1970 Volkswagen Beetle Base 1.6l on 2040-cars

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VW promises 7-seat CUV for America in 2016

On the eve of the Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn has confirmed the imminent arrival of a new crossover. The model, previewed at the same show last year by the CrossBlue concept pictured here, will be unique to the North American market when it arrives here in 2016. The new three-row, seven-seat crossover is part of an ambitious expansion plan on the part of Volkswagen and Audi in North America, where the two brands aim to sell a million vehicles by 2018.
That's a mighty big increase over the 600,000 vehicles which the Volkswagen Group sold here last year, but it's moving in the right direction: That number is already a 100-percent increase of what it sold here just five years ago. At that rate, VW should have little trouble meeting its goals, particularly with the arrival of the new crossover and the introduction of Golf production at its assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico. Read the full statement below for more.

Recharge Wrap-up: Toyota Prius airbag recall, Peugeot launches eU01s e-bike

Toyota is recalling 7,600 Prius vehicles for an airbag issue. Certain examples of the 2016 Prius could have malfunctioning inflators that could cause the passenger side airbags to deploy accidentally. There are no known injuries from the faulty airbags, but Toyota says, "This has been observed when the vehicle is parked and unoccupied for a period of time." Toyota also says this issue is unrelated to the massive recall of airbags supplied by Takata. The automaker will contact affected owners to arrange free repairs. Read more at Automotive News. Peugeot is adding another e-bike to its portfolio with the eU01s. What sets this electrically assisted bicycle apart from both regular bikes and other pedelecs is its ability to propel the bike to 28 mph under electric power. It comes with either a 400- or 500-Wh lithium-ion battery, providing 47 or 59 miles of range, respectively. It also offers an optional on-board computer with its 4.3-inch screen, through which riders can customize the electric assistance, get directions, receive sports coaching, and connect their smartphone. Earlier this year, Peugeot also launched its e-Kick scooter and folding eF01 e-bike. Read more at Green Car Congress. BYD is expanding its manufacturing facility in the US. In the second of three phases for the plant, BYD is adding onto its factory in Lancaster, California, where it currently builds electric buses. The Chinese company plans to triple the number of employees, up from the current 400, as it expands the facility by 40,000 square feet. BYD plans to build medium- and heavy-duty trucks at the plant, but declined to comment on whether it has plans to build light-duty vehicles there. Read more at Automotive News. The German states of Hesse and Baden-Wuerttemberg are suing Volkswagen over the Dieselgate scandal. The states are joining other investors seeking damages over losses incurred because of the automaker's emissions cheat device. Hesse Finance Minister Thomas Schaefer said the scandal cost the state about $4.4 million in stock losses, while Baden-Wuerttemberg likely lost closer to $450,000. Bavaria said earlier that it would sue Volkswagen on behalf of its pension fund for civil servants, which lost around $780,000. Read more from Automotive News Europe.

VW announces reworked 6.0 W12 TSI engine

Nobody makes more engines with a dozen cylinders than the Volkswagen Group. They're W12s, of course, owing to the novel shape of their cylinder banks. Now the German industrial giant has announced a comprehensively reworked version of that engine at the same Vienna Motor Symposium where it presented its new 2.0-liter turbo four. The new W12 retains the same arrangement and the same 6.0-liter displacement, but updates it all with the latest powertrain tech. In place of Audi's FSI direct injection and Bentley's TMPI multi-point injection, the engine has adopted a new TSI system. It's also got a pair of new twin-scroll turbochargers, APS-coated cylinders, a new cooling system, active engine mounts, cylinder deactivation, and a stop/start system. And – crucially for application in the upcoming Bentayga – it has an oil circuit designed for off-road use. The revised package now produces 600 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. Considerably more than the 567 hp and 516 lb-ft offered in the Bentley Continental GT W12, but less than the GT Speed, which we suspect will get an even more powerful version of this new engine. It's also more powerful than even the top version of Audi and Bentley's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, to make the W12 a more compelling option. Of course that's just as far as the Continental GT is concerned. The W12 has also found use in the Continental GTC and Flying Spur, as well as the Volkswagen Phaeton and Audi A8, and could find further applications under the Flying B emblem and elsewhere in the future. VW says that in the right application (say, in the production version of the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept, for example), the new twelve-pot could deliver 0-62 times of under four seconds and a top speed in excess of 186 miles per hour. Volkswagen at the 36th International Vienna Motor Symposium Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser: "The car of the future will continue to fascinate people" - CO2 reduction, electromobility and digitalisation are the greatest challenges facing the automotive industry - The future of the internal combustion engine will be characterised by high rpm diesel and high-performance three-cylinder TSI engines - Laser roughening – innovative coating process in large-scale production - New 6.0 W12 TSI with 447 kW (608 PS) – performance and refinement - New generation of EU6 TDI engines for light-duty vehicles Dr.