tagged w/ Volkswagen
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Volkswagen is working on a new microcar that needs just 2 liters of fuel for a 100 kilometer ride.
If you are a car manufacturer then fuel-efficiency would be your mantra to make all your future launches successful. Volkswagen also knows this and the company is now working on a new 2-liter microcar which could go a distance of 100 kilometers on just 2 liters of diesel.
Boasting a fuel-efficiency of 117.6 MPG, this new microcar would be based on a shorter version of the Up! and will enter production next year. The car would be using diesel as its fuel since it is more energy-dense than gasoline and other fuels that are in use these days. Though we don’t have the detailed specifications of this car right now, its power output is expected to be about 50 horsepower.
The power output of this car suggests that VW has given up speed and performance in order to achieve higher fuel efficiency. Still, a 117 MPG car would find millions of interested customers, especially in times of economic crisis as today.Volkswagen is working on a new microcar that needs just 2 liters of fuel for a 100... more
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Well if you read the fine print, the Prius is better in town then the VW on MPG. On the highway the VW beats the Prius but just by a small margin.
The writer prefers the VW for driving pleasure or as the Germans call it "farfegnugen".
Well if you read the fine print, the Prius is better in town then the VW on MPG. On... more
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Frobot
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added this
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4 years ago
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AutomobilesReview.com is Web Blog and Online Community specialized in representing car news, car reviews, tuning and auto shows to the World Wide Web users.AutomobilesReview.com is Web Blog and Online Community specialized in representing car... more
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"Vw's math is excellent, as the Golf BlueMotion outdoes the Toyota Prius and any other production hybrid by about 10mpg, for equal or less cost and no worries about batteries or complicated regenerative systems"
The BlueMotion diesels are supposed to have very low emissions.Maybe these VW's will be for sale in the US soon.
"Vw's math is excellent, as the Golf BlueMotion outdoes the Toyota Prius and... more
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Frobot
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added this
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4 years ago
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Volkswagen's mighty supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piech, 71, is hurting his company with his bitter power struggle against Porsche, which plans to take over the group, say media commentators.
Ferdinand Piech, the supervisory board chairman of Volkswagen, has been credited with turning Europe's largest carmaker around in the 1990s when he was its chief executive. But media commentators say he is now damaging the group by engaging in a power struggle with the group's largest shareholder Porsche.
Porsche, which plans to increase its stake to a majority, is owned by the Porsche and Piech families and the dispute over control of VW, which came to a head at a supervisory meeting last Friday, is dangerous because it's a family dispute, which makes it harder to resolve than ordinary management bust-ups, say media commentators.
By failing to show up to the supervisory board meeting and abstaining in absentia in a key vote, Piech sided with VW's labor representatives against Porsche in a bid to ensure that the VW supervisory board will remain the key power base in the group.
Commentators accuse Piech of holding the company to ransom just because he doesn't like Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking, who made mistakes with his excessively dictatorial approach at VW, which is much larger than Porsche.
(continues at link)Volkswagen's mighty supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piech, 71, is hurting... more
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Employees at Volkswagen staged their biggest ever demonstration on Friday with tens of thousands protesting against EU plans to scrap the so-called "VW law" which gives the company state protection.
Tens of thousands of workers at Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen staged a demonstration on Friday in protest against EU demands to scrap a law giving the firm special state protection.
Trade union IG Metall said 40,000 VW workers joined the rally at the group's main plant in Wolfsburg, northern Germany, after the EU Commission warned it would take Germany to court for not fully complying with its demands to axe the so-called "VW law," which ensures a government veto in the affairs of the carmaker.
"In this age of globalization and financial market capitalism we need more democracy and not less," IG Metall leader Berthold Huber told the rally. The union said workers from all VW's plants in Germany and abroad had joined the demonstration.
The protest was also directed against Porsche, which is VW's biggest shareholder with 31 percent and which plans to raise its stake to a majority shortly. Porsche wants the VW law axed because it gives the government of Lower Saxony, which owns just over 20 percent of VW, the right to block major management decisions.
(CONTINUED AT LINK)Employees at Volkswagen staged their biggest ever demonstration on Friday with tens of... more
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Volkswagen is now the 3rd largest automaker in the world with 3.31 million vehicles sold in the first half of the year (an increase of 7.2%), beating Ford. The numbers are based on sales worldwide.
The Volkswagen umbrella includes the brands Volkswagen, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, and Europe's Skoda and Seat brands.Volkswagen is now the 3rd largest automaker in the world with 3.31 million vehicles... more
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Even though the new Volkswagen Golf was only meant to be unveiled officially later this week, first pictures and details have been leaked.
The new model is the sixth car in the Golf series which as sold 26 million cars in its 34-year production run.
Apparently, the new Golf is safer and more technologically advanced, but Volkswagen seems to be playing it safe given the striking resemblance to the previous model.
What do you make of the new Golf? Are you disappointed or do you think it lives up to the iconic brand's image and reputation? Even though the new Volkswagen Golf was only meant to be unveiled officially later... more
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A couple have covered their cherished VW Beetle in oak. Amazing to look at, and it evens drives ok.A couple have covered their cherished VW Beetle in oak. Amazing to look at, and it... more
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Twenty years after the closure of its last American plant, Volkswagen is returning to the United States. With its planned factory in Chattanooga, the company is hoping to regain US market share and also buffer itself from euro-dollar currency fluctuations.
German carmaker Volkswagen announced on Tuesday it would invest close to €1 billion ($1.59 billion) to build its first factory in the United States after the closure of its last plant 20 years ago. The company said it expects to open a new plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee by 2011. VW plans to produce 150,000 automobiles annually at the site as part of its effort to increase market share in America, which has eroded in recent years.
Read more...Twenty years after the closure of its last American plant, Volkswagen is returning to... more
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German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) has chosen to locate its new US car plant in Tennessee, a move that could pump $1bn into the local economy. VW opted for a site in the city of Chattanooga in preference to possible locations in Alabama and Michigan.
The euro's rise against the dollar has made it costly to make cars in Europe and export them to the US, leading VW to explore manufacturing again there.
When it is up and running in 2011, the new plant will employ 2,000 people directly as well as offering business to hundreds of suppliers. The new facility will eventually have an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles and will be used to build a new midsized vehicle for the US market.
German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) has chosen to locate its new US car plant in... more
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VW to build plant in Chattanooga
By: Mike Pare
Volkswagen AG will build its first United States assembly plant in Chattanooga, officials said today.
Europe’s biggest automaker said it will put a nearly $1 billion investment in Chattanooga’s Enterprise South Industrial Park.
The plant is expected to create 2,000 jobs. It is expected to open in 2011.
“The U.S. market is an important part of our volume strategy, and we are now very resolutely accessing that market,” said Martin Winterkorn, chief executive of Volkswagen.
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said he is “enormously pleased” by the announcement.
Mr. Bredesen and other officials including Volkswagen of America’s chief executive, were slated to be at Hunter Museum of American Art at 11:30 a.m. for an announcement.
“I believe Volkswagen chose Tennessee because of our shared values, our commitment to innovation and our strong respect for the environment,” he said.
Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, said he could not be more pleased in the partnership between the state, VW and Chattanooga and Hamilton County government.
Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey said he has worked with four different city mayors and other officials with a vision of transforming the Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant site.
Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said VW and Chattanooga have a lot in common.
“Both are serious about environmental sustainability and 21st century manufacturing,” he said.
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said the community has maintained its focus
Officials at the Wolfsburg-based company said the surging euro has pushed plans for a production facility forward. The 15-nation currency has hit record highs recently against the U.S. dollar, making goods exported from Germany more expensive in the United States.
Volkswagen recently moved its North American headquarters from suburban Detroit to Herndon, Va., outside Washington, to bring it closer to its East Coast customer base.
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, who landed in Chattanooga early today, said he is “enormously pleased” with the facility coming to Southeast Tennessee.
Erich Merkle, vice president of forecasting auto industry forecaster IRN Inc., said suppliers will build facilities to support the assembly plant.
Chattanooga beat out bids by Alabama and Michigan for the plant.
The announcement came Tuesday from Lower Saxony Minister President Christian Wulff, who sits on the supervisory board of Europe's largest automaker.VW to build plant in Chattanooga
By: Mike Pare
Volkswagen AG will build its first... more
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With gas prices going through the roof and regulators requiring cars to be ever more miserly, Volkswagen is bringing new meaning to the term "fuel efficiency" with a bullet-shaped microcar that gets a stunning 282 mpg.
Volkswagen's had its super-thrifty One-Liter Car concept vehicle - so named because that's how much fuel it needs to go 100 kilometers - stashed away for six years. The body's made of carbon fiber to minimize weight (the entire car weighs just 660 pounds) and company execs didn't expect the material to become cheap enough to produce the car until 2012.
But VW's decided to build the car two years ahead of schedule.
According to Britain's Car magazine, VW has approved a plan to build a limited number of One-Liters in 2010. They'll probably be built in the company's prototype shop, which has the capacity to build as many as 1,000 per year. That's not a lot, but it's enough to help VW get a lot of attention while showing how much light weight and an efficient engine can achieve.
VW unveiled the slick two-seater concept six years ago at a stockholder's meeting in Hamburg. To prove it was a real car, Chairman Ferdinand Piech personally drove it from Wolfsburg to Hamburg. At the time, he said the car could see production when the cost of its carbon monocoque dropped from 35,000 Euros (about $55,000) to 5,000 Euros (about $8,000) - something he figured would happen in 2012. With carbon fiber being used in everything from airliners to laptops these days, VW's apparently decided the cost is competitive enough to build at least a few hundred One-Liters.
VW's engineers - who spent three years developing the car - made extensive use of magnesium, titanium and aluminum to bring it in at less than one-third the weight of a Toyota Echo. According to Canadian Driver, the front suspension assembly weighs just 18 pounds. The six-speed transmission features a magnesium case, titanium bolts and hollow gears; it weighs a tad more than 50 pounds. The 16-inch wheels are carbon fiber. The magnesium steering wheel weighs a little more than a pound. How much of the concept car's exotic hardware makes it to the production model remains to be seen.
Low weight only gets you so far in the quest for ultimate fuel economy; aerodynamics plays a big role. The One-Liter is long and low, coming in at 11.4 feet long, 4.1 feet wide and 3.3 feet tall. It features an aircraft-like canopy, flat wheel covers and a belly pan to smooth the airflow under the car. The engine cooling vents open only when needed, and video cameras take the place of mirrors. The passenger sits behind the driver to keep the car narrow. The car has a coefficient of drag of 0.16; the average car comes in around 0.30 and the Honda Insight had a Cd of 0.25.
As for the engine, the concept had a one-cylinder diesel engine producing 8.5 horsepower and 13.5 foot-pounds of torque. Car says the production model will use a two-cylinder turbodiesel for a little more oomph. Doubling the number of cylinders is sure to cut fuel economy, so VW may install a diesel-hybrid drivetrain.
What's it gonna cost? Car quotes "one well-placed insider" who says the One-Liter could have a sticker price of anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 Euros (about $31,750 to $47,622). That's a lot of money. But then, the One-Liter, despite its diminutive size, is a lot of car.
---more photos of the car at the link---With gas prices going through the roof and regulators requiring cars to be ever more... more
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Volkswagen's been toying with hybrids for awhile and got electric-vehicle advocates in a lather over the diesel-electric Golf it unveiled a few months ago. Now the company's promising a plug-in hybrid by 2010 and the German government's written a big check to make it happen.
"While the e-motor on a typical hybrid model just supplements the combustion engine, the exact opposite is true on Twin Drive," Winterkorn said during the car's unveiling in Berlin. "Here the diesel or gasoline engine supplements the e-motor."
Volkswagen's been toying with hybrids for awhile and got electric-vehicle... more
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Do you have a product by any of the following companies at home:
Hugo Boss
Volkswagen
IBM
Bayer
Siemens
Good job, by purchasing them (it), you have supported a company which used to work for Hitler :)Do you have a product by any of the following companies at home:
Hugo Boss... more
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neokn
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added this
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5 years ago
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He created Napster, and terrorized the music industry.
Then he started Snocap, which crashed and burned.
Now Shawn Fanning is doing this for Volkswagen.He created Napster, and terrorized the music industry.
Then he started Snocap,... more
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Esquire has compiled a list of this last year's 10 best car commercial as part of their annual music awards, The Eskys. Right off the bat, you should notice the importance of Jeff Tweedy to the car industry ... and half-baked lists.Esquire has compiled a list of this last year's 10 best car commercial as part of... more
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khsing
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added this
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5 years ago
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