VW Beetle Hot Rods

VW has had a bit of problem selling the Beetle to male customers and despite launching a New Beetle specifically targeted at guys, was not particularly successful.

This may change the perception of the Beetle as a "cute" car:

On closer inspection, they are not the newer versions of the Beetle but rather modified versions of the popular model.

Meaning of the warning lights on your dashboard

I have had my car serviced and MOT done recently but the service reminder light still comes on. The workshop did not know how to do it ( I did not go to TMS - the authorised dealers of Volvo in Coventry, this time). So I went to my trusted Guru - YouTube and I found a video showing how to reset the service light indicator. Watch below:



Anyway, according to Britannia Rescue, most drivers do not have a clue what all the lights on their dashboard stand for. I found a great guide on the VW Facebook page with explanations of the lights. They might differ from car to car.

VW unveils E-Up

Volkswagen confirmed the production of the electric version of the VW Up!, The VW e-Up!,

That model will be shown officially at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and will be available for order by the end of the year.

 The electric version of the Volkswagen Up! is equipped with a a 82 hp electric engine, powered by a battery pack placed on the floor. This engine provides the e-Up! with an acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in 14 seconds and 135 km / h top speed.

The VW e-Up! autonomy is 150 km on a single charge and can recharge 80% of the battery in just half an hour.

VW E-Up pictures

VW Group Initializes New Parts-Sharing Strategy Across All Brands to Save US$6.5 Billion a Year

Parts and platform sharing has been a common practice in big automotive groups. Volkswagen, which has been pioneering this method among its brands since the early ‘90s, has mastered the art. Still, there is always room for improvement...

The VW Group wants to push the envelope further with a much broader parts sharing program among the various brands and models in its empire, starting with the new Audi A3 that will be launched in 2012.

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Volkswagen Brings All 6 Generations of the Golf GTI to the Track

The year is almost up yet Volkswagen continues to celebrate its much vaunted Golf GTI's 35th birthday. Over the year we saw the Germans release the production Golf GTI Edition 35 as well as numerous concepts including a Cabriolet at the Wörthersee meeting in Austria.

Now, just before 2011 comes to an end, Volkswagen's UK division released a video showing all six generations of the Golf GTI on the racetrack and which we presume, is a preview for something a little more exciting as there's not much action going on in this clip.

You won't be missing on much, but if you're still interested, you can watch the video after the break.

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VW to Return to Super Bowl with New 60-Second Ad on the 2012 Beetle

There's no doubt that this year's Super Bowl XLV played host to some original commercials but the one ad that stood out more than the rest was "The Force" from Volkswagen, the official YouTube version of which has garnered over 45 million views since it aired on February 2.

Volkswagen actually aired one more commercial during the game, the “Black Beetle”, which has been seen by more than 5 million viewers on the German firm's channel.

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Britain gets Limited Production Volkswagen Caravelle Edition 25

A new special edition version of Volkswagen's Caravelle passenger van has been introduced in the UK. The German company will produce only 225 examples of the Caravelle Edition 25 for Britain, all exclusively finished in Candy White, or an optional Reflex Silver metallic paint.

The Edition 25 comes with a host of extras and bespoke styling cues such as the revised front bumper with contrasting satin black styling accents in the lower sections, xenon headlights with LED running lights and black highlights along the length of the vehicle and on the roof, side sills and the tailgate.

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New Volkswagen Electric Car Concept and Jetta Hybrid Headed to Detroit Show

While a little late to the party, the Volkswagen Group plans to make up for its lackluster presence in the electric and hybrid vehicle sector with a barrage of eco-friendly models within the next couple of years.

At the upcoming 2012 Detroit Auto Show, the VW brand will lift the covers off a never before seen pure electric concept car and the production version of the Jetta Hybrid, according to the Detroit Free Press.

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New VW Up! Commercial Reminds us of Big Things that went Extinct

"The future belongs to the small," says Volkswagen and to prove its point, the German automaker came out with a new commercial for the recently launched Up! city car.

The advert takes us on a quick journey through history showing us numerous "big things" that eventually went extinct, from dinosaurs to 1940s swimsuits and from 1970s sideburns to 1990s lexicons.

The spot is smart, to the point and reaches the Up!'s youthful target audience. Hop over the jump to check it out.

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VW Brand's Global Sales Reach 4.69 Million Units from January to November, Up 12.4%

It's been a good year for the Volkswagen brand with the German automaker reporting global sales of 4.69 million passenger cars from January to November 2011, a 12.4 percent increase over the same prior-year period (4.18 million).

For the month of November, the VW brand saw its passenger car sales grow 14.5 percent to 452,900 vehicles.

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Ad Watch: Volkswagen Tiguan and the Parking Duel

No matter where you live, searching for a parking space is a frustrating experience and can often lead to a confrontation with another driver vying for the same spot.

Recently, advertising agency DDB Argentina took this modern day problem and morphed it into a clever car commercial title "Volkswagen Tiguan: The Duel" to showcase the compact SUV's hands free parking system.

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VW Motorsport's Skillful New Signing, Sebastien Ogier, Wins the Race of Champions [Videos]

Almost all motorsport racing series are over, so it's time for the Race of Champions, an annual challenege between drivers competing in different kinds of racing such as Formula 1, WRC and DTM.

This year’s event was held last weekend at the Esprit arena in Dusseldorf, with the VW Group providing many of the cars like the VW Scirocco R, the Audi R8 LMS and the Skoda Fabia S2000. It also displayed its brand-new 300HP Polo R WRC, with which it will enter the world rally championship in 2013 in front of the crowd for the first time.

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Report: U.S. Car Buyers Take a Second Look at Diesel-Engined Cars

If you tried to find a diesel-powered car in the U.S. of A. you’d certainly have a hard time, as their total sales account for less than 3% of the total market. But the future may be different.

With gas prices constantly fluctuating and the government pushing manufacturers to improve efficiency, analysts predict that hybrids are not the only kind of vehicles that many buyers will turn to: diesel is another option.

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Audi to Build Second Plant in China for Production of the Next A3

The country with the most car brands and factories in the world just agreed to let Audi to open another plant. Audi made the announcement today stating that FAW-VW, the VW Group's current Chinese operation, will set up a new plant in Foshan for the production of the next generation of the A3.

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It’s a CC Thing: Volkswagen's New Cross Coupe Concept Live from the Tokyo Show Floors

For a very long time, we only had rugged 4x4s, but then SUVs made their appearance in the market followed shortly after by crossovers and before we knew it, all hell broke loose and each carmaker invented its own acronym to describe a specific niche in any given segment.

Albeit a conceptual proposal, the Volkswagen Cross Coupe is one such example with the German automaker describing it thusly: "a crossover between a four-door coupé and a compact SUV".

We'll just note that a four-door coupe is a crossover between a coupe and a sedan and leave it at there before we start saying things we shouldn’t…

Naming and segment games aside, the CC SUV is a handsome creation overall though its snout could use some styling attention as it's somewhat flavorless compared to the rest of the car in the sense that you could throw in a Seat badge and no one would notice.

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New Volkswagen Cross Coupe SUV Concept Bows at 2011 Tokyo Motor Show

The Cross Coupé SUV concept is Volkswagen's surprise debut for the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show that opened its doors (to the press) today.

The German automaker says that concept is a study for a potential new CC-style SUV that "hints at how a crossover between a four-door coupé and an SUV could look like" -think small BMW X6- while also previewing an evolved form of VW's current design language.

The concept is the first VW model based on the company’s new ‘modular transverse matrix’ or MQB platform architecture to be shown to the public. The MQB chassis will be used in a number of VW Group models ranging from the next Golf to the Audi TT's successor.

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SPIED: 2013 Volkswagen Golf Mk7 Snagged Wearing its Production Body

The last time our spy photographers caught up with Volkswagen's engineers, they were working on test mules of the seventh generation Golf GTI and Golf R models, both of which were wearing Golf Mk6 bodies on top of the German group's new Modularer Querbaukasten (or MQB) platform.

Always on the lookout, they have now managed to capture the German firm's people testing a regular version of the next Golf Mk7 complete with its newly styled body.

Albeit heavily disguised, the prototype confirms our suspicions that VW won't mess around with the classic Golf styling cues such as the think C-Column design, though the front-end of the car does appear to be sharper with the lights and grille placed lower than on the current model.

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Breaking News: Suzuki Takes Volkswagen to International Court

Suzuki has just released a press statement saying that, because of the Volkswagen Group's unwillingness to sell back 19.9% of its own shares, it has made the decision to take the dispute to an international court for arbitration, marking the latest episode in a long-standing spat between the two automakers. Read more »

VW Signs WRC's Hottest New Driver, Sebastien Ogier, for its 2013 Assault [with Video]

We all know that when the Volkswagen Group puts something in its mind, it will achieve it no matter what: the Bugatti Veyron is a perfect example.

Now that VW has decided to enter the FIA World Rally Championship with the new Polo R WRC, it wants to make sure that it will be competitive from the first race. Consequently, it will enter the championship in 2013, having a full year to test its new car.

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VW Passat Goes Off-Road with Alltrack Version, will Debut at the Tokyo Motor Show

The VW Group, and more specifically Audi, was the one that started the high-riding estate craze with its A6 Allroad in 1999. Based on the regular A6 Avant, the Allroad featured an all-wheel drive quattro system, higher ground clearance, an adjustable-height air suspension, all-terrain tires and flared fenders, gaining a more adventurous appearance.

Now, Volkswagen has released the first-ever crossroad version of its Passat mid-size model, named the Passat Alltrack. It will receive its world premiere at the Tokyo Motor Show on December 3 and will go on sale in early 2012.

A successful recipe is not meddled with so the (European) Passat Estate-based Alltrack has all the goods one expects in the segment: raised suspension height, stainless steel-look front and rear underbody protection panels and plastic covered wheel arches that house 18-inch alloys.

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