For Super Bowl XLVI this Sunday, it’s an Empire Strikes Back take on the newly redesigned Volkswagen Beetle.

Source: Auto Blog

VW’s model includes large chrome wheels and a “fastabck” style, mimicking the latest 2012 Beetle angles.

E-Bugster is a follow up to Volkswagen’s electric Golf Blue E-motion, which is supposed to hit US dealerships by 2013. Golf Blue E-motion will compete with the electric Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-Miev (aka: ‘Mitsubishi i’ in North America).

Here’s a concept photo:

And here’s E-Bugster live at the 2012 #NAIAS

The E-Bugster is powered by a 114 horsepower electric motor, added to a lithium-ion battery that weighs 700-lbs. That engine produces 199 lb-ft of torque.

With a 700 lb battery, it will have to produce a lot of torque just to get out of the driveway.

Images: gizmag.com

The company has seen huge sales increases in the US, setting up plants in this country is a step that will allow them to save money on exporting.

It will also lower the cost of vehicles for customers throughout North America, since extra destination fees won’t have to be added on to a final sales price (MSRP).

But the German company and American unions have different ideas on how each should be operated. “By failing to organize factories run by foreign automakers, the union has been a spectator to the only growth in the U.S. auto industry in the last 30 years. That failure to win new members has compounded a crunch on the UAW’s finances, forcing it to sell assets and dip into its strike fund to pay for its activities.”

UAW President Bob King has a strategy. He will help the UAW “appealing to German unions,” and call on companies to “do the right thing.” King hopes to avoid a fight and let unions make their cases directly to workers.

Source: USA Today

Love it or hate it (and there are many of you who seem to dislike the new, extended rear end) the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle is here to stay. The Fast Lane took the VW Beetle Turbo for a test drive, and spoke highly of its performance and additional space.

According to Volkswagen PR – 2011 was the best selling year for Passat in 6 years! The vehicle hasn’t sold this many units world wide since 2005. Edmunds.com’s Ivan Drury said if the German auto maker sustains these sales figures for the rest of 2011, 2012 should see a similar profit levels. Volkswagen also launched a redesigned Jetta sedan this year. Sales of that model are already up 62% so far in 2011.

“It’s easier to shop against direct competitors,” Drury said about Passat compared against other midsize vehicles.

VW sold 80,000 Passat sedans a year at its peak. But it’s been a battle in more recent times – as the vehicle sold only about 12,000 last year, 11,000 in 2009.

Jonathan Browning, chief executive of VW America, said in last month that initial Passat sales exceeded expectations. Level of interest on the Web and at dealers is “a good sign.”

Source: timesfreepress

Source: WCF

First is the e-up! – which is an all electric variant of the compact city car that Volkswagen will start to build for a mass audience in 2013.

Not to be mistaken with e-up! is eco-up! This vehicle combines “ecofuel” also known as natural gas, and the start/stop BlueMotion Technology from VW, making it one of the greenest cars on the market.

The GT up! is a more powerful GTI variant, able to produce 99 horsepower, and weighs a slight 1984 lbs.

Volkswagen also showed off a four-door / crossover up! at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. VW has teased us with a production version, that may hit dealership lots in two years.

Finally, there’s the up! “azzurra sailing team” edition (yes, in all lower case) – created by Italian designers Giorgetto Giugiaro and Walter de Silva. This compact vehicle has a “nautical-theme” complete with drop-top convertible and lighter paint scheme.

Images: WorldCarFans

NILS EV, which is made from aluminum and has gull-wing doors (think Back to the Future), measures a slight 119.7 inches long, about 47.2 inches tall, and 15.4 inches wide. The car has a total curb weight of only 1,014 lbs. Its electric motor produces only 20 bhp and a short-term peak output of 34 bhp.

It may be skinny and light weight, but this all adds up to a good starting speed, especially for an EV. NILS has an electronically limited top speed of 80 mph, which it can reach in under 11 seconds. It travels a total of 40 miles on a single charge from its 5.3 kWh battery-pack. This battery takes only 2 hours (max) to reach full.

Source: WCF

Powering up! will be a variety of three-cylinder, 1.0 liter gas engines with BlueMotion tech (which includes stop/start technology) producing 60 bhp and 75 bhp, respectively.

There will also be a natural-gas unit in Europe, offering 68 bhp. The Up/up! comes with an optional City Emergency Braking unit. This “smart system” works at speeds under 18 mph, which can detect impending collisions and apply the vehicles’ brakes automatically.

Up! will be offered in three trim levels – trend, comfort and high. We’ll release more details on each in the coming weeks.

German automaker Volkswagen might be the only one against this decision.

VW opposed to the new rules because “they are lax towards light trucks.” According the proposed standards, “passenger cars would have to improve fuel-economy by 5 percent per year, while for light trucks the figure is only 3.5%.”

Volkswagen U.S. spokesman Tony Cervone said in a statement: “The largest trucks carry almost no burden for the 2017-2020 time frame, and are granted numerous ways to mathematically meet targets in the outlying years without significant real-world gains. The proposal encourages manufacturers and customers to shift toward larger, less efficient vehicles, defeating the goal of reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”

Source: WCF