Volkswagen Toureg 4x4 Model: 2005 on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen caught testing hotter Golf R 400

We're getting closer, folks. Last we heard, Volkswagen gave its super-hot Golf R 400 the green light for production. And before that, we were told that if the car got the go-ahead, it would be offered in the United States. So here we are, with a fresh set of spy shots showing what we believe to be the R 400 out testing. Here's one dream that might just be coming true. The prototype seen here sports bigger brakes, different wheels, very low-profile tires, a front lip spoiler, and a wing around back – that last bit looks to be borrowed from the GTI Clubsport. It's not nearly as outrageous-looking as the original R 400 concept, but that's okay with us. Volkswagen's production hot hatches have always been pretty subtle. We love a good sleeper. Under the hood, expect a turbocharged powertrain tuned up to over 400 horsepower. It'll be mated to a dual-clutch transmission and 4Motion all-wheel drive – two parts of the current Golf R package that work very, very well. There's no telling exactly when we'll see the production Golf R 400, assuming it's actually, really, finally happening. All we can do now is wait. And salivate.

Pope meets with family who drove 13,000 miles to see him

Pope Francis met Sunday with a family who made a 13,000-mile trip over 194 days from Argentina to Philadelphia in an old Volkswagen van. Francis spent time with fellow Argentinians Catire Walker and Noel Zemborain and their four children, talking about their visit and praying. Zemborain told the Associated Press that Francis told her that they were crazy to drive so far with their children. She said it was like meeting an old friend and Francis hugged the children. "We couldn't believe it. They called us this morning (and) we were like in shock," she said after Sunday night's Mass. "It is like being with an old friend. He was so warm. He told us we were crazy. He made jokes. "The children got to hug him a lot. They couldn't leave him. Not at all protocol, not at all formal, it was like being with a friend." Walker and Zemborain quit their jobs in food service and marketing to lead their children on the unforgettable tour of the Americas, using savings and soliciting donations to fund the trip to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. Along the way they made 12 border crossings and stayed with dozens of host families, did lots of sightseeing and documented the trip online. They schooled their children — Cala, 12; Dimas, 8; Mia, 5; and Carmin, 3 — with the help of a distance learning program. The family said they got a call at 6 a.m. Sunday that Francis wanted to meet with them at the Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, where he stayed this weekend. Francis told the family he had been following their trip, they wrote in a Facebook post. Zemborain, Walker and the kids plan to continue traveling until November, when they will fly home from Miami. They were going to send the van by ship, but then a relative volunteered to drive it back to Buenos Aires from Florida. Francis celebrated Mass on Sunday that drew hundreds of thousands to downtown Philadelphia. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

VW budget sub-brand stuck in limbo over VW standards, costs

Reports in October 2012 claimed Volkswagen had begun investigating the creation of its own budget brand. This came after having failed to purchase Malaysian car company Proton or produce a meaningful partnership with Suzuki, and after watching Renault-Nissan make piles of euro on Dacia and plot the return of Datsun.
For VW, more important than the question of what to call it was how to build it profitably and in a way that didn't damage the VW brand. According to a report in Autocar, a satisfactory answer still hasn't been found. The hurdle is how to hit "'necessary' quality and safety levels" at the price points needed to make the venture worthwhile. At the time of the 2012 report, German outlet Der Spiegel said VW was trying to get prices down to 6,000 to 8,000 euro ($7,784 to $10,379 US), about two thousand to four thousand euro under the price of the VW Up and in line with the cost of a 6,790-euro Dacia Sandero in Germany.
In March 2013, VW announced, "We want to bring a true budget car to the market in China in the foreseeable future," the most concrete move in that direction after years of planning to make a decision. Working with local Chinese maker FAW, it was predicted that the vehicle in question would appear around 2016, but as of November last year a final vote on it needed to wait until this year because "We are still working on the cost side" and profit possibilities for a car that "has to be durable, it has to be precise, it has to be safe."