New car criteria
Fun driving factor? Check
Great utility (wagon)? Check
Kick-ass fuel economy (60 mpg)? Check
Would you buy that? Yeah, we would, too.
Referenced articles:
Gas 2.0: 2009 Jetta BlueTDI Comes to US This Summer, Sports 60 MPG and Cleaner Emissions
Kicking Tires reports Hyundai, VW Look To Move Upmarket With New Models.
First of all, on that Kicking Tires link dealie, which is the VW and which is the Hyundai? Second, Hyundai should consider removing the Hyundai name from the Genesis. That appears to be quite the contender and the only drawback is the parent company's name. Genesis isn't a bad name for a car company. They could name it the Genesis One. We still think, despite VW having a luxury brand already, that VW should have spun the Phaeton off into its own division called Phaeton. Third, Summer.
Meanwhile, check out the Genesis going through some crash tests. Kerplow!
AutoWeek reports: Feisty VW wants to surpass Toyota.
Feisty? How about "high"? How about "pissed that it's still working on that 50-state diesel engine"?
Don't get us wrong, we're chubbed to see that VW is going to be pushing hard to not only stay in the game, but to head for the top... But VW still has that reputation of being a problematic brand whereas Toyota does not*, so we're not sure this will happen. Meanwhile, VW, pass that over here so we's can have a toke.
*Toyota has been running into some reliability issues, so they could sink themselves. If we had to guess, however, Toyota will quickly correct the problems before its reputation is seriously affected. If Toyota doesn't, then we hope other manufacturers are prepared to pounce. Pounce!
Jalopnik reports: EU Court Set to Allow Porsche Purchase of VW.
We're trying to figure out why Porsche would buy up the rest of VW (that is, if they decide to do so). PorscheW won't likely make the Scirocco a really fast car to compete with the Boxster/Cayman and VW's already been burned at the high-end with the Phaeton. Is Porsche going to enter the sedan market maybe? Or go lower-end with a Porsche branded Scirocco?
Anyone have any guesses?
Kicking Tires reports: VW Goes Diesel Happy: Jetta TDI Coming in '08.
Oh, man. Ain't this thing supposed to get 60 mpg? And have VW's sweet driving experience? Man, we hope VW also includes the ubiquitous electrical issues. Then it'd be perfect!
We kid VW! We're big fans of VWs and any problems they have. Or don't have.
CNN reports: The cure for climate change. This article is about the really cool VW Eos. It has a hardtop so if the weather gets all hot and sticky or just nasty, the Eos can insulate you. Because it's a convert, you can also enjoy the view once it gets all purty out.
But, really, we're wondering if everyone drove a convertible and was forced to breathe in the nast if maybe emissions would be fixed without regulation.
Our buddy, Phil, proves that convertibles are the way to go.
Autoblog reports: Diesel VW Jetta Sportwagen a real fuel-sipper. As if Detroit doesn't have enough to worry about, now VW is going to be sending over a diesel that gets 60 mpg on the highway! That's serious mileage. Add on the fact that diesel is less-expensive than gasoline and now you'll be able to put a lot more miles from that gallon of diesel... AND the engine will be clean enough for all 50 states. Might it be too early to predict a mega-winner? Oh, under $20k, too.
In your face, Detroit! It's all your faul... Well, you get the idea.
Well, don't go getting down on your knees thanking the good lord for all that is purty* -- this isn't a done deal yet, but Autoblog reports: Give it to us straight: VW exec says Scirocco may be U.S.-bound afterall. May be bound.
The post at AB says the reasoning behind not bringing the Scirocco over was that it "might cannibalize GTI sales." Please. The GTI isn't nearly as interesting as the Scirocco. In fact, VW could charge quite a bit more for the Scirocco even if it was a GTI in every respect except for the shape. It's one sexy thang.
*Plaid and suspenders?! How is a red-blooded American man supposed to contain himself?
Autoblog reports: VW Phaeton, Take 2: let's try smaller this time, with a bit more Audi. No! Crap! No! Dammit!
First, VW pulls out the Scirocco and now they are mucking up the sales-leading Phaeton. Well, change that "sales-leading" to shite selling, but the car was still cool.
AutoB has the details, but we still think VW should have spun off Phaeton into its own brand and sold the big luxury as the Phaeton Sedan from Phaeton. And then, later, sold a Phaeton Coupe from Phaeton. That would have rocked.
Autoblog reports: Bastards! VW Scirocco won't be coming to the U.S. No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Damn it all! WTF! POS! LOL. Wait, not that last one.
