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Basta poco
Mai distrarsi al volante,messaggio sopratutto per i giovani neopatentati,Regia di Marco Fisichella
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New VW Golf VI: details and pictures leaked
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 this week, first pictures and details have been lea... more -
Wooden VW Beetle
A couple have covered their cherished VW Beetle in oak. Amazing to look at, and it evens drives ok.
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VW to open a plant in Tennessee
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 Tennessee, a move that could pump $1bn into the local eco... more -
Volkswagen's First US Assembly Plant Will Be In Chattanooga, Tennessee
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 ... more -
Laugh at High Gas Prices with a 282-MPG VW
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 miserly, Volkswagen is bringing new meaning to th... more -
VW rolls out a sweet plug-in hybrid
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 advocates in a lather over the diesel-electric Golf it ... more -
Fall from grace: from Napster to Volkswagen
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, which crashed and burned. ... more -
Someone wrote "fag" on her driver's side window and "u r gay&#...
Very cool video.
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Apple-VW Planning iCar
Apple and VW are in talks to design...something. Rumors have it that the two parent companies will lay down together and create a beautiful baby car. They do it because they love each other. Apple and VW are in talks to design...something. Rumors have it that the two parent companies will lay down together and create a beau... more
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Buying a VW Bus? Check the floor boards first!
There might be 14 pounds of grass in there...
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