Volkswagen‘s Super Bowl ad was teased last week with a musical performance of  dog’s barking the imperial march, which was very entertaining by itself, but it was not evident how VW would tie together both dogs and Star Wars. Well now we know as the company just released the entire commercial for our viewing pleasure.

It is actually two commercials rolled into one, a clever trick to keep both the dog and star wars theme alive. While the dog is cute, it’s only fitting that Volkswagen kept their Star Wars ties strong following the success of last years Super Bowl ad featuring the “Vader kid.”

Well done Volkswagen, well done.

Watch the ad after the jump and tell us what you think in the comments section below.

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Americans are saying “yes” to the 2012 Volkswagen Passat and the German giant is responding in kind by boosting production and adding jobs.

200 more positions are being created at the Chatanooga, Tenn. plant that already manufactures the car. According to Automotive News, the company will achieve this goal by increasing the number of cars produced per hour from 31 to 35. The plant opened in 2011 as part of VW’s plan to boost American sales to 800,000 by 2018.

We’re certainly not complaining about more Passats being available. Changes to the 2012 model make it feel a lot more like a luxury car. Some folks may struggle with the $33,000 price tag for the top-end model, but the base S starts at just $19,995. Read our review here and decide for yourself.

GALLERY: 2012 Passat SEL V6

[Source: Automotive News]

10: Audi TT RS

Classic car insurance company Hagerty has just released its annual list of vehicles that it expects will become the collector cars of the future. The list of “affordable” collector cars is capped at $100,000 and comes on the heels of the annual Scottsdale collector car auction week.

“After more than twenty years of witnessing car-collecting trends, we have the unique ability to look at new cars through the eyes of a collector,” said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty Insurance. “This year’s Hot List includes cars that are sure to develop a cult-like following because their characteristics resonate with driving enthusiasts.”

Starting off the list, and a favorite of ours is the Audi TT RS which retails for $56,850 and is a favorite amongst automotive enthusiasts as an affordable, fun ride without having to indulge into Porsche costs. The TT RS has plenty of global appeal which means it’ll have plenty of global demand down the road. And besides, Audi consistently finds itself at the Le Mans podium; you just can’t argue with success.

Hyundai has made incredible gains in the global market, challenging larger automakers in markets they once dominated. While Volkswagen has globally sold a record number of vehicles in 2011, Hyundai Motors and its Kia affiliate have exceeded VW’s numbers in the United States. According to senior analyst of auto website Edmunds.com Jessica Caldwell, “Hyundai offers compelling design at an affordable price– a win-win for must consumers. Brand exposure has long been the problem for Hyundai, but that has certainly eased.” The South Korean automaker has made some smart moves to gain publicity, including ads aired during the Super Bowl as well as the company’s sponsorship of the World Cup.

The pressure on Volkswagen doesn’t end at North America, however, as Hyundai intends to bring the fight to Europe as well. Chief operating officer Allan Rushforth for Hyundai Europe said, “It’s very important for Hyundai to be successful. Europe is a top priority because it affects how the company is perceived elsewhere.”

Just as European nations tackle a debt crisis and consumers face austerity measures, Hyundai looks to offer products that mix great value, reliability, European styling and handling. While Volkswagen focuses its attention on challenging GM and surpassing them for the title as world’s largest automaker, Hyundai sneaked up on the German Automaker as Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at Germany’s University of Applied Sciences, said, “Hyundai is one of VW’s most serious challengers. The mix of good value, quality and design is a solid basis, and they’ve been getting more innovative every year.”

During the Frankfurt Auto Show in September, a video was posted on YouTube capturing a concerned conversation between VW CEO Martin Wintekorn and his associates at Hyundai’s show floor. Upon studying the adjustable steering column inside the Hyundai i30, Winterkorn  noted, “Nothing rattles. Why can they do it? BMW can’t. We Can’t.”

Winterkorn adds, “It’s become increasingly clear that whoever’s at the front has a lot of opponents. Our competitors are attacking Volkswagen all over the world.”

For Hyundai’s European offensive, the South Korean automaker has prepared a $12.4 billion investment, intended for plant upgrades and vehicle technology development.  Meanwhile, Volkswagen steels itself against imminent competition by holding onto a 62.4 billion euro budget to invest in factories and new vehicles over the next five years.

GALLERY: Hyundai Elantra

[Source: Bloomberg]

A showcase of compact, economic, and intelligent cabin design and ergonomics, Volkswagen reveals the 5-door version of its Up! city-car. Other than the addition of two extra doors for easier accessibility and a more conservative side profile that will further enhance rear visibility, the 5-door version is identical in wheelbase and interior dimensions. Power is available either via a 60-horsepower, 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine or a 75 horsepower version. Cargo space within the Up! is nearly 9 cubic feet and can be expanded to 33.6 cubic feet once the rear bench is folded down.  Volkswagen expects to see nearly half of total Up! sales made up of the five-door.

Options, trims, and configurations will be similar to those available for the 3-door hatchback. Pricing for the 5-door Up! begins at 10,325 euro in Germany, a 475 euro premium over the standard 3-door model.

First available in the European market later this year, Volkswagen has no intention of introducing the new Up! city cars in North America.

GALLERY: Volkswagen Up! 4-door Hatchback

Along with the Saab saga, the story of VW‘s attempt to buy Porsche AG has been nothing short of a soap opera, with twists and turns at every juncture. After previous attempts by the Wolfsburg automaker to purchase the remaining shares in the smaller Stuttgart concern fell through, it now appears, the deal may be on again.

Both automakers have talked about consolidation for years, yet when former Porsche CEO Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking’s attempt to buy a larger stake in VW fell through, the tables turned; thanks to German law that required Volkswagen to buy shares in Porsche instead.

However, despite VW currently owning more than 49 percent of Porsche and the two companies sharing an upper management structure, there’s still little in the way of cohesiveness when it comes to operations, each firm doing its own thing when it relates to aspects such as R&D, engineering, manufacturing and sales and marketing. This is something that’s proving particularly troublesome, especially for strategic projects, such as upcoming EV vehicles and new lightweight sports cars.

Now, it appears that greater integration between the two companies might finally become a reality this year, information leaked by sources at VW suggest that Porsche has put in an option to sell its remaining 50.1 percent of shares this November.

If that does come to pass, Volkswagen could purchase Porsche outright by the end of the year, however German tax complexities mean that if an outright purchase were to take place before VW can exercise its own call option on the remaining shares (which would be March at the earliest) the merger would be subjected to higher taxation, not something that either company wants.

Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen and Porsche, is clearly frustrated at the present lack of integration between the two companies, something he reiterated earlier this month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

“We want to cooperate with Porsche in such a way that as many synergies can be leveraged as soon as possible,” he said, “without needing to have a lawyer stand next to a Porsche employee every time he screws something into a Volkswagen or vice-versa.”

[Source: Reuters]

Americans aren’t the only ones who love bigger cars, it turns out people in the Middle East do too.

At least that’s the way it seems to us after learning that the American version of the Volkswagen Passat will premier at the 2012 Qatar Motor Show. As is often the case with German cars, there is a European and U.S. version sold in their respective regions. Generally the American version is a bit bulkier in keeping with our larger interests.

The base features are more-or-less the same, though it looks like the expatriated Passat which is assembled in the U.S. will come with a standard touch screen. Otherwise, the same five-cylinder 170 horsepower engine, 16-inch wheels and standard trim are intact. ABS and ESP are also both standard.

The truth is, the 2012 Passat really does approach luxury status. The longer American wheel base will do a good job of offering comfort for rear passengers and retaining the high-end feel German cars are known for. Volkswagen hopes that by offering the more spacious version they will attract a combination of business and private consumers, though there isn’t any word on the SEL V6 model we reviewed being included.

GALLERY: 2012 Passat SEL V6

The Volkswagen Golf will remain the best-selling car in Europe, but here’s the real news: it keeps the crown with a whopping 484,547 units sold.

Numbers might not mean much to most people, but this will put things into perspective: at 1.6 million units worldwide, BMW stood fast as the world’s largest luxury car brand. Those are worldwide sales figures. VW came close to the half-million mark in Europe alone and with just one model.

As far as American bravado is concerned, we can’t come close to touching those numbers. The top-selling car in the U.S. was the Toyota Camry with 308,510 units. To be fair, all you need to do is delve into the popular world of pickup trucks to find that the Ford F-150 sold about 100,000 more units in the States than the Golf did in Europe, but the fact remains that Volkswagen is killing the competition with their catchy compact.

If VW has its way, the Golf will remain in the top spot for its seventh generation— set to debut at the Paris Auto Show in September. Sales actually dropped by 2 percent last year, though such fluctuations are typical towards the end of a model cycle.

Read AutoGuide’s 2011 Vw Golf Review Here

GALLERY: 2011 Volkswagen Golf

[Source: Automotive News]

Volkswagen has confirmed the development of a production version of the mini hot hatch Up! GT.

One of the many variations of the Up! concept that was unveiled at last year’s Frankfurt motor show, Volkswagen emphasized that the Up! GT will drive and perform very closely to the original Golf GTI, which Volkswagen enthusiasts were no doubt happy to hear.

Details on the Up! GT are limited but we know that it will be motivated by a turbocharged three-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed gearbox, producing 110-hp. While the numbers are modest, we’re expect to see a lot of Up! GT city cars darting through city traffic in the future.

[Source: pistonheads]

At least that’s the findings from Evalueserve’s White Paper, entitled “Platform Strategy Will Shape  the Future of OEMs.” Like many facets of  the auto industry, the concept of platform sharing is nothing new, automakers have been doing it for decades.

Yet, the realities of doing business in the 21st century mean that not only is it no longer acceptable for automakers to offer a range of badge engineered models (think back to GM’s J-cars of the 1980s), it simply isn’t financially feasible to have a range of unique, dedicated platforms either.

According to Evalueserve’s own analysis, last year, the top 20 global passenger car platforms accounted for some 40 percent of global sales, with realistic projections set to see these top 20 account for almost 50 percent of all global vehicle sales by 2015.

Yet as we move forward and automakers seek to maintain economies of scale, the number of vehicle architectures is expected to shrink still further, even as many brands aim to proliferate their model offerings as well as adding localized production, all in an effort to make their products appeal to a wider range of consumers in different global markets, while minimizing supply and tariff issues.

Evalueserve estimates that by 2020, the  major vehicle manufacturers; Daimler AG, Fiat/Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, PSA Peugeot/Citroen, Renault/Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen Group will have reduced the total number of vehicle architectures they use by a third.

In fact, not too long ago, GM declared that by 2018, it will have reduced its number of global vehicle architectures to just 14, down from 30 in 2010. The company also said this strategy should help it save some $1 billion each year, money that’s primarily contributed by product development programs.