Showing posts with label Volkswagen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volkswagen. Show all posts
Volkswagen XL1 Concept
New Volkswagen’s Superb TwinCharger Engine
The good die young. This simple statement happens all the time in our lives. The superb, eco-friendly, very tractable 1.4 turbocharged and supercharged engine that Volkswagen calls the ‘Twincharger’ may die a premature death.
This fabulous engine was VW’s answer to make smaller engines as powerful as ones with a larger capacity. People used to say that there’s no substitute for cubic inches and this little Twincharger has made the playing field a little more even for the small boys. VW were actually pretty confident of this little engine that they plonked one in the Scirocco 1.4TSI and in the Polo GTI. Unfortunately, VW now claims that these babies are expensive to produce and they are seriously considering replacing them with one that has a single turbocharger.
What they’re basically doing is replacing an engine that has been crowned “Engine of the Year” both in 2009 and 2010. I suppose real technical progress has to suffer as a result of the bean counters located in VW’s accounting department complaining about added costs. Some Smart Alec there must have voiced their discontent that plonking in an extra item in an engine increases costs. Imagine if they produced 100,000 1.4TSI engines and if the cost of adding a supercharger will cost VW $100 per unit that would mean ordering $10,000,000 worth of supercharger. So if they produced a 1.4 with only a turbocharger instead of two types of forced induction machinery, they’d save a whole lot of cash. Of course it makes perfect sense, but you don’t get to see something different and unique powering certain VWs anymore. And that’s pretty sad news to me.
So what does VW do to comfort us poor souls who are enthralled with new and innovative technology for the cars we see on our roads? It tells the chaps at Autocar (whose sources first brought forward this piece of news) that turbocharging technology has now advanced a fair bit and they believe that they can achieve the same performance figures that the Twincharger makes with their latest Direct-injection engines coupled with the latest turbocharging technology. I do not doubt the fact that VW can make this possible, but I just think that it is a slightly traditional and therefore slightly boring approach to engine development.
Don’t you just hate the people in accounting? This is just like British Airways stopping the Concorde from flying due to costs. Imagine the fact that people in the 1970s and 1980s can cross the Atlantic ocean faster that they can do so now. Imagine us motorheads losing another unique piece of engine technology. This piece of news isn’t as epic as the Concorde not flying, but it is sad news indeed.
New Volkswagen Jetta 2.0 TSI Sport DSG
What is it?
Volkswagen’s all-new Jetta saloon. It’s headed to UK showrooms in spring 2011, but it’ll be bigger news in the US, a market much keener on compact saloons for which this improved and enlarged version of VW’s Golf-based four-door has been expressely designed.
VW is aiming for massive sales gains in North America over the next five years. Previous versions of its Jetta and Passat have been over-priced and over-specified for US tastes, it says, and also extremely difficult to make a profit from, having been built in Europe and imported to the US.
See the road test pics of the VW Jetta
This new Jetta will be built exclusively in Puebla, Mexico, and goes on sale in the US this year for less than $16,000. Which makes it as cheap as a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic saloon; cheaper even than a Chevy Cruze in Chevrolet’s home market.
Unfortunately, UK versions of the Jetta won’t be such compelling value – but they should still look cheap. While entry-level US Jettas make do with cheaper multi-point injection petrol engines, less standard equipment, hydraulic power steering, a torsion beam rear axle and slightly harder cabin plastics, British ones will get more expensive TSI and TDI powerplants, multi-link rear suspension, electro-mechanical power steering and proper slush-moulded dashboards. So they’ll cost more than US Jettas to make.
Still, the Jetta should start at roughly £17k for a 1.2 TSI in the UK, rising to around £22k for a range-topping 2.0 TSI petrol with DSG – value which, for a roomy family saloon, isn’t to be sneezed at.
What’s it like?
Our test Jetta was a 197bhp 2.0 TSI DSG – a close, if not quite perfect match for the range-topping Jetta that’ll be offered in the UK next year.
VW has added 90mm to the overall length of this car. It’s lost some of the appealing compactness of the old Bora and current Jetta as a result. But with 70mm of that extra length gone into the wheelbase, the Jetta’s now a cleverly packaged, surprisingly accommodating passenger car. Golf-derived it may be, but there’s more legroom in the back of the new Jetta than you’ll find in a Honda Accord, Seat Exeo or Volvo S40, and enough head and shoulder space for a 6ft 3in occupant to get truly comfortable. The Jetta’s boot is an enormous one too: 510 litres with the seats up.
The cabin quality and material tactility of our test car was good, if not quite up to Wolfsburg standards, but both will be improved in time for the Jetta’s European launch. In the main, the car’s cabin fixtures and fittings felt solid and expensive, in line with those of a familiar European Golf.
Second-rate refinement is another way you might have expected a Mexican-built VW to fall short of European standards, but this Jetta won’t confirm expectations that way, either. Mechanical refinement is very good; our TSI was smoother and quieter than a Golf GTI. It wasn’t quite as well isolated from wind and road noise, and didn’t quite have the same hushed and absorbent secondary ride as the Golf. Still, its rolling refinement felt good enough to put the likes of the Renault Laguna and Honda Accord to shame.
Slightly slacker body control made our Jetta fall short of the Golf’s standards on handling and roadholding, but that was at least partly due to softer North American chassis settings.
On northern California’s twisting coastal ‘Route 1’, the Jetta felt like a larger and slightly more cumbersome drive than the old car, and lacked a little of the trademark precision of European VWs. However, it provided just enough cornering composure to make for a sporting drive at times, without compromising the above-average refinement expected of a saloon car.
A flexible engine and adaptable DSG gearbox made the Jetta feel a fast enough performer too, with a generous reserve of power for overtaking.
Should I buy one?
You should seriously think about it. Especially if your initial reaction was to dismiss this new Jetta as the usual pokey old Golf saloon, because you’ll be surprised at how capacious it is, and therefore at the value it represents.
VW will quite neatly capture the European D-segment in a pincer movement with this car. By the middle of 2011 it will be offering a larger, more upmarket and more expensive new Passat to those who might otherwise buy a BMW 3-series or a high-end Ford Mondeo. And at the cheaper and more compact end of the market, VW will have this new Jetta to put up against the Renault Laguna, Volvo S40 and Citroen C5.
Against those second-string family saloons, provided VW delivers on the quality promises it’s making about the European versions of the Jetta, we can well imagine that it’ll find a keen following in the UK. It’s not quite a Skoda Superb with a VW badge on the nose, but it has a little of the Skoda’s magic ingredient: it just seems to deliver more than expected for your money.
New Volkswagen Passat: More Wagen, More Volk?
Just as it did with the new Jetta, the Passat has dropped the price increase to what they think the American mid-size sedan customers really want - more space for less money. Although started at $ 27,000 the Passat, VW will be sent to a new base model with sub-$ 20,000 sticker, is specifically designed for the mass testing of cupholders in the four-cylinder Camry, contracts and sonatas.
VW Passat body has grown four inches to 191.4 inches and now promotes the most legroom in the back of the classroom. As for the interior of the VW promised that the show the similarity Tiguan dashboard "much more expensive car, check.
And here's what VW will offer Passat buyers in Europe, where it's still a near-luxury car:
Men from Wolfsburg spend $ 1 billion in new factories in Tennessee only medium sedan. Volkswagen wants the world's largest automaker in 2018, and it takes nearly tripled its sales in the U.S. than 360,000 last year to 1 million 800 thousand, which would be the VW models - makes a big VW and Nissan today.
In America, "Frankly, we lost our way," said Jonathan Browning, VW in the U.S. is safe. "We have become a marginal player in this one of the major world markets. It is not acceptable."
He reached the stage of the band Train, whose lead singer, Pat Monahan thanked the company. "Many of us were conceived in a VW bus, so thanks for life"
For all VW history in the U.S., the beetle and other iconic vehicle that has a history of Americans expect orders from Germany and has excited when they misbehave. It did not work with the Phaeton, Volkswagen is working with a badge indicating the Chrysler minivan than a Microbus revival of his own. If a train that VW wants to maximize the audience for their work. The trick is to get people to tune in instead of tune out.
Top Cars Launches Expected In India In 2011
Year 2010 has been a very eventful year where Car and Bike Launches are concerned. Recently we covered – 94 Top Indian Car & Bike Launches Of Year 2010 on Car Blog India. We hope that with the recovering economy globally and a strong economic growth in India, we will see another eventful and prosperous year ahead for Indians and Indian industries. In this article we look forward to the coming year 2011 and see what all is expected from Indian automobile industry in this year to come.
1. Chevrolet Beat with factory Fitted LPG
Recently Chevrolet has launched its sedan Chevrolet AVEO CNG in India. The choice of operating a car on cheaper and cleaner fuels like CNG and LPG works really well for car buyers who are concerned about the high running costs of the petrol cars.The very obvious benefits of a factory fitted LPG / CNG kit is that the kit is more reliable, tested for quality and safety standards and does not void the warranty of the engine unlike after-market LPG / CNG kits. Also the engine may be adversely affected with an after-market kit as the engine might not have been designed keeping the LPG / CNG fuel in mind.
2. Chevrolet Beat Diesel Launch
There is no official Information about the price or launch date of Chevrolet Beat Diesel. The launch is expected around January 2011. The price of the Chevrolet Beat is expected to between Rs. 4.2 Lakhs and Rs. 5.5 Lakhs to compete with the same segment of cars. This is an approximate assumption and not the official price. We will update this section as soon as there is some official announcement of the same.
3. Reva NXR India Launch In Year 2011
Mahindra Reva electric car company will launch its four seater electric car Mahindra Reva NXR In India in the year 2011. Mahindra And Mahindra President Pawan Goenka mentioned that Reba NXR Electric car will make its debut in India by 2011. The recent incentives announced by Govt. on India for electric cars will help keep the price for end consumer low and accelerate sales of REVA NXR. So far, only 2 seater variant of Reva Electric car is available in India, NXR will be the first four seater all electric car in India. Reva had unveiled the REVA NXR and NXG at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Sep 2009.
4. Toyota Etios Liva Hatchback
Toyota Etios is a new segment for Toyota India with a direct competition for the small cars and affordable sedans. This segment is already captured by many large car companies in India with the popular cars like Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20, New Skoda Fabia, Maruti Swift Dzire, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Figo, Volkswagen Vento, Tata Indigo Manza, etc. These small hatchback and sedan cars have been priced attractively to gain larger market shares in India.
5. Honda New Small Car Brio
Honda has unveiled its new small car, based on the Honda Small Car Concept displayed at Auto Expo 2010 in Delhi, India. The car is named Honda Brio and has been launched at the Thai Auto Show in Thailand. Brio will be a car which will be placed below the only hatchback at present in India from Honda, the Honda Jazz. Honda Brio is a compact hatchback from Honda with modern looks and design. The Brio launched in Thailand is a 4 door variant and not the 2 door as the concept vehicle. The styling is neat neat and sharp. Grille is compact and gives it a pointed look from front with two beautiful crystal headlamps. The car has been launched in Thailand as of now and will come to India about one year later. The assembly of the Brio in India will take place at the Greater Noida plant of Honda SIEL.
6. Maruti Suzuki Kizashi Luxury Sedan
ome credible media sources have revealed that Maruti Suzuki is going to launch its sedan Maruti Suzuki Kizashi in India on 28th January 2011. The car will initially come as CBU to India and Maruti may eventually go for local assembly option if the sales numbers are promising enough with time.
7. Renault Koleos SUV Launch In India
The Indian Automobile market is growing as rapidly as ever and major manufacturers including Indian and others are busy introducing their new models but there are still a few brands who have not been able to launch their very own cars, which are popular overseas.8. Honda Accord 2011 New Model
Honda after stepping into the Indian Market has given provided a lot to the auto sector and most importantly the cars being offered hold their value for money. Taking an example we should consider Honda Accord which gathered immense praise from the customers not for the features but for the price tag these features were offered under and now to follow the same route to success the new Honda Accord with ELECTRIC SUNROOF has been launched.
9. Mahindra Logan 2011 New Model
Maruti Suzuki came out with as many as five CNG vehicles on the same day and also introduced Maruti Wagon-R Duo, a car which could run on LPG as well as Petrol. Even Maruti SX4 CNG variant has jumped into the market to compete against all the less fuel efficient family sedans.But the real competition begins now as Mahindra & Mahindra has launched Mahindra Logan with a CNG heart. Mahindra Logan CNG has been launched in Delhi and Mumbai since these are the only cities having enough CNG gas filling stations.
10. 2011 Maruti Swift
Maruti Suzuki is always working hard to maintain its long time number one car maker position in India. In this effort, Maruti keeps coming up with new cars across all segments in a couple of years from the previous release. This time, the new car will be the new Avatar of already popular car Maruti Suzuki Swift. The Swift will get even better in terms of dimensions, interiors and exteriors. The signature style and shape will remain fundamentally similar, but the new Swift is longer, wider and slightly lesser in height for more ride stability.
11. New Skoda Octavia Replacement Sedan
Skoda, one of the best brands which offers extremely well built and powerful cars is all set to make a replacement for one of its existing models. The car which we are talking about is the most adored one after the iconic Mitsubishi Lancer. Skoda Octavia is the car which we are talking about and we all know how popular the car is in our country.12. Renault Fluence Sedan In India
Renault in association with Mahindra & Mahindra has made remarkable progress as far as Indian Automobile market is concerned with Mahindra Renault Logan which has picked up sales during the last 2 months and is still picking at an appreciable pace.The Fluence is a sedan targeted at some of the most competitive cars including Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze, Toyota Corolla etc. which fall in price bracket of Rs.11 to Rs. 14 Lakh.
13. Volkswagen Jetta And Volkswagen Passat Facelifted 2011 Models
European car manufacturer Volkswagen inspite of carrying all the potential to become a successful brand in India and successfully launching Volkswagen Vento, has been suffering a lot for its luxurious sedan segment comprising of Volkswagen Jetta and Volkswagen Passat.The cars are a treat to look at and amazing to drive yet have not been able to reach the milestone which every company expects its products to. The very reason to this failure has been the long waiting time for each of the two sedan and hence other cars like Skoda Laura and Skoda Superb are overtaking their sales.
14. Nissan Micra Sedan Sunny V-Platform Sedan Launch In India
Nissan has unveiled its global sedan called the Nissan Sunny in China. The sedan is based on Nissan Micra small car which has been launched in India this year. It uses Nissan Versatile V-Platform for Cars. Recently Nissan has also come out with the Nissan Micra Diesel which is expected to boost the sales of Micra. Nissan Sunny is a beautiful sedan with pleasing exteriors, comfortable and classy interiors and a loads of potential to compete with the Sedans globally and in India. It is expected that Nissan Micra sedan Sunny will be launched in Indian in second half of 2011 with a different name as Sunny name in India is already registered by another automobile major for its scooter.15. Ford Fiesta New Model 2011 For India
Ford India would have never expected Ford Fiesta to be a huge hit among the Indian Customers after the disappointment faced during the initial years when Ford made its entry with Ford Escort and Ford Mondeo. The new facelifted Fiesta is already drawing attention in the Chinese market and is expected to hit the Indian Auto sector in the early months of 2011.The company has already reveled its plans of upgrading the existing car portfolio it carries with the Fiesta Hatchback and now Facelifted Fiesta and with no price details about the new car it is expected to compete with Maruti Suzuki SX4 and Honda City.
16. Compact Mahindra Xylo MPV
Mahindra & Mahindra the brand popular for its amazingly featured and highly spacious cars like Mahindra Scorpio and Mahindra Xylo is ready to roll again with its latest product from the Multipurpose Vehicle tree, but will compete in the small car segment.The car resembles a lot to the present Xylo in every aspect and it is completely justified since the car is just a stepped down version of its parent model when it comes to the design.
17.2011 Tata Safari Merlin
We have shared a news earlier about the New Model of Tata Safari in Making by Tata Motors. There has been some recent scoop pictures on the Internet for the new Tata Safari by Tata Motors. The new Safari will be called as Tata Merlin and will debut in 2011.18. Tata Venture MPV For India
The hatchback Venture is so designed that it can comfortably accommodate 8 passengers with plenty of luggage space. Overall length is less than 4 meters and has turning radius of 4.5meters. Venture is powered by 1.4 liter turbo charged CRDI diesel engine delivering 71PS of power@4500rpm & producing torque of 135Nm @ 2500rpm, has best class fuel efficiency among diesel MPV’s.Interiors are much better than others in same range, Taking Safety, Drivers conformabilities under consideration Venture is designed with some of latest technologies i.e. Collapsible steering, Side impact beam, Power Steering, Power windows and many more these equipments makes Venture none other than a comfy car.
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