News Blog

Volkswagen's latest iteration of the Passat, launched at the 2008 Detroit auto show, looks remarkably different from its forebear, and brings in a host of electronics usually reserved for expensive luxury cars. But we are most excited about the all-new navigation and entertainment system, which looks to be a big improvement on Volkswagen's current offering. The car will be imported to the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Click here for photos of the Volkswagen Passat CC.

Click here for more 2008 Detroit auto show coverage.

Volkswagen has four new car architectures planned as part of its revamp, according to reports.

In mid-November Volkswagen announced it would be investing 28.9 billion euros in its automotive division over the next three years. The company said the changes would focus on completely new vehicles as well "successor models and derivatives" for all of its product classes. The investment will include new powertrain technologies and updates to manufacturing plants.

Today it's been reported this will entail the introduction of four completely new base architectures from which Volkswagen will build its new models and updates, according to AutoBlog and Automotive News.

To save on manufacturing costs, several similar-sized cars are often built on the same original platform, though things like exterior sheet metal, engines, and interiors are different.

In the case of Volkswagen, the company plans to use its MQB (Modulare Querbaukasten aka modular transverse component system) architecture for "upper-medium" cars like the Passat. The MQB system will be the base for over 6 million cars per year by 2018 and save up to 40 percent per car in development and manufacturing costs.

The MLB (Modulare Längsmotor-Baukasten aka modular longitudinal engine component system) will be used for the Audi A4 and A5. The MHB will be used for small rear-engine vehicles like the Space Up concept car Volkswagen has been unveiling at car shows. A fourth unnamed architecture is also under development for Volkswagen's mid-engine sports cars sold by Audi and Lamborghini, according to AutoBlog.

While Volkswagen released a statement on the revamp, it was not immediately available for comment on the particulars of what those changes would entail.

News of change for Volkswagen is not surprising given an October court ruling that gave Porsche, which holds over 30 percent voting interest in Volkswagen, the ability to exert more control. Porsche has repeatedly said it would like to revamp Volkswagen to make it competitive with Toyota in terms of global sales. Toyota is known as a pioneer for its efficient plants with modular car manufacturing.

Is there such a thing as a mini minivan?

Volkswagen's Space Up, which was unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo auto show on Wednesday, certainly seems to qualify.

The four-door Space Up is just 3.68 m (12 feet) by 1.63 m (5 feet) compared to the VW Touran minivan, which is roughly 4.3 m (14 feet) by 1.8 m (6 feet).

The Space Up follows the two-door Up that debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show. As with the Up concept car, the drive train for all of the gasoline, diesel, and electric drives for this line of cars would be located in the rear, as they were on the old Beetle, according to VW.

A German statute known as the "Volkswagen Law" was struck down Tuesday by the European Court of Justice, opening the door for sports car maker Porsche to acquire the German automaker.

The ruling means that Porsche, which has expressed an interest in making Volkswagen a rival to Toyota in terms of global sales, can now proceed.

Porsche already owns a significant amount of shares in Volkswagen. It's now free to continue buying up VW stock, increase its voting share, become the majority owner and take control of the company.

"With a voting interest of just above 30 percent in Volkswagen, we obviously have a high interest in exercising our voting rights in full," Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking said in a statement.

Specifically, the German law had restricted voting rights of a board member to 20 percent, regardless of the actual percentage of shares owned, and required an 80 percent majority vote to pass resolutions instead of the usual 75 percent required for public companies.

The European Court of Justice ruling on the "Volkswagen Law" (PDF) struck down both those restrictions, as well as one involving German governmental control over a company's board.

The court ruling was not a surprise, as it followed the opinion released by Advocate General Ruiz-Jarabo last February.

"Ruiz-Jarabo considers that the German government's approach is too wide and too far removed from reality, and is not based on overriding reasons relating to the public interest. Accordingly, the advocate general proposes that the Court of Justice should find against Germany," Ruiz-Jarabo said in a February 2007 statement (PDF).

Besides Toyota Motor and BMW, automakers haven't done a great job of building fleets that emit less carbon dioxide, according to an Environmental Defense report.

The organization's 80-page report, called "Automakers' Corporate Carbon Burdens" (PDF), evaluated the carbon dioxide emissions of vehicles from major automakers between 1990 and 2005. Companies graded were: Ford Motor, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Volkswagen, BMW, Subaru and Mitsubishi Motors.

"The rate of carbon dioxide emissions from new cars and light trucks in the U.S. dipped for the first time in two decades, but their overall contribution to global warming has continued to grow steadily since 1990," Environmental Defense said in a statement.

BMW achieved a 12 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions across its entire fleet of cars, more than any of the other car companies included in the study. Environmental Defense attributes the drop to the company's addition of the low carbon dioxide-emitting Mini Cooper to its lineup, as well as efficiency improvements made across its entire line of cars.

Toyota was rated the second best, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 3 percent overall during that period, due in large part to its introduction of the Prius hybrid to its lineup and efficiency improvements made to the Corolla.

The report also rated the overall "carbon burden" that automakers placed on the environment, based on factors that included the emissions of their cars and the number of cars sold.

In this area, GM ranked No. 1, with a 6.5 percent reduction in overall carbon burden. Environmental Defense, however, attributed this to GM's loss of market share, not to the carbon dioxide emissions of its overall lineup, which actually rose 3 percent. In contrast, Toyota, while low in its 3 percent carbon dioxide emissions reduction rate, grew its carbon burden by 125 percent, due to an increase in overall sales.

Environmental Defense combined the average over an entire lineup of cars and light trucks from 1990 to 2005 to determine an automaker fleet's average carbon dioxide emissions rate:

• BMW, reduced 12.3 percent.

• Toyota, reduced 3 percent .

• Volkswagen, up 1.3 percent.

• Subaru, up 1.6 percent.

• General Motors, up 3 percent.

• Mitsubishi, up 4 percent.

• Honda, up 4.4 percent.

• Ford, up 4.7 percent.

• DaimlerChrysler, up 4.8 percent.

• Nissan, up 9.2 percent.

• Hyundai, up 17 percent.

• Kia, up 30 percent.

Could two icons of aesthetics be on the verge of announcing a fruitful partnership?

Apple and Volkswagen are reported to be in talks about an "iCar" or car integration system, according to reports from German magazine Capital and the Associated Press.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Audi Chairman Martin Winterkorn, who heads the Audi brand group that includes Volkswagen, met recently in California to discuss ideas, but no concrete plans, a Volkswagen representative told the Associated Press.

"We wouldn't comment on rumors and speculation," said Tom Neumyar, senior manager for iPod and iTunes at Apple.

Volkswagen of America would neither confirm nor deny the reports.

Volkswagen has been concentrating on the development of its navigation and human interface, Frank Weith, technical strategy manager for Volkswagen of America, told CNET News.com in an interview last week.

Its customers can expect to see some interesting things in this space in the near to long-term future, said Weith.

"I look at the vehicle as being static in a sense where you can create an environment where the vehicle can be connected to your home system. You can download your iTunes. We have a navigation companion on our Web site. You can download your trip, where you're going and, eventually, depending on the access, to download a movie. You can create the environment that you would like to have but make it static, download a week of your Internet," he said.

A small group of automotive journalists gathered recently in Southern California to watch an unusual sight: A fully functional Volkswagen Touareg that could be controlled without anyone in the driver's seat.

The custom-made SUV was part of a special showcase hosted by Volkswagen, where a select few got a glimpse at some of the stunt driving skills used in the making of The Bourne Ultimatum, the third and newest installment of the Bourne films. The movie's stunt team developed a special cockpit attached to the top of the Touareg, complete with a seat, steering wheel, and pedals that allowed the driver to control the car from the roof. With the stunt driver "hidden" on top, camera crews had the freedom to shoot the actor in the driver's seat from any angle without obstruction.

Each of us got a chance to ride along on a choreographed chase in the driver's seat of the custom-made Touareg, dubbed a Remote Driven Vehicle (RDV) by its creators. The car had to be put in gear from the inside, but once the RDV was in drive, we passengers were completely at the mercy of the madman--er--professional up above. It was exciting (and a little disconcerting) to watch the driver's steering wheel turn by itself as we chased a nimble GTI though a series of narrow, makeshift alleyways of cardboard boxes.

The sound of screeching tires echoed loudly as the cars maneuvered through the obstacle course. Run after run, each passenger was subjected to sudden swerves and near head-on collisions. All emerged unscathed, save for some sweaty palms and pounding hearts (and maybe a few sore bellies from laughing so hard). A couple of crashed cars from the making of the film were also on display.

After the RDV demonstration, we got personalized instruction from the professional drivers on how to do a variety of car-control moves, including J-turns, reverse 180s, and power sliding into a parallel parking spot. Needless to say, a lot of cones were killed in the process.

Watch official video of the RDV and other behind-the-scenes action from The Bourne Ultimatum here.

The options are looking even better for digitally minded chauffeur-driven tykes. After they have caught up on their e-mail and watched a movie or two, they might soon be able tap into a just-for-kids navigation system being developed by Volkswagen.

The prototype child navigation system comes complete with GPS data and a time worm that eats away the hours until arrival. Kids can also use the screen to play games and in-seat exercises.

The system is one of six ideas that Volkswagen is kicking around at its German test facilities. Others include an electronic sun visor, which uses an eye monitor and a sun-status sensor to darken the car's windshield to minimize glare; and a innovative traffic decongestion proposal that instructs cars to accelerate before reaching the trouble spot to increase traffic throughput. You can check out all six concepts over at Popular Mechanics.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Porsche is planning to partner with Volkswagen on the Panamera, according to a company update to shareholders, saying that the painted body shells for the four-door coupe will be supplied by the Volkswagen Hannover factory.

The engines will be supplied by Porsche's famous Zuffenhausen plant.

The Panamera is the new addition to Porsche's lineup through which the company hopes to "broaden its customer basis further and step up market penetration in order to safeguard long-term growth," according to a statement.

In other words (mine), Porsche hopes to snag more market share from the aging yuppies with car seat issues who probably still consider themselves hipsters.

But at what cost to the brand, I ask you?

The Panamera is scheduled for large-scale production from the company's Leipzig plant for the 2009 market. Porsche said in a statement that it's ramping up its Leipzig plant with a new production facility to the tune of about $206 million and 600 new jobs.

Meanwhile, AutoWeek has done it again, snagging some great spy pictures of the not-so-great Porsche Panamera 2010 in the works.

Admittedly, the actual Panamera (concept shown here) does look better than the Porsche 928 GT it's based upon, but still...a Porsche sedan? I'm just not feeling it.