volkswagen

Volkswagen Reportedly Still Interested in Ducati

2010 Ducati 848 Nicky Hayden Special Edition - Click above for high-res image gallery

Rumors of a possible motorcycle brand for Volkswagen aren't anything new. It's a well-known fact that Ferdinand Piech, Chairman of Volkswagen's Board, wishes that the German automaker had purchased Ducati back in 1985 when the Italian bike manufacturer was in dire financial shape.

As recently as last year, Piech – himself a Ducati rider even at age 72 – commented that Volkswagen could still purchase an unnamed motorcycle manufacturer if the conditions were right. Strike up the rumormill again, boys and girls. The Italian motoring press is reportedly signaling that Volkswagen is making renewed overtures toward Ducati, which, like pretty much all other motorcycle manufacturers these days, is seeing sales and profits take a dive due to the sorry state of the global economy.

Just a few weeks back at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Piech indicated that the Volkswagen Group was looking to expand, and some took that to mean it would procure a sizable stake in Suziki, another long-rumored target of the German automaker. KTM has also been bandied about as a potential partner. So, is there any truth to the two-wheeled VW rumors? We'll see how it all pans out soon enough, but we're not exactly holding our breath.

Gallery: Ducati 848 Nicky Hayden Special Edition

[Source: Clutch and Chrome]

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2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: Volkswagen Phaeton Exclusive

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

If you're in the market for a top-of-the-line luxury sedan, chances are you'll be looking at the likes of Lexus, BMW, Audi and Mercedes. Maybe Jaguar or Maserati, if you're looking for something with a little more flair. But Volkswagen? That's the problem the German auto giant encountered with the Phaeton, a luxurious limousine positioned against its own sister company's Audi A8, but with a less prestigious badge and a more attractive price to compensate.

The Phaeton was, and remains, a flawless piece of engineering – sharing its platform with the Bentley Continental, for crying out loud – but the "people's car" badge didn't do it any favors, and the car was eventually pulled out of the American market. It's still sold overseas, and is due for a complete overhaul by 2011, but for those faithful customers overseas, VW unveiled the new customizable Phaeton Exclusive edition at the Frankfurt auto show, displayed with one of the deepest, blackest paint jobs we've ever seen. Just don't mistake it for an Audi.

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: Volkswagen Phaeton Exclusive

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2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: Volkswagen CC R-line

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

It was a highly unlikely candidate from the company that brought us the Beetle, but the Volkswagen CC was voted the most beautiful luxury sedan in the world. And with good reason: the Passat-based four-door coupe is one of the sveltest designs on the market. And it just got a bit more enticing with the debut of the new R-line version at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

Unfortunately the R-line package, like the S-line offered by sister-company Audi, is purely cosmetic, so don't go looking for any giant V8s or turbochargers under the hood. But it does give the sleek sedan an aggressive edge to it, which is no mean feat for the world's prettiest luxury sedan. See for yourself in the photo gallery below.

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: Saab 9-5

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The Most Beautiful Luxury Sedan is...a Volkswagen?

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

What may have been unfathomable less than a decade ago can quickly become reality in the present. So while the notion of Volkswagen producing a luxury sedan, much less one as streamlined and graceful as the CC (known overseas as the Passat CC), would have seemed entirely foreign before, some of the German automaker's latest products have emerged as award-winning designs. The svelte four-door coupe, introduced only recently, has already won the prestigious iF Product Design Award as well as the Australian International Design Award. Now Volkswagen can add the Red Dot Design Award to the list.

One of the most coveted design awards, the Red Dot prize has been bestowed annually since 1955 by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen on the best designs in the world, and was accepted this year by Volkswagen designer Martin Kropp on behalf of his entire team.

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The Classicist: Touring in the New Touareg TDI

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Luxury Cars & Autos, Events, Green, The Classicist

Volkswagen is not a marque one usually associates with luxury, and so we admit to being somewhat skeptical about the new 2010 Touareg V6 TDI and not all that enthusiastic at first when the chance came to test it out. MotorTrend changed our mind with its recent comparison of diesel and hybrid luxury SUVs - amazingly, their pros all concurred that it outclassed more expensive models like the Mercedes ML320 BlueTEC, BMW X5 and Lexus RX 450h. Plus it's one of the most fuel efficient and cleanest SUVs in the world.

We had a chance to experience it firsthand on a recent jaunt to Washington, DC and Annapolis, Maryland. The Touareg handled all situations with poise and equanimity, from navigating the city streets to an amazing dinner at Wolfgang Puck's The Source, to finding the right marina in Eastport through the bay's backroads for some sailing (the touchscreen GPS was a big help there). We could easily have kept on going, as the comfy interior with its wood and leather resembles in MotorTrend's words "a den in a ritzy Alaska fishing lodge" - or for our purposes make that the upstairs bar at the Annapolis Yacht Club.

Don't think that "diesel" means noisy and slow like those old Mercedes wagons of your youth. The Touareg TDI is powered by a hushed 3.0L, turbocharged six cylinder engine that produces 225 horsepower and an impressive 407 lbs-ft. of torque. Tourque, we learned en route, is more important than horsepower in diesel engines. The TDI's torque gives it performance equal to the gas-powered Touareg V8 that's rated at 350 hp and 324 lb-ft of torque, to give you an idea. And whereas the latter has an EPA mileage rating of 13/18 mpg city/hwy, the TDI gets 17 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.

Gallery: Touring in the Touareg TDI

Tags: Annapolis, BMW, diesel, Lexus, Mercedes, SUV, Touareg, Volkswagen, VW, Washington DC, WashingtonDc, Wolfgang Puck, WolfgangPuck

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Barneys' Volkswagen Beetle Cufflinks

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Men's Style

As part of Barneys New York's 1960s Peace & Love "Hippie Holiday" theme, cooked up by creative director Simon Doonan, the store is offering a special set of Volkswagen Beetle cufflinks. The links, designed on behalf of a holiday partnership between Barneys and Volkswagen by the Caroline Collection, are modeled on the iconic 1967 Beetle. The whimsical "antiqued" cufflinks (above) are made of sterling silver and enamel in various colors and will retail for $550.00 a pair. Commenting on his adoption of the hippie theme, Doonan noted, "We only picked the cheery, upbeat aspects of the '60s! No overdoses or assassinations."

Tags: Barneys, Barneys New York, BarneysNewYork, cufflinks, Holiday, Simon Doonan, SimonDoonan, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Beetle, VolkswagenBeetle

Audi and Seal Go On Tour

by Erin Mays (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Celebrity Shopping

Audi AG has plucked Seal, singer of 1994 hit song "Kiss From a Rose," to serve as a brand ambassador as he tours the world. It's quite the natural fit, in fact -- Heidi Klum's British-born beau and self-proclaimed technophile already hosts the Audi Q7 and R8 sedan in his personal garage.

Seal has already begun his work as an Audi brand ambassador, first early last January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to sing his hit "Crazy" while the company launched its Q7 V12 TDI, then later in January in Las Vegas when Audi launched the new R8.

This week, Seal will hit Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg as Audi launches the A5 in Germany through events themed "Talk of the Town."

Click through to the jump for Audi's full release.

[Source: Audi]

Tags: a5, audi, bmw, mercedes, q7, r8, volkswagen

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Porsche to Borrow Hybrid Technology From Volkswagen

by Erin Mays (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Luxury need not come at environmental cost (depending upon your view of the environmental friendliness of hybrids, of course), what with Porsche reportedly borrowing technology from Volkswagen in order to develop hybrid versions of its sporty Cayenne SUV and Panamera four-door coupe.

Porsche has been licking its chops as it considers the possibilities inherent in its beefed-up partnership with Germany's largest automaker, and hybrid technology is just one of the many options on the table. Partnering with such a large force also means access to a large development team -- something Porsche couldn't afford as a small automaker with its sole focus on high-performance vehicles. Now, Porsche can offer the best of both worlds -- hybrid engines tuned for as much performance as feasibly possible.

The Panamera and Cayenne are the cars Porsche says it will offer as full hybrids, meaning that the vehicles can travel up to speeds of 20-25 miles per hour without kicking on the gasoline engine.

For the cynics, it may be of interest for us to mention that offering up hybrid vehicles would also have the benefit of lowering Porsche's emissions average, keeping it in the ballgame as governmental agencies throughout the world aren't exactly legislating in Porsche's favor.

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Tags: cayenne, full hybrid, FullHybrid, hybrid, panamera, porsche, volkswagen, vw

Volkswagen Snow Sleds

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Volkswagen, not wanted to neglect any portion of their potential customer base, has a line of winter off-road vehicles for those who are still to young to drive. Their sleds are inspired by the designs of some of their cars. The Schlitten Snow Future GTI (pictured), for example, features an ergonomic design that was modeled after the Golf GTI., with lookalike grille, tachometers and steering wheel. It is made of high-quality, strong double-walled plastic and steers easily due to its central front ski. It will probably be a bit easier to place your order if you know German because the sleds are available from the German Volkswagen site. This one runs $144 (€109).

[via carscoop]

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Tags: kid, kids, sled, sleds, volkswagen, winter

VW Bicycles

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

It seems like more and more car manufacturers are also in the bicycle business. Foursprung covers the VW bikes including the VW Bonanza bicycle which is part of their Goal accessory line to celebrate the soccer world championships in Germany this year. The bright orange bike is limited to 500 pieces and costs 339 euros. There is also a foldable 16-inch bike for 429 euros. Cheaper than the Mercedes bikes but if you are nostalgic for a banana seat bike this is your chance.

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Tags: bicycle, volkswagen, vw bike, VwBike

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