2007 Vw Passat 2.0t Wagon on 2040-cars

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MindDrive cruises California with 1972 Karmann Ghia EV

If you need a bit of inspirational EV goodness, spend some time watching the collection of videos we've got for you from Minddrive. Minddrive, as you might remember, is the education mentorship program that "uses real-world issues of our times to teach urban students critical thinking, creativity, entrepreneurship and how to improve their future by expanding their vision for themselves." The focus was on a fully restored 1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Well, restored and converted to electric power. The students previously worked on the Lola EV but this year the focus was on a fully restored 1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Well, restored and then converted to electric power. In early June, almost 50 Minddrive students and mentors flew from Kansas City to California to visit the epicenter of electric vehicles in the US on something called the "Raise Your Hand Tour." Filmmakers Mark Honer and Kelly Creech from DHTV Digital were along for the ride. The videos below show the students flying from to Oakland, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, presenting the Karmann Ghia at the California Academy of Sciences and then visiting the Monterey Bay EV Club, Google, Twitter and Telsa. All of this EV engagement apparently worked. One of the students, identified only as Xavier, wrote a poem and essay about what the electric vehicle project meant to him. Here's a tease: "Minddrive has honestly opened my eyes to sights and things I would have never thought possible. I have finally found the right path to follow." Read the whole thing below, after the videos. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. I used to think that I would never be able to achieve to a greater rank. Always thought that power was given to people with a big bank. Never could imagine that my life would be amazing. Felt that my whole existence was around the weed blazing.

2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

Volkswagen calls its 2015 Jetta "refined, redesigned," and countless man-hours have gone into its re-engineering, but you'd need to crawl all over the car, unbolt most of the body, drive it or spend some time on VW's website to fathom the changes. That's why we wrote, "2015 Volkswagen Jetta is new, we promise," when we first saw the car in New York last April. While we wait for a sweeping next-generation overhaul to come, the marquee elements for now are the new structure underneath designed to win an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating, fuel economy increases and a heavily reworked 2.0 TDI diesel engine. Plus, there's ornamental detailing around the body and updated interior, and the revamped trim package and accessories matrix promises to provide more value. That makes it a better buy than the 2014 model, assuming it can find buyers ready to appreciate the subtleties. Outside, improved aerodynamic prowess is the primary goal, and almost all of the visual refresh works to further that aim. A new grille with three cross fins sits atop a slipperier bumper and air intakes. On models with the 1.8T gas engine and new 2.0 TDI diesel, the grille is fitted with a shutter to decrease drag and, on the diesel, speed up the engine warming. There are sleeker rain gutters inside the A-pillars and paneling under the body by the rear axles. Attending to airflow in back is an altered decklid reshaped with an integrated spoiler. Among the other changes are optional adaptive bi-Xenon headlights lined with 15 LED running lights and a chrome strip of brightwork. New fog lights are set in the flanks of the lower lip, and LED taillights can be had on the GLI and Hybrid models, with a tweaked VW logo sitting in between. The illuminating upgrades continue inside with ambient lighting and a crisper dash cluster display. Those cabin changes are joined by an optional "tunnel" theme for the gauges, a new steering wheel design with piano black accents and chrome, redesigned vent controls and new fabric options. Changes to the front substructure from the bumper to the front doors, and strengthened A-pillars combined to win the 2015 sedan a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. We're here to focus on the diesel model, and the updated EA288 2.0 TDI engine and its modular packaging is the most visceral highlight for 2015, inserting new numbers on every line of the spec sheet compared to its predecessor, save for cylinder bore spacing.

Audi investing $30.3 billion through 2018 for product expansion

How does Audi plan to reach two million units in annual sales and pay for the 11 new models it's adding to its lineup - an expansion that may include models named SQ2, Q9 and F-Tron? By increasing its investment to 22 billion euros ($30.3 billion US) between now and 2018. That figure represents an increase of about 500 million euros over the previously planned outlay, according to a report by Automotive News, and that could be due to Audi wishing to goad the momentum that pushed it to 1.5 million annual sales two years ahead of schedule.
It's also about staving off the challenges from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Now that BMW has been able to turn some of its attention away from its "i" series of Megacity cars, it will reportedly spend more than planned in 2014 as it continues the rollout of ten all-new vehicles and 15 new-generation vehicles through the end of next year. Mercedes, having been dropped to third in the sales race, is preparing to add 13 new cars over the next six years.
Audi's money is going into technology, into product like the next-generation TT and the Q1 and production expansions and upgrades all over the world. The expenditure represents just under a fourth of Volkswagen's 84.2 billion-euro ($115.7 US) outlay devoted to taking the number-one global automaker title away from General Motors and Toyota by 2018.