Recent rumors have suggested that Volkswagen may introduce a high-riding, faux-crossover Variant of its latest generation of the European market Passat, as early as at the forthcoming 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. And while we can’t confirm the rumormill, what we can do is show you a very well executed rendering of the VW Cross Passat made by a talented reader of Autoblog.nl.
Car buyers’ preferences in China are shifting towards European models and away from domestic and even Japanese vehicles, according to a new study published today by JD Power Asia Pacific. This is the third year that the study takes place. The latest edition included 65 brands and 161 separate models in nine segments and is based on responses from 4,979 potential buyers of new-vehicles located in 53 cities.
Skoda revealed today that it delivered 454,700 vehicles in the first half of 2011, which represents an increase of 20.1% compared to the same period in 2010. The Volkswagen Group brand also achieved its best ever June sales, with 81,300 deliveries, compared to 71,300 units in 2010, scoring a new sales record for the fourth month in a row.
The Union of Concerned Scientist, a non-profit science advocacy group in the U.S., has released its second annual Hybrid Scorecard. The organisation criticised hybrid car manufacturers for not delivering on the technology’s promise, for placing performance above fuel efficiency and environmental benefit and burdening hybrids with features that put them out of the price range of average Americans. A total of 34 hybrid vehicles from the 2011 to 2012 model year were tested for their fuel efficiency, environmental impact, value-for-money and their so-called “forced-feature premium”. The latter is features that don’t improve fuel efficiency but probably make the cars more appealing to money-conscious consumers.
Some guys have all the luck. Like Jay Leno. Not only is he a famous and wealthy TV presenter, but he also gets to drive a bevy of new cars well before anyone else. After driving the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell, which won’t enter production for another two years, and the new SLS Roadster wasn’t enough, Leno was also invited to VW’s headquarters at Wolfsburg to try out the new Beetle.
Volkswagen announced today that it set a first half-year record in passenger car sales, with more than 2.5 vehicles delivered globally. This represents an increase of 11.8% compared to the same period of 2010 (2.26 million).
