1998 Volkswagen Golf 4dr Sedan 5spd Manual One Owner No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Cross Coupe GTE is a sleek take on brand's future CUV

Volkswagen continues its long tease leading up to an eventual US-built, seven-passenger, three-row crossover with the Cross Coupe GTE at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. While it's still affixed with the tinsel of a concept car, there are a lot of details that will arrive on VW's eventual production crossover. The wheelbase of the GTE is said to be identical to the production model, although this five-passenger CUV is actually about a foot shorter overall, Volkswagen's chief of design, Klaus Bischoff, told Autoblog. The overall shape of the GTE's greenhouse, meanwhile, will also be very similar to the car that'll come to market, although more progressive from the C-pillar forward (that's right kids, that sexy sloping rear end isn't for production). Despite the aggressive rake, a peek in the GTE's trunk revealed room for the CUV's third row. Beyond hinting at a new addition to the company's lineup, the GTE also gives us a look at future Volkswagen design, including the use of four-element LED running lamps. Body lines will be as sharp as is feasible. Look for the production version of Volkswagen's seven-passenger SUV at the end of next year. Until then, check out the two-row concept, courtesy of our live images from the 2015 Detroit Auto Show.

Volkswagen says goodbye to Eos, Routan in 2015 updates

Usually automakers announce changes to their lineup individually on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis, but sometimes it all comes at once - especially when the changes are ones we either expected or might not otherwise notice. That's the path Volkswagen has gone with changes to its US lineup for 2015.
The biggest change is what we already knew: that the new Golf arrives for the 2015 model year, bringing with it the new GTI, Golf R, e-Golf and Golf SportWagen (to replace the previous Jetta wagon). But there are some new details as well.
For starters, Volkswagen has finally confirmed that both the Eos and the Routan - both long rumored to be on their way out - will be exiting this year. The Eos hardtop convertible, pictured above, will linger for one last year, its Sport trim replaced by a new Final Edition with 18-inch wheels, two-tone leather interior and enhanced equipment.

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.