloc, which is its largest export market, about many things. One of them may be tariffs, and that could severely impact any automaker that builds cars in the UK. This doesn't just mean companies that you think of as British, like Mini and Jaguar. Both of those automakers are owned by foreign companies, incidentally. Mini and Rolls-Royce are owned by BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata Motors of India, and Bentley by the VW Group. Many other automakers produce cars in the UK for sale within that country and also export to the EU. Tariffs could damage the profits of each of these companies, and perhaps cause them to shift manufacturing out of the UK, significantly damaging the country's resurgent manufacturing industry. Autonews Europe dug up some interesting numbers on that last point. Nissan, the country's second-largest auto producer, builds 475k or so cars in the UK but the vast majority are sent abroad. Toyota built 190k cars last year in Britain, of which 75 percent went to the EU and just 10 percent were sold in the country. Investors are skittish at the news. The value of the pound sterling has plummeted by 8 percent as of this writing, at one point yesterday reaching levels not seen since 1985. Shares at Tata Motors, which counts Jaguar and Land Rover as bright jewels in its portfolio, were off by nearly 12 percent according to Autonews Europe. So what happens next? No one's terribly sure, although the feeling seems to be that the jilted EU will impost tariffs of up to 10 percent on UK exports. It's likely that the UK will reciprocate, and thus it'll be more expensive to buy a European-made car in the UK. Both situations will likely negatively affect the country, as both production of new cars and sales to UK consumers will both fall. Evercore Automotive Research figures the combined damage will be roughly $9b in lost profits to automakers, and an as-of-yet unquantified impact on auto production jobs. Perhaps the EU's leaders in Brussels will be in a better mood in two years, and the process won't devolve into a trade war. In the immediate wake of the Brexit vote, though, the mood is grim, the EU leadership is angry, and investors are spooked.