Performance hatchback enthusiasts brace for impact! The 2015 Volkswagen GTI is locked, loaded and aimed at America.
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The AutoGuide News Blog is your source for breaking stories from the auto industry. Delivering news immediately, the AutoGuide Blog is constantly updated with the latest information, photos and video from manufacturers, auto shows, the aftermarket and professional racing.
Grab your three wood and don your Tam o’Shanter because Volkswagen just revealed the North American version of its 7th generation Golf. This 2015 model is larger and roomier inside than its predecessor but lighter and more fuel efficient at the same time.
Cowboy Up
Once upon a time trucks were built for work. They had manual door locks, crank windows and AM radios, if they had any sound system at all. Leather seats, air conditioning and voice-activated distractions were out of the question. Like a framing hammer, pickups were simple and effective.
For decades they were purpose-made for hard-working men (and women), the kind of folks that make Paul Bunyan look like a dragqueen. But somewhere along the line these roughneck vehicles became cool with the subdivision set. People living in suburbia started to buy them en masse. With sales increasing so did the clarion call for more comfort.
Today it’s easy to push a simple truck’s window sticker well into luxury-car territory… and beyond. Sure, these vehicles can still handle a 14-hour day on the jobsite and are even more capable than their forebears, but more often than not they’re loaded with costly options that appeal to style-conscious shoppers rather than blue-collar workers. Here’s a list of 10 pricey pickups tailor-made for urban cowboys. The MSRPs are listed without incentives, so actual pricing may vary.
While Japanese and Korean automakers such as Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda are investing into hydrogen fuel cell-equipped vehicles, German automaker Volkswagen believes they have failed to live up to promises and aren’t cost-efficient to produce.
The Volkswagen e-up! has gone from concept to production vehicle, with the first all-electric VW making its debut.
Because Creativity is Overrated
What’s the most important step a manufacturer undertakes when creating a new car? Building a great chassis? Getting the interior ergonomics right? Providing the perfect drivetrain to complement the new product? Nope. All wrong. The really, really important factor for any new car is getting the name right.
All joking aside, a vehicle’s name is very important. Slap a clever name on a car and it can help boost sales. Conversely, choose a bad name for a vehicle, like Probe or Dictator, and it can hurt sales. Manufacturers spend a lot of time and money analyzing potential model names.
Well, that’s usually what happens, but sometimes, the creativity well runs dry. Every now and then a new vehicle receives a name that leaves us all wondering: “Really? That’s all they could think of?” Not to get confused with naming conventions that are just lazy, like Mazda’s numbered sequence or Mercedes-Benz’s lettered sequence. No, we are referring to model names that give the perception maybe the marketing team forgot to show up one day and the engineers were left in charge of naming the new ride. “We are pleased to announce the latest from Hyonbaru Motors, ‘The Car!” Don’t laugh, some the following models are even worse.
In the just-released 2013 Customer Survey Index (CSI) released by J.D. Power and Associates, GMC was the top ranked automaker among mass market brands.
Volkswagen has confirmed that the 2015 Golf will make its US debut at the upcoming 2013 New York Auto Show in three flavors: en entry-level TSI model, a TDI Clean Diesel model and the sporty GTI.
With just 250 being made and a rumored six-figure price, Volkswagen’s new 261 MPG plug-in hybrid may sound like a science project, but the German automaker insists it’s a halo model that will usher in an era of plug-in hybrids.
Bland Like Unsalted Popcorn
Are you self-conscious? Don’t like to stand out in a crowd? Would you rather blend into the background than be the center of attention? Well, when it comes to the automotive world, you are in luck. Some vehicles seem to have skipped class when it came time for their styling lesson. This is not to say they are ugly, but more that they lack any style whatsoever.
We’ve all heard the clichés to describe these anonymously styled cars; plain vanilla, beige, white bread, etc. We like to think of them as stylistically-challenged. Regardless, if you don’t want to draw any undue attention towards yourself, here are ten vehicles that are guaranteed to blend into the landscape.
Could this be Volkswagen’s Prius? A fuel efficient halo car, the XL1 is expected to deliver a whopping 261-mpg thanks to its tiny engine, low weight and slip-stream design. Continue Reading…
Diesel. Hot-hatch. Not much more needs to be said about the upcoming Volkswagen GTD, which will eventually make its way to American shores, giving enthusiasts a crazy amount of torque to go with practical hatchback dimensions.
Overshadowed by the new Golf’s debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Volkswagen treated its Polo R WRC street car like yesterday’s news, tucking and hiding it from plain sight in its massive booth.
Nothing says hot-hatch like a Volkswagen GTI, and at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, VW showed off the latest version of the gussied-up Golf, which has subtle style changes a new platform and more power. Continue Reading…
In a sea of new Volkswagen Golf model debuts at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, a sporty R-Line variant of the Golf Estate (sold as the Jetta SportWagon in America) stood out from the crowd.
With a claimed 261-mpg rating, the Volkswagen XL1 is the most fuel efficient car in the world while sporting a design like no other car on the road today.
Volkswagen’s cult-followed GTI hot hatch debuted in its seventh generation today at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.
One of a half dozen Volkswagen Golfs unveiled today at the Geneva Motor Show, the GTD model is particularly noteworthy as until now its been forbidden fruit in America.
Denied it for decades, fans of diesel-powered Volkswagens across America are about to get the car of their dreams: the GTD.
Europe is known for building some of the world’s finest cars, so what do folks on “the continent” think is the best car to spend your Euros on? As it turns out, the Volkswagen Golf.
The first photos of the new Volkswagen Golf Estate, sold here at the Jetta SportWagen, have hit the Internet ahead of its official debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.
Volkswagen has revealed a rendering for its e-Co-Motion Concept, which will be heading to the 2013 Geneva Motor Show for its official unveiling.
Volkswagen will have a large presence at this year’s Geneva Motor Show with cars like the new Golf GTI, and today spy photos are showing another one of VW’s Geneva-bound vehicles: the Jetta SportWagen.
The seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf will be getting an electric car variant, the Golf-e, which broke cover ahead of its 2013 Geneva Motor Show debut.