Volkswagen

Recently on The Mobiler

By Tim Hanlon

20:06 June 9, 2009 PDT

Recently on The Mobiler we've looked at the iPhone 3G S vs the Palm Pre, the Nokia N97 going on sale in the U.S., the MoGo Talk Bluetooth headset for the iPhone, AT&T's plan to offer tethering for iPhone OS 3.0, Qik coming pre-installed on the Nokia N97, a Wi-Fi hotspot for the Volkswagen Routan, a roundup of Opera Mobile 9.7 reviews, Postino for the iPhone turning pictures into postcards, the Fujitsu F-09A touchscreen, a security breach at T-Mobile, and Verizon's "COLT" portable cell site. Read More

VW to put "green" Scirocco GT24 race car to its toughest test

By Mike Hanlon

20:14 April 19, 2009 PDT

Motorsport is moving towards establishing green credentials very quickly. Last week we reported on Citroen's hybrid rally car testing and now Volkswagen will field two cars with natural gas engines at the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race on May 23-24. Following the historic one-two victory at the Dakar Rally in January, which Volkswagen won as the first automobile manufacturer using diesel technology in the event, the Wolfsburg brand is now taking on another technical challenge – the use of EcoFuel engines in an endurance test twice around the clock on the world’s most demanding race track. The two Scirocco GT24-CNG 2.0-litre turbo engines powered by natural gas deliver nearly 300hp. Read More

What Diesel Car of the Year Awards 2009

By Mike Hanlon

00:59 April 8, 2009 PDT

The UK's What Diesel magazine is celebrating its 21st year of publication and focuses on one of the few growth areas of the automotive market – the diesel world. Each year its writers and readers vote to award the best diesel car in each category and this year the Car of the Year honour has gone to Ford's new “world car” the Ford Fiesta. Jaguar scored the best executive diesel and second overall with the XF, Volkswagen got three awards (Medium car, coupe and the green award), Citroën grabbed two gongs with the C3 Picasso (best MPV) and C5 Tourer (Best Estate Car) and the Land Rover Freelander 2 won the 4x4 class for the third year running. Read More

SEAT's green vision: Leon Ecomotive and Twin Drive concepts

By Paul Evans

16:50 March 11, 2009 PDT

SEAT displayed its first electric vehicle prototype in January of this year to Spain’s Minister of Industry who recently promised one million EVs on Spanish roads by 2012. SEAT has now announced the 74.3mpg TDI powered Leon Ecomotive at the Geneva Auto Show 2009. Read More

SEAT Exeo solar sunroof harnesses sun to cool car

By Mike Hanlon

20:53 February 10, 2009 PST

SEAT, the Spanish arm of the Volkswagen Group, will launch its new Exeo upper medium sector saloon in April, along with some interesting technologies designed to keep it cool in the Spanish sun. The optional solar sunroof uses mini solar panels embedded in the glass to generate electricity which powers the car’s ventilation system, even when the ignition is off, drawing in cooler ambient air and significantly reducing the automotive ‘greenhouse’ effect on a hot day. Read More

Thermoelectrics to replace car alternators and improve MPG

By Paul Evans

16:06 February 8, 2009 PST

Thermoelectrics - the phenomena in which a temperature difference creates an electric potential - have been known about for almost 200 years, but practical applications have not been widespread due to their low energy efficiency. That may all now be about to change as Germany automakers Volkswagen and BMW have developed thermoelectric generators (TEG) that recover waste heat from a combustion engine. Read More

VW's clean diesel BlueSport concept: more economical than the Prius, with 80% more power

By Loz Blain

00:15 January 13, 2009 PST

January 13, 2009 The latest generation turbo injected clean diesels are already delivering proper sportscar performance at fuel economy levels that beat even the updated version of Toyota's pedestrian Prius hybrid - and Volkswagen's major concept debut at Detroit's Auto Show is determined to ram home the point. Using similar technologies to what VW subsidiary Audi has employed in its Sportback concept, the VW BlueSport concept's 54mpg fuel economy makes a mockery of the third-generation Prius's 50mpg, while delivering nearly twice the horsepower. A compact, corner-carving roadster, the BlueSport looks like a real giggle. Read More

Paris highlights: VW presents the Golf Mk VI GTI Concept

By Noel McKeegan

22:57 October 6, 2008 PDT

The sixth generation of the Golf GTI has been unveiled in concept form at the Paris Motor Show, providing a taste of things to come when the vehicle enters production in spring 2009. Volkswagen says the concept retains the key elements of the original Mk I GTI launched in '76 - sharp dynamics, style and practicality - while introducing advances in drivetrain and chassis technology such as an electronic limited slip differential (XDS) linked to a sophisticated ESP (Electronic Stabilization Programme) system, a first for the GTI. Read More

DARPA Grand Challenge winner returns to Silicon Valley

By Noel McKeegan

22:57 June 19, 2008 PDT

The pioneering autonomous vehicle that won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge will complete its world tour with a visit to its home town before taking its place at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Dubbed "Stanley", the robotic Volkswagen Touareg developed by the Stanford Racing Team will be on show at the Silicon Valley The Tech Museum of Innovation from June 20 through July 17. Read More

Major auto manufacturers commit to eco-friendly development

By Noel McKeegan

19:31 May 29, 2008 PDT

Two separate announcements from the automotive world this week have given further impetus to the growth of energy efficient vehicles. Volkswagen has teamed up with Sanyo to develop high-performance lithium-ion based storage systems for use in its hybrid diesel and electric-drive systems and the ongoing Renault-Nissan Alliance has resulted in the Scenic ZEV H2 - a prototype based on a Renault Grand Scenic which features Nissan’s in-house developed fuel cell stack, high-pressure hydrogen storage tank and compact lithium-ion batteries that will be shown in Barcelona in June. Read More

Volkswagen demonstrates fully-automatic reverse parking system

By Noel McKeegan

22:34 April 22, 2008 PDT

Minor collisions as a result of parking mishaps are a common, costly and extremely frustrating occurrence and for several years auto manufacturers including BMW have indicated that solutions that take human error out of the equation are on the way. The latest news in the area comes from Volkswagen, which has demonstrated its “Park Assist Vision” system at this year’s Hanover Fair. The fully-automatic, remotely-operated self-parking system lets you get out of the car and watch as it backs itself into even the skinniest of perpendicular spaces, using cameras located in the left and right exterior mirrors to gauge the dimensions of the parking area available and communicate this information to the computerized steering and drive systems. Read More

Economical dual-fuel TSI concept from Volkswagen

By Mike Hanlon

21:02 March 4, 2008 PST

March 5, 2008 In the quest for making the internal combustion engine go further on less fuel, we’ve seen many different combinations of normal and forced aspiration and alternative fuels, but this is a new take on combining the seemingly contradictory virtues of performance and economy. Volkswagen showed a new concept car in Geneva a few hours ago that uses both natural gas and petrol. That’s not new, but it’s the first time it has been combined with the VW TSI engine which uses both a supercharger and a turbocharger operating sequentially to provide high power (150 bhp), great economy, exceptional range and meet Euro 5 emission standards from a small capacity (1.4 liter) engine. Read More

New Passat features Continental self-sealing tyres

By Noel McKeegan

21:34 February 12, 2008 PST

February 13, 2008 Self-sealing tyres from German manufacturer Continental will be rolled-out on the new Volkswagen Passat CC four-door. The tyres feature ContiSeal technology - a protective layer on the inside of the tread that immediately seals holes caused by a screw or nail puncture. Read More

Volkswagen's fuel cell powered space up! blue

By Noel McKeegan

23:45 December 9, 2007 PST

December 10, 2007 The zero emissions space up! blue is the third in Volkswagen's up! concept range currently being showcased in a global tour of major auto industry events. Like the space up!, the "blue" is a micro-van designed to provide the carrying capacity of a larger vehicle, but what separates the new variant is the powerplant - a rear-mounted, all-electric 45 kW (61 PS) motor utilizes the world’s first high temperature fuel cell and twelve lithium-ion batteries plus there's a large solar panel on the roof that feeds up to 150 Watts of extra energy into the battery. Read More

Space Up!: Volkswagen expands on "New Small Family" vision - UPDATED: NEW IMAGES

By Noel McKeegan

05:03 October 24, 2007 PDT

October 24, 2007 Volkswagen will use this week's Tokyo Motor Show as the platform to launch its new Space Up! Concept. Following on from the launch of the two-door urban Up! at the IAA in Frankfurt six weeks ago, the company is expanding its "New Small Family" with the Space Up! – a small van designed to provide the interior space of a larger vehicle despite its relatively small 3.68 x 1.63 meter dimensions. Between 220 and 1,005 liters of cargo space are made available (depending on how many of the removable seats are needed) through the use of rear mounted engine and powertrain reminiscent of the Beetle and the Kombi. Read More

Major companies reveal their visions for the cars of 2057

By Loz Blain

00:53 October 12, 2007 PDT

As part of the LA Auto Show Design Challenge, several major manufacturers have submitted blue-sky design concepts showing where they feel automotive design will go in the next 50 years. From Nissan's friendly family assistant to Mercedes’ liquid-metal convertible and Toyota's pollution-chewing roller/strider, the submissions are an exciting and thought-provoking look at where the next half a century will take us in personal and family mobility. Read More

71,000 celebrate the 60th anniversary of the VW van

By Noel McKeegan

22:31 October 9, 2007 PDT

October 10, 2007 Hanover, Germany played host to 71,000 visitors last weekend to celebrate 60 years of Volkswagen vans. Over 5,000 Transporter vans and campers were on display from the original ‘split-screen’ T1 to current fifth-generation models. Read More

Shades of the classic Beetle - Volkswagen’s up! concept

By Noel McKeegan

05:16 September 12, 2007 PDT

September 12, 2007 Designed to showcase Volkswagen’s vision for future small, efficient, city-going vehicles, the 3.45 meter long up! concept car features a new drivetrain and rear engined layout reminiscent of the original Beetle. Read More

Volkswagen squeeze 52 miles from a gallon with new Golf BlueMotion

By Loz Blain

19:14 September 3, 2007 PDT

September 4, 2007 Toyota needed two whole engines to get 46mpg from their famous Prius hybrid, but Volkswagen have achieved over 52mpg by simply tweaking a few characteristics of its popular Golf diesel compact in the latest addition to the company’s environmentally-focused BlueMotion initiative. The Golf BlueMotion makes over 1200km from a 55-liter tank, showing that there’s further room for development from the combustion engine. Read More

The original Volkswagen Van sketch

By Mike Hanlon

21:44 August 9, 2007 PDT

August 10, 2007, We’ve already written up the fact that it’s 60 years since Volkswagen produced the first Transporter (nee Kombi, nee Bulli, nee Camper) but when we saw this sketch that started it all, we got all weak at the knees and felt compelled to do it all again. Inspired by a vehicle staff had built to transport heavy panels around Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg factory, this is the actual concept sketch that led to the first Volkswagen T1 van, famous for its split-windscreen. Read More

Sixty Years of the VW Camper

By Mike Hanlon

02:33 July 30, 2007 PDT

July 30, 2007 It was precisely 60 years ago this week that Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon discovered a vehicle at the Wolfsburg factory, which Volkswagen staff had built for their own use to transport heavy panels around the site. It was this vehicle that provided the catalyst soon afterwards for the first sketch and concept of the "Bulli" (affectionate term for the Volkswagen Camper - the "Kombi" in Australia!), later to become the driving force of the economy, vehicle of choice for the flower power generation, holiday camper and people carrier. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has used the unparalleled history of this vehicle as an opportunity to organise an international VW Camper event from 5th to 7th October at the Exhibition Centre in Hanover. Read More

Volkswagen unveils new Tiguan Compact 4x4

By Mike Hanlon

June 29, 2007 Volkswagen has taken the wraps off its new Tiguan compact 4x4 which will go on sale in February 2008, following its world public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Based on the Concept Tiguan that made its debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show last year, the Tiguan is slightly larger than the Volkswagen Touran compact MPV and an appearance which reinforces its strong links to its ‘big brother’, the Touareg. In the UK, the Tiguan will initially be available with two engines – a 2.0-litre 140 PS TDI diesel which is likely to be the most popular model, and a 1.4-litre 150 PS TSI petrol unit. Later in 2008 a 170 PS TDI and two further petrol engines will become available to order. Read More

Used Convertible Values: Volkswagen Chases Ferrari For Top Spot

By Mike Hanlon

June 1, 2007 Buying an set of wheels is an emotional decision but we’d always suggest that a look through the residual value figures might help to point you towards a more rational emotional decision. The latest figures from EurotaxGlass’s in the UK are a case in point. EurotaxGlass’s has found that a number of volume-brand drop-tops retain a far greater proportion of their value than prestige-brand models from the likes of BMW, Lexus and Maserati. While the Ferrari F430 Spider holds onto its value better than any other 12-month-old convertible on sale in the UK (a typical ’06-plate example retaining 97 per cent of its original list price as a trade value), hot on its heels is the rather more humble Volkswagen Eos (at 94 per cent retained value in 2.0 TDI Sport guise). Read on for the top 20 listing. Read More

New seven-speed DSG gearbox

By Mike Hanlon

May 25, 2007 Volkswagen has developed a seven-speed version of its DSG gearbox which is used on such exotica as the Bugatti Veyron and the Audi TT. The new seven-speed gearbox, codenamed DQ200, uses a pair of dry clutches in preference to the six-speed version’s twin wet clutches, increasing efficiency and performance over the wet clutch six-speed system. The six-speed DSG gearbox, which was introduced in 2003, uses a pair of clutches submerged in oil. The new seven-speed gearbox adopts a pair of dry, organic bonded friction linings that do not require cooling, making the drivetrain more efficient through the extra ratio and the fact that less power is required for the gear selection and clutch servo system. Read More

VW’s Concept Tiguan makes debut at Los Angeles Auto Show

By Mike Hanlon

November 30, 2006 The launch looked more like a nighclub than an automotive debut but Volkswagen was intent on selling the sizzle as well as the sausage. The sausage in question was the Concept Tiguan compact 4x4, and the venue was the Los Angeles Auto Show, with the whole affair topped off by the announcement that the first examples of the SUV will be delivered to customers by the end of next year. The first news of the Tiguan’s development came with the debut of Concept A in Berlin earlier this year. This was followed by the naming of the model in July, the result of a poll of more than 350,000 readers of magazines of the AutoBild group. This latest development in Los Angeles takes the Tiguan one step closer to production and hints strongly at how the final version could look. Read More