Inside Design: Examining the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle

July 21, 2011 at 10:46am by Jens Meiners

> We get a design scholar to parse the VW icon’s new look.

How do you re-create an iconic car like the Beetle? VW is trying to answer this question for the second time. While the original Beetle left the U.S. market in 1979, its legacy continued in Mexico until July 2003. In 1994, VW unveiled the Concept 1, a car inspired by ?the original Beetle and conceived in the company’s Simi Valley design studio in California. Rave reviews prompted VW to make the New Beetle for 1998. Beetle-hungry customers kept supply short for a few years, but after the newness faded, the car sold slowly. Now, more than a decade later, VW is launching a new new Beetle, called simply “Beetle” this time around. It’s more masculine than its bud-vase–bearing predecessor. So which one is truer to the original? We spoke with Gernot Bracht, design professor at the Pforzheim, Germany, transportation-design school to find out.

Click to enlarge image.

Tags: design, German, Inside Design, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Beetle |

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Volkswagen Golf R Cabriolet Concept Drops at Wörthersee Festival

June 2, 2011 at 11:35am by Alexander Stoklosa

Volkswagen’s upcoming 270-hp, all-wheel-drive Golf R is an impressive hot hatch, and for the annual Wörthersee GTI meet, VW chopped off its lid to create the Golf R cabriolet concept. We recently drove the new, Euro market-only Volkswagen Golf cabriolet and came away smitten with its driving manners and clean, basket-handle-less top-down looks. VW engineers have made a good thing even better by adding all of the Golf R’s go-fast goodies. This means that in addition to the R’s 4Motion all-wheel drive and powerful 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, the cabrio sits on a similarly lowered suspension and sports huge 19-inch wheels through which 17-inch brake discs clasped by blue calipers painted with the R logo are visible.

The interior of the Golf R cabriolet concept features grey nappa and dark blue carbon leather slathered over thin racing seat shells. The leather is set off by contrasting piping and liberal amounts of carbon, aluminum, and piano black trim. Volkswagen claims the Golf R cabrio posts identical performance numbers to its roofed counterpart, and while we found almost no chassis flex in the regular Golf cabrio, it remains to be seen if that is the case for the roofless R. VW is mum on whether we are looking at potentially the hottest (no pun intended) topless production Golf cabrio, but we don’t see why it couldn’t become a reality given its utilization of existing components and platforms.

Volkswagen will also show off two closed-top Golf R “concepts” at the Wörthersee GTI meet, previewing possible special trim packages and paint colors for the production Golf R, and of course its Euro-only GTI Edition 35 that we reported on a few weeks ago. Check out the Golf R cabrio concept in the gallery below.

Tags: concept, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, Volkswagen Golf R |

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Volkswagen to Bring 235-HP GTI Edition 35 to U.S., Albeit with a New Name

June 2, 2011 at 4:04pm by Erik Johnson

We’re hearing from our sources in Germany that Volkswagen has decided to bring its recently announced GTI 35 Edition to the United States. Woo-hoo? Most definitely woo-hoo: It’s a special edition of a car we love—witness the GTI’s multiple 10Best trophies over the years, including 2011—with more power. It was confirmed that the U.S. car will retain its 235-hp version of VW’s 2.0-liter EA113 turbocharged four when it’s dropped off at the docks; that puts it 35 horses up on our regular-grade model. The European car is available with both six-speed manual and six-speed DSG automatic transmissions.

Of course, the name will have to change. The 35 refers to the number of years since the model was introduced in Europe, and the U.S. didn’t receive a GTI until 1983. But 2012 would mark the 30th model year of American sales, and Edition 30 has a nice ring to it. On the other hand, the last time the GTI celebrated a big birthday, VW held back until the 2003 model year to give us the 20th Anniversary model, so there’s a chance we’ll have a bit of a wait.

Whenever it arrives, we were told the Edition 35 will have some equipment changes, although we don’t know yet what those changes might be. We figure it will be limited to stripping out the “35? door-sill badges, fender badges, and seat embroidery, and replacing them with stuff bearing the new name. We don’t see any reason the rest of the kit—which you can read about in our original post on the car—shouldn’t make the cut, although the sport seats would probably be the first item on the chopping block.

Stay tuned, as we anticipate learning more details next week.

Tags: Volkswagen, Volkswagen GTI |

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Volkswagen Unveils “Think Blue” Eco Campaign in Order to Think Green

May 26, 2011 at 3:47pm by Alexander Stoklosa

Volkswagen is going green with the color blue with its new Think Blue environmental-consciousness initiative, which plays off the brand’s successful “Think Small” Beetle ads from the 1960s and is intended to educate the masses about eco-friendly practices that can be applied in daily life.

VW itself is getting in on the blue thinking: The company’s new Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant has just been LEED certified. The designation stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is bestowed on facilities demonstrating notable environmental sensitivity in design and construction. Volkswagen’s Chattanooga facility utilizes LED lighting and efficient wall insulation, as well as a rainwater-collection system that feeds gray-water applications when possible.

VW also set up a Think Blue website, which features a blog with Think Blue news, a TDI Toolbox where drivers can find diesel fuel stations and calculate their fuel savings, and a fuel-efficiency challenge in which owners can compete for top mpg honors.

Tags: advertising, Think Blue, Volkswagen |

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2012 Volkswagen Passat Priced from $20,765; TDI Diesel Starts at $26,765

Volkswagen has released pricing for its all-new 2012 Passat, and the new mid-sizer will start at $20,765—or, as the ads will say over and over again, $19,995 before destination.

For their 20-ish grand, shoppers will get the base Passat S, powered by the familiar 170-hp, 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Oh, and 16-inch steel wheels. Beyond ye-olde inline-five, the Passat S is surprisingly well-equipped. It comes standard with dual-zone automatic climate control, power windows and locks, Bluetooth connectivity, and steering-wheel audio controls.

Of course, this Passat was designed specifically for the U.S. market, and most shoppers here in the land of the free will opt to liberate their left feet. The cheapest Passat with an automatic transmission is $23,460—yeah, that’s an increase of about $2700—although in addition to the six-speed slushbox, it does add a set of 16-inch aluminum rims and a rear-seat armrest. Scintillating.

From there, Passat shoppers can spend increasing sums of money for Passats powered by the same 2.5-liter engine, but packing more toys like a sunroof, navigation system, heated leatherette or leather seats, an upscale Fender-branded stereo (made by Panasonic), wood-like interior trim, keyless go, and Darth Vader’s remote start. A fully loaded Passat SEL 2.5 with all the kit is listed at $30,665.

The Passat TDI, which has VW’s outstanding 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel, making 140 hp and 236 lb-ft, starts at $26,765. At that price, buyers get a six-speed manual, 17-inch wheels, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, some nicer-looking interior trim, and leatherette seats (one of which, if your name is “the driver,” is heated and power-adjustable). Want an auto with your diesel? The six-speed dual-clutch automatic comes with a mandatory sunroof; the bill will be $28,665, please. More options are available for, you guessed it, even more money.

High rollers and front-tire shredders take note: The top-of-the-line Passat features the company’s 3.6-liter V-6, making 280 hp in this installation. When many automakers are eschewing six-cylinder engines in this segment—Chevy’s new Malibu, and Hyundai’s Sonata both offer turbocharged fours instead—it strikes us as odd that VW would bring back the V-6 option for its Passat. (The last-gen Passat, which was considerably more expensive than this 2012 model, offered the 3.6, but slow sales led the company to drop it a few years ago.) Entry to the V-6 Passat starts at $29,765, and includes a six-speed dual-clutch transmission, leatherette seating that’s heated up front, a sunroof, the Fender stereo, and some nicer interior trim bits. Ordering navigation tacks on $1600. A full-fat Passat 3.6 demands $33,720, and includes every option you’ve seen listed above.

All Passats also include three years/36,000 miles of scheduled maintenance. The 2012 Passat should arrive in dealers this fall. To pass the time, check out our first-drive review of VW’s new suburban cruiser.

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Volkswagen Produces Edible Magazine Ad for its “Road-Eating” Golf R

The global network of advertising blogs is hot and/or bothered over a South African VW print ad for VW’s Golf R that encourages the reader to ingest said advertisement, its stock having been made of a product marginally more palatable than paper. Why? Not over the ad’s dubious cleverness—frankly, it leaves us with the same “Oh, neat. Next, please” sort of blasé-ness that most of Volkswagen’s ads have engendered since Crispin Porter + Bogusky took over the company’s American account back in 2005. While the ladtastic CP+B was deemed a bit too radical for the company’s newfound quest to sell 800,000 vehicles yearly in the U.S. by 2018 and was replaced by Deutsch LA in 2009, the smarmy sheen of effete brohesion has not been scrubbed entirely from Wolfsburg Castle.

Even the company’s lauded “The Force” spot from earlier this year, featuring a pint-sized Darth Vader, didn’t wear as well as we would’ve hoped—a peril of appealing to our inner children in the wake of Lucas’s Star Wars prequels.

So what, exactly, does this have to do with Ogilvy Cape Town’s new print ad for the German Automaker? On the surface, nothing, although we wouldn’t be shocked at all to see the same piece show up in an American magazine once the Golf R hits our shores later this year. Seriously, though, it’s just another cloying VW ad; why the ruckus? Because of the ad’s ingredient list: glutinous rice flour, water, salt, propylene glycol, FD&C color and glycerine. Folks are flipping their wigs over the addition of propylene glycol, which is used as a moisture-retaining agent in plenty of junk foods. We’d hardly call Ogilvy’s ad a healthy snack, but Lord knows we ingest plenty of said, similar, and worse ingredients every time we stop by our local processed-food emporium. Come to think of it, there’s a metaphor for VW’s advertising in there somewhere. Oh, if we could only find it.

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2012 Volkswagen Passat, an AW Flash Drive Car Review:

What is it?

The 2012 Volkswagen Passat, which is a North American-only car, is the linchpin in VW's well-publicized efforts to sell 800,000 cars annually in the United States by 2018.

The new Passat was designed specifically for Americans, with larger seats and more cupholders than models for the rest of the world. Coming in with a base price of "around $20,000"--VW officials would not be more specific on a price--the Passat is aimed squarely at buyers of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, not to mention the Ford Fusion and the Chevrolet Malibu.

So the question is, how much did they take out of the Passat to bring it in at $20,000? Surprisingly, you can't really tell much from just looking at or sitting in the car. The fit and finish on our test cars were superb, and all the surfaces you touch looked and felt good. There are a few bits of hard plastic in the interior, but most 2012 Passat interior surfaces have a soft-touch feel and a matte finish. The ride quality is what you would expect, and the cabin was quiet--all the better to listen to the high-end Fender audio system.

So it would appear VW is taking the approach that more is less, or that they will make up the difference in volume. And of course, by building the cars in the United States, VW can at least hedge its bets in the tumultuous ups and downs of the world currency markets.

What is it like to drive?

This first effort out of the new Volkswagen assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., drives like Passats of the past, which, considering where it's being built, is pretty much what VW execs are hoping for. Make no mistake, despite the bits and pieces being bolted together by folks south of the Mason-Dixon Line, the 2012 VW Passat is German-designed and -engineered and retains all the qualities Volkswagen buyers have enjoyed in the past from German-built cars: firm seats, taught suspension and direct steering.

We were able to drive two of the three engine choices that will be available at launch: the 2.0-liter TDI that makes 140 hp and 236 lb-ft, and the 3.6-liter V6 with 280 hp and 258 lb-ft. The diesel is available with a six-speed manual or a six-speed DSG, while the V6 is available with the six-speed DSG only.

Missing from the mix was the base model 2012 Passat with a 2.5-liter I5 making 170 hp and 177 lb-ft.

Of the two engine choices, we came away liking the VW diesel a lot, although from a performance point of view, the V6 gasoline-powered car is quicker, going from 0 to 62 mph in 6.5 seconds, nearly three seconds quicker than the oil-burner.

With the soaring fuel prices, it's worth noting that the 2012 Volkswagen Passat diesel returns 43 mpg highway, giving the car a range of more than 700 miles. And VW execs said there is no Passat hybrid planned, so the VW TDI remains the best "green" option.

Do I want it?

The U.S.-built 2012 Volkswagen Passat would to be appear a solid player in the midsize wars and, with the diesel option, it brings something unique to the battle.

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2012 Volkswagen Passat – First Drive Review

May 23, 2011 at 11:23am by Sam Smith

McVolkswagen: VW supersizes its Passat for the byways and driveways of America.

Let’s get one thing straight: Tennessee is not Germany. If you haven’t previously stopped to consider this remarkable fact, we suggest you take a moment to ponder it. Nashville isn’t Stuttgart, Chattanooga isn’t Wolfsburg, and that eight-foot-long snake encased in Lucite and mounted in a souvenir shop near Lynchburg (population 6362, including Little Richard) isn’t a graffiti-covered piece of the Berlin Wall.

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Tags: German, sedan, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Passat |

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Volkswagen to Launch Car-Sharing Program in Hanover, Germany

May 13, 2011 at 2:29pm by Alexander Stoklosa

Volkswagen is launching a car-sharing program in the German city of Hanover, dubbing the enterprise “Quicar – Share a Volkswagen.” Initial plans call for 200 VW Golf BlueMotions to be available at 50 locations throughout Hanover, and the picture above seems to indicate something’s afoot with the latest Beetle, too. Other than the fuel-efficient fleet, Volkswagen is following a similar model to that of Zipcar, in which program members can book time in a car over the internet, through a mobile app, or by phone. Once signed up for wheel time, a member goes to the location where the car they booked is parked and swipes a card over a reader affixed to the vehicle, which unlocks the doors. The user then enters a PIN on the car’s touch screen, and uses a key stored in the car to start the engine and drive off. Interestingly, customers will be issued an SD memory card, onto which they can save navigation destinations and routes, or even music, to be read by the cars’ nav and audio system.

Volkswagen is the third German automaker to start a car-sharing service; Mercedes-Benz launched Car2Go in Vancouver and BMW partnered with Sixt AG to start DriveNow in Munich and Berlin. Volkswagen hopes to expand the number of locations from 50 to 100 locations in the “medium term.” Within the same neither-large-nor-small term, VW may also add the Beetle plus the Caddy to the program’s fleet. The whole shebang gets rolling this fall.

Tags: BMW, car sharing, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Zipcar |

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2011 Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet – First Drive Review

May 13, 2011 at 3:26pm by Jens Meiners

We slide behind the wheel of the likable—and Euro-only—reborn Golf Cab.

When it comes to convertible roofs, most enthusiasts agree on the ragtop’s superiority: they’re lighter and they take up less room when stowed. More subjectively, they often look better when raised, and a fabric roof evokes nostalgic memories of classic roadsters and droptops. Of course, folding hardtops have their good points, too. They give an impression of having a coupe and a convertible in one vehicle, they are a bit easier to care for, and they provide a sense of security—no thief will ever be tempted to shred through a metal roof with a knife.

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Tags: 2011 Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, convertible, German |

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2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT vs. 2012 Ford Focus SEL, 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited, 2011 Mazda 3 s Sport, 2011 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL – Comparison Tests

April 29, 2011 at 11:16am by Jared Gall

Startup Sedans: Five perfectly respectable rides for up-and-comers establish a new standard for compact sedans.

Even if two weeks’ worth of Maruchan ramen drains your savings account, there’s something about a rusting mid-’90s Accord on sagging springs that fails to inspire confidence among financial backers or real-estate agents. And when you and the missus are just starting out, you feel that need to be taken seriously more acutely than most. There are certainly cheaper new cars than the group gathered here, but—wrong as it may be—“cheap” is the only reputation many B-segment cars have.

Keep Reading: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT vs. 2012 Ford Focus SEL, 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited, 2011 Mazda 3 s Sport, 2011 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL – Comparison Tests

Tags: American, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Cruze, economy, Ford, Ford Focus, Hyundai, Hyundai Elantra, Japanese, Korean, Mazda, Mazda 3, performance testing, sedan, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Jetta |

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2012 Volkswagen Beetle Debuts @ 2011 New York Auto Show – Video

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2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT vs. 2012 Ford Focus SEL, 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited, 2011 Mazda 3 s Sport, 2011 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL – Comparison Tests

April 29, 2011 at 11:16am by Jared Gall

Startup Sedans: Five perfectly respectable rides for up-and-comers establish a new standard for compact sedans.

Even if two weeks’ worth of Maruchan ramen drains your savings account, there’s something about a rusting mid-’90s Accord on sagging springs that fails to inspire confidence among financial backers or real-estate agents. And when you and the missus are just starting out, you feel that need to be taken seriously more acutely than most. There are certainly cheaper new cars than the group gathered here, but—wrong as it may be—“cheap” is the only reputation many B-segment cars have.

Keep Reading: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT vs. 2012 Ford Focus SEL, 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited, 2011 Mazda 3 s Sport, 2011 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL – Comparison Tests

Tags: American, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Cruze, economy, Ford, Ford Focus, Hyundai, Hyundai Elantra, Japanese, Korean, Mazda, Mazda 3, performance testing, sedan, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Jetta |

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Volkswagen Likely To Add Diesel Tiguan in the U.S.

April 22, 2011 at 2:00pm by Justin Berkowitz

Volkswagen is thrilled that between 20 and 25 percent of its total vehicles sold in the U.S. are sold with diesel engines, but the company is hungry for more. An executive has told us that the company would be eager to expand the number of models it offers here with a diesel option. As it stands, the Passat, Jetta, new Beetle, Touareg, and Golf offer a TDI on the options sheet, leaving only the Eos and Tiguan as the gasoline-only holdouts. Let’s face it: While Europeans get a diesel Eos, it’s not gonna happen here, so by our unrivaled skills of deduction, that leaves the Tiguan. And it’s a great match for VW’s 2.0-liter TDI engine, which makes 140 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque in its current Yankee applications.

The company hasn’t given a timeline for a Tiguan TDI—and in fact, it hasn’t even officially promised that such a car will come to the U.S.—but we’d imagine it’ll be at least a year. The Tiguan is just now receiving a cosmetic face lift, so if VeeDub passed on this opportunity to install a diesel, it’s probably going to be some time still.

Tags: diesel, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Tiguan |

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2012 Volkswagen Beetle Debuts @ 2011 New York Auto Show – Video

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