2012 Volkswagen Passat 2.5 Se on 2040-cars

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If VW defaults on loans it may sell Bentley or Lamborghini

If something goes catastrophically wrong with Volkswagen Group's recent $21 billion loan, brands like Bentley or Lamborghini could hit the auction block. According to two insiders to Reuters, the beleaguered German automaker agrees with its creditors to sell assets if the company somehow can't pay back the debt in a year. One of these anonymous people claimed the company hasn't yet deliberated over what to sell. However, the sources were willing to speculate that the power engineering portion of Man could be among the first to go. "Volkswagen may also consider divesting luxury car brands Bentley and Lamborghini or motor bike brand Ducati, although these units don't really move the needle," an insider said to Reuters. VW Group negotiated with the banks earlier this week to get the massive loan. The cash is necessary as a buffer in case the automaker doesn't have enough money on hand to repair vehicles or settle upcoming fines. VW would reportedly issue bonds in the spring to begin paying the debt. The company's bills will start racking up quickly in the new year. German authorities mandate a recall there in early 2016, and repair campaigns in the US for the 2.0- and 3.0-liter diesel engines are inevitable. There are also hundreds of class-action lawsuits to settle. The company needs to resolve its CO2 emissions scandal in Europe, too. In response to these financial threats, VW management created a cost-cutting plan to slash the research and development budget by $1.1 billion next year.

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:

VW ID.4, the new Buick Envision and crossing Hyundai's N Line | Autoblog Podcast #668

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd. It's a review-packed episode this week, but it kicks off with a discussion of Volvo's plans to electrify by 2030 and move their EV sales online. From there, they get into Greg's time with VW's game-changing new ID.4 electric crossover. Byron then talks about his time with two very different new vehicles: the 2021 Buick Envision luxury crossover and the 2021 Hyundai Sonata N Line, which may or may not be a sport sedan. Finally, they tackle a fascinatingly complex twitter question: What is the best 'economy' muscle car? Autoblog Podcast #668 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News Volvo introduces 2022 C40 Recharge crossover, announces all EV sales will be online-only What we're driving 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 2021 Buick Envision  2021 Hyundai Sonata N Line Reader question What is the best 'economy' muscle car?  Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related Video: Auto News Green Podcasts Buick Hyundai Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Electric Future Vehicles Sedan