2004 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Gls, Clean Carfax Selling At No Reserve !! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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." Even Fiat, another automaker long considering a budget brand beneath its Fiat line-up, wasn't sure how to squeeze any extra money from lower-cost products but was sure that it couldn't be done by manufacturing in Europe. If VW hasn't yet made the math work with a joint venture in China, it will be interesting to see how it might build a European go-it-alone business case.

2015 Volkswagen Touran is the Euro MPV exemplified [w/video]

Among the vehicles Volkswagen doesn't sell in the United States, we retain a soft spot for the tiny Touran MPV. Five doors, a reasonably sized trunk, clean sheet metal and an attractive cabin is an appealing combo, after all, regardless of the form factor. For the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, VW updated the popular compact van for European audiences. Like the Golf-inspired styling of the second-generation model, the popular hatchback's looks are clearly evident in the third-generation Touran. The Golf's small upper character line is more dramatic on the van, although the general taillight and headlight shapes are remarkably similar. The grille, meanwhile, is more Passat than anything else, with a conservative three-bar design. The R-Line model gets more dramatic front and rear bumpers, with black accents on the former and a pair of chromed exhaust tips jutting out underneath the latter. The cabin is typical of Volkswagen, with handsome materials throughout. Piano black is the dominant accent material, found on the dash and steering wheel, while the leather-wrapped steering wheel and hide seats both look like nice enough. Check out our full gallery of images of the new, third-generation Touran from the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. Volkswagen presents the new Touran - Germany's best-selling MPV completely redeveloped - More room; smart new design - New engines up to 19 per cent more economical Volkswagen presents the new Touran. The completely redesigned MPV was showcased before an audience of international media representatives at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, not far from the production site where the popular family car is made. The interior of the new model has undergone a significant increase in size and is highly configurable. Refinements have been made all around the vehicle, which boasts a range of six new economical engines and an extensive line-up of assistance and infotainment systems. The public premiere of the new Touran will take place in the coming week at the Geneva motor show. Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, explained: "As one of the most successful family cars in the world with 1.9 million units sold, the Touran is indisputably Germany's top MPV.

Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes also under diesel emissions scrutiny

The controversy over Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal isn't limited to the US. In Europe, where diesel engines are far more popular, the issue is shining a harsh light on the NEDC emissions test. As already known, the evaluation does a poor job of reflecting real-world production of NOx, and it appears a significant number of automakers are affected. The Guardian in the UK has been reporting on real-world test results from a company called Emissions Analytics. After the latest round of checks, vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi were found to generate far more NOx than they should. The newspaper also published similar results for Renault, Nissan, Hyundai, Fiat, Volvo, Jeep, Citroen, VW, and Audi. On average, the figures are about four times over the limit of producing the pollutant. Unlike VW and its defeat device, these automakers aren't actually breaking the rules. The vehicles perform up to the NEDC lab test for emissions, but those results simply aren't translated to the street. "The VW issue in the US was purely the trigger which threw light on a slightly different problem in the EU - widespread legal over-emissions," Nick Molden from Emissions Analytics said to The Guardian. A big fight to decide the future of this issue appears to be on the horizon. Automakers claim that they can't meet the next round of tightening emissions regulations and are asking for compromises. Although, spokespeople for Mercedes and Honda told The Guardian that the brands would be in favor of the stricter rules. Meanwhile, some European governments began backtracking their support of diesels well before this scandal came to light. The added scrutiny certain hasn't helped the future of the oil-burner. Related Video: