Behind the Volkswagen badge on the front of the Routan minivan, everything else is pretty much standard Dodge Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country equipment. So why buy the VW?

The German automaker hopes the option of wireless internet will be enough to win over a few buyers, and they’re probably right. Thanks to Autonet Mobile, Routan passengers will be able to log on and check their Facebook, post Twitter updates or just waste away the hours on those long road trips by watching YouTube videos.

“Volkswagen is committed to delivering vehicles that epitomize and enhance our digital customers’ lifestyle, and the Routan is a modern family vehicle,” said Mark Barnes, Chief Operating Officer at Volkswagen of America. “Internet access is a clear benefit to our customers. We’re excited to work with Autonet Mobile to bring uconnect web to our Routan customers.”

“The Routan customer is looking for entertainment options beyond the traditional DVD player,” said Sterling Pratz, CEO of Autonet Mobile. “Consumers want to extend their living room lifestyle to the vehicle and want the ability to use internet-driven applications – gaming, email, IM, internet radio, and other entertainment and information services – while on the road. We’re thrilled to be a part of the revolution that is making the minivan the cool vehicle to own.”

The Routan with Wi-Fi is now available at Volkswagen’s 800 U.S. dealerships. Wi-Fi subscriptions start at $29 per month on top of an installation fee.

Official release after the jump:

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Just one photo. That’s all Bentley has released of its upcoming successor to the Arnage, but it’s all we need to start getting excited.

While we love the classic style of the Arnage, it will be nice to see what appears to be a more progressively and aggressively designed super luxury sedan. We expect the new model will be longer and provide even more interior room that the Arnage as Bentley aims to take on the upcoming Rolls-Royce Ghost.

In terms of an engine, there are many rumors including an Audi-sourced twin-turbo W12 diesel and a version of the Bugatti 16 cylinder engine. Both seem highly unlikely, however – especially the diesel.

More likely is a version of the traditional 6.75-liter motor or a all new powerplant.

It is expected that Bentley will unveil a full concept model at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August.

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The 2010 model lineup for the soon-to-be-terminated Pontiac brand will consist of just one model – the Vibe.

Recently GM interim CEO Fritz Henderson reiterated the company’s position that the G8 would not carry on as either a Buick, Chevy or Cadillac. The G3 and G5 will also cease production this year, while the G6 will only be made available to government, corporate and rental car fleets.

There has been no word lately on the Solstice model. GM had made it known that it would consider offers for the Solstice (as well as the Saturn Sky and Opel GT) as a separate entity, but with the sale of Saturn to Penske, that now seems unlikely.

In an effort to spice up sales of the final run of the Vibe, Pontiac will offer the car with air conditioning standard, and make it available in a new color – Ignition Orange.

GM’s official line is that it wants to work with Toyota on a new vehicle to build at the joint GM-Toyota NUMI plant in California where sister cars the Vibe and Martix are produced, but our sources have indicated that GM wants out.

While the Vibe is a great car, we hope the sad irony of a vehicle built for utilitarian purposes being the last one offered by the company’s performance brand is not lost on the folks at GM.

[Source: LeftLaneNews]

Late yesterday the House of Representatives approved a bill that would offer consumers up to $4,500 to trade in their vehicle on a more fuel-efficient machine. The legislation must now go before the Senate before President Barack Obama is expected to give it final approval.

The bill passed with a strong majority of 298 to 119 and has also received the support of U.S. automakers.

Still, the CARS Act as it is being called is significantly different from the successful incentive programs used in Europe as its aim is not to sell cars, but to sell fuel efficient cars.

Vehicles that are traded in must get 18 mpg or worse. For those who trade in their guzzler for a vehicle that gets (on average) 4 mpg more will receive a $3,500 voucher toward the new car, while those who choose a vehicle that gets 10 mpg more than their current auto will receive the full $4,500.

Programs in Europe, like the incredibly successful one in Germany, target older cars, rather than gas guzzlers.

The CARS act is a temporary measure and is being funded through a $4 billion fund. It is also not retroactive.

If passed in the Senate and approved by President Obama, it is likely to go into effect 30 days afterward, which may mean consumers won’t be able to cash in on incentives until August 1st – a full six months after programs like the one in Germany were put into effect.

[Source: Automotive News and LeftLaneNews]

Toyota appears to be readying a convertible version of the iQ minicar that is currently on sale in Japan and Europe. The report comes from Japan’s Best Car magazine, which suggests much of the basics will be kept including a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 99hp and 92 ft-lbs of torque. Fuel-economy for this engine is rated an an average of 51 mpg – although Toyota offers even smaller and more fuel-efficient powerplants including a 1.0-liter four-cylinder and a 1.4-liter turbodiesel.

Presumably cabriolet or roadster model would do without the two rear seats found in the coupe – which are by all accounts entirely useless.

Pricing in Japan could be 2 million Yen, which works out to a rather steep $20,300.

While it seems unlikely, there is potential for this car to make its way to North America. At the recent New York Auto Show, Toyota youth-brand Scion debuted a concept based on the iQ. This showed that Toyota is certainly interested in exploring whether or not to bring the iQ to the U.S. and apparently it sees the Scion brand as a better fit for the car. And as small a niche market as a vehicle like this may seem, the iQ Cabriolet already has a competitor with the SMART fortwo Cabriolet.

Best Car also suggests that Honda will bring back the Beat in order to compete with this new model from Toyota.

[Source: 4WheelsNews.com]

GM’s interim CEO Fritz Henderson is starting to open up on some of the company’s fuel-efficiency plans and the future involves a pair of turbocharged four-cylinders.

The first turbo-four will be offered in the new Buick LaCrosse but won’t be available immediately. Currently the LaCrosse is slated to get a standard 3.0-liter V6 that makes 255hp thanks to direct injection. The larger optional engine is a direct-injection 3.6-liter V6 which makes 280hp.

It’s not clear what size or output the new turbo engine will provide but if the Envicta concept on which the LaCrosse is based it could be a 2.0-liter engine with 250hp and 220 ft-lbs of torque. It could, however, a a version of the Ecotec 2.4 or even a direct-injection version of the turbo 2.0-liter currently offered in the Cobalt SS.

This would fit in between the two V6 options, although it’s not clear that the 3.0-liter six would continue on past the introduction of the turbo-four.

Little more is known about the second turbocharged four-cylinder, which will sit as the base engine in the upcoming Chevy Cruz. It will be just a 1.4-liter four-banger and while actual output figures are not available they will likely be in the 150hp range.

Henderson also confirmed that the Corvette will live on in a V8 rear-wheel drive package. He did, however, reiterate the company’s position that the Pontiac G8 will not survive past 2010

[Source: MotorTrend]

As much improved as Audis have become over the past few years one consistent complaint about the German luxury cars is how much they weigh. Audi aims to eliminate that critique by removing the problem – weight.

According to Audi technical development boss Michael Dick the automaker is currently working on its next modular longitudinal platform (MLP) that will underpin future vehicles and it will allow for a considerable reduction in the mass of a vehicle.

The new, lighter chassis is necessary for future Audis which may employ electric or hybrid pwertrains, but it will also benefit conventional gasoline-powered cars.

Apparently Audi already has one test vehicle built on new architecture, and it weighs almost 900-lbs less than the current model. It also makes 100hp less, at just 230 ponies from a turbocharged 4-cylinder, but it actually out-performs the V8 model on a track, lapping the Nürburgring eight seconds faster than the current model.

Dick describes the new spaceframe as a variable structure, using both steel and aluminum, which can be used in different quantities for different cars offering either a lighter car at a higher cost, or a heavier car at a lower price-point.

[Source: AutoCar]

When the U.S. Supreme Court delayed the sale of Chrysler to Fiat yesterday it put the whole contract in jeopardy, giving the Italian automaker the opportunity to walk away if the sale isn’t approved by June 15th. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has, however, confirmed his commitment to the purchase, saying that it would not deter him.

“We would never walk away,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg. “Never.”

Late Monday afternoon Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delayed the sale but did not make clear the intentions of the court. A group of Indiana pension funds have attempted to block the sale of Chrysler to a Fiat-run group (also comprised of the U.S. and Canadian governments) by alleging that the initial bankruptcy court acted contrary to the law by putting the needs of unsecured lenders ahead of secured ones (some of which include the pension funds).

The bankruptcy court’s decision was upheld by an appeals court and now the matter may go before the Supreme Court.

It is not guaranteed that the Supreme Court will heard the case but that is the speculation.

All we do know is that Fiat has an unwavering interest in the Chrysler brand and the U.S. market. This is likely due to Marchionne’s belief that in a post-recession auto industry there will be far fewer major players controlling significantly larger shares of the market.

[Source: Automotive News]

Ferrari has confirmed that a hybrid model is in the works and that a concept car will debut as early as the LA Auto Show this December. The news comes directly from Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa just weeks after a patent application for a hybrid system by Ferrari was uncovered.

At almost the same time that patent application was discovered, a second one relating to a turbocharged powerplant was also found. Felisa also confirmed that turbochargers are a potential avenue that the Italian exotic car maker is looking into. He did, however, say that a turbocharged Ferrari engine would still provide the high-revving feel that is so much a part of a Ferrari engine.

These two green alternatives (as well as one other) are being looked at by Ferrari in order to meet stringent European emissions regulations set to take effect in 2014. The final alternative is a bio-fuel or flex-fuel engine – like the one the company debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit (pictured above).

Whatever route Ferrari takes, it is expected that the new model or models will be in addition to the current lineup, in order to reduce emissions across the fleet while retaining the Ferrari performance focus.

[Source: Car & Driver]

Team Lotus will return to Formula 1 after a 16 year absence… sort of. While two cars scheduled to run in the 2010 season will proudly wear the Lotus name, the team will actually be owned and operated by Litespeed, a U.K.-based Formula 3 team.

Team Lotus rights holder David Hunt has allowed the company to use its name, in part due to the many ties Litespeed has with Lotus and its past Formula 1 efforts. Litespeed founders Nino Judge and Steve Kenchington are both former Lotus engineers.

Additionally, former Team Lotus driver Johnny Herbert will be involved in the project as an ambassador for the team and a manager for the drivers.

The new Team Lotus has also announced that vehicle design is being overseen by MGI and its owner Mike Gascoyne, a native of the Lotus stomping grounds in Norfolk.

“Team Lotus is synonymous with great British engineering and F1 innovation… both of which easily demonstrate why ex-Lotus personnel would want to bring this championship-winning name back to the formula,” said Judge in an interview with AutoSport. “Litespeed was born from a similar British background.”

“David Hunt has been the custodian of the name for so many years and we thank him for entrusting us not just with its safeguard but, more importantly, its development in the racing world of tomorrow.”

Team Lotus started in Formula 1 in 1958 after great success in the F2 series. Over the years some of the greatest drivers in motorsports raced for the team including Stirling Moss, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansel, Nelson Piquet, Mika Häkkinen and of course Ayrton Senna. The team won seven World Championships with its last race win coming from Senna in 1987. It continued on into the 1990s but struggled financially and on the track before it pulled from F1 at the end of the 1994 season.

[Source: AutoSport.com]