2013 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Tiguan tunes up for Frankfurt show

Volkswagen is in the phase of testing where it's simply beating the crap out of the next-generation Tiguan. The German manufacturer is conducting high-altitude towing tests in the Alps of mules wearing the production-ready body of its second-gen compact CUV. This is the first time we've seen the Tiguan in its production body, and despite the ample camouflage, the resemblance to not only the Passat sedan, but the Cross Coupe GTE and CrossBlue concepts, is clear. That's particularly true based on what we can see of the new Tiguan's grille and headlight treatment. In back, the Tiguan will adopt a more sporting roofline, particularly in the aggressive rake of the D-pillar. It's significantly different than the current car, and frankly, that's no bad thing. Expect the usual array of gas and diesel four cylinders with both front- and all-wheel drive on offer. On the high end, meanwhile, our spies claim a 300-horsepower R model could eventually be added to the range. Aside from its new look, future variants could see the crossover spawn both a long-wheelbase version and a coupe-like model. That said, we're wondering how a long-wheelbase Tiguan would fit into the VW range alongside the long-rumored, American-built, three-rower. According to our spies, though, neither one of those vehicles would arrive until well after the vehicle shown above debuts. As for when we can expect to see the second-gen Tiguan, our spies point to September's Frankfurt Motor Show. Be sure to check back then.

Chrysler slows minivan production, hasn't built VW Routan this year

Chrysler has slowed production of its Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans this week, Automotive News reports. The Windsor, Ontario plant will cut its three shifts from eight hours each to four hours each in an effort "to align production with market demand," a Chrysler spokesperson told AN. Chrysler also builds the closely related Routan minivan for Volkswagen at its Ontario facility, but has not built a single example thus far in 2013.
Sales of Chrysler's minivans fell 15 percent for the first two months of 2013, and a large part of that has to do with the 26-percent drop of the Grand Caravan alone (the T&C was only down by one percent). According to Automotive News data, as of March 1, Chrysler had an unsold inventory of 24,713 Town and Country models and 18,547 Grand Caravans - a 69- and 43-day supply, respectively.
"No sense running full speed now, then have a lot of vehicles sitting around a few months down the line," Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson told AN. Full production is expected to resume again on March 18.

Autoblog Podcast #389

Episode #389 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, and Mark Pereira from Autoblog Canada talk about Johan deNysschen's move to Cadillac, rumors of more BMW nomenclature changes, a second generation for the Subaru BRZ, and cars from 2004 that we miss. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #389: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Johan de Nysschen moves to Cadillac BMW model designations changing even more Subaru BRZ getting second generation Cars We Miss In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale 2015 Hyundai Sonata 2015 Volkswagen GTI 2015 Chevrolet Silverato 2500 Diesel Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Mark Pereira Runtime: 01:59:10 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Johan deNysschen - 36:12 BMW Nomenclature - 53:58 BRZ - 56:27 Cars We Miss - 01:05:07 Q&A - 01:30:09 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Auto News Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Podcasts BMW Cadillac Chevrolet Hyundai Subaru Volkswagen