Volkswagen of America, Inc. helped Mattel celebrate Barbie® doll’s 50th Birthday by transforming a New Beetle convertible into the ultimate Barbie® dream car. The life-size pink Malibu Barbie New Beetle convertible made its debut at Barbie® doll’s Malibu Dream House® exclusive birthday celebration. Customization artists ABD Racing Werks, Katzkin Leather and Interiors and FoamMolders fully transformed the iconic New Beetle convertible into the perfect Barbie® ride.

“We are extremely proud to partner with Mattel and create a customized New Beetle convertible to celebrate Barbie’s landmark birthday,” said Laura Soave, General Manager of Marketing, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “Like the New Beetle, Barbie has made a remarkable impact on pop culture history, and still remains a cultural icon today.”

From top to bottom and interior to exterior, Barbie® doll’s New Beetle convertible has left no detail unfinished. From the white custom leather interior and convertible top to the hand stitched floor mats and pink quilted leather lined door pockets and arm rests, even the dipstick is painted to resemble her favorite lipstick. The New Beetle convertible is equipped with a motorized vanity in the trunk and plenty of rhinestone accents and vanity mirrors. Over five shades of paint were mixed together to create the perfect pink color for Barbie® doll’s car.

The customized pink New Beetle convertible was prominently on display as the pink carpet was rolled out for the Barbie® celebration at her real-life Malibu Dream House®. Barbie® doll’s house is a 3,500-square-foot home in Malibu, CA, decorated by famed “Happy Chic” interior designer Jonathan Adler. The Barbie® birthday festivities were complete with 1,800 pairs of Barbie® sunglasses, 3,500 pairs of tiny shoes, 3,500 mini handbags and numerous Hollywood celebrity guests.

Last year, Volkswagen celebrated the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the New Beetle convertible. With its distinct shape, the iconic New Beetle convertible is one of the most recognized models in the world.

The next great Volkswagen hatchback my not be a Golf or Rabbit – but a Polo. VW’s 2010 Polo made it world debut at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, and promises to be a hit with hip, young, cost conscious Volkswagen fans. Have a look at the official photos and press release below.

No other car in this class has such a mature and high-end image as the new Volkswagen Polo. Comfort, quality and safety have all taken a considerable leap forward. One example: the Volkswagen Polo was specifically designed to attain the recently established, stricter and more comprehensive, 5-star EuroNCAP rating. The higher structural rigidity of the Volkswagen Polo’s bodyshell contributes to these results. In the footwell area alone, intrusion – related to the car body’s deformation strength in a frontal crash – was lowered by 50 percent! In the case of a side impact, the intrusion value was reduced by 20 percent.

Standard equipment for safety

In addition, the European version of the Volkswagen Polo now being presented is equipped with standard ESP electronic stabilization program with Hill Hold Control, and it has a highly effective network of airbags on board, including combined head-thorax airbags (integrated in the front seatbacks), belt tensioners and belt force limiters plus seatbelt warning indicator and head restraints that counteract the risk of whiplash injury (both front seats), three rear head restraints and Isofix child seat preparation.

Weight down, fuel consumption down

Despite significant improvements in all aspects of the car, it was possible to reduce the Volkswagen Polo’s body weight by 7.5 percent. The introduction of new TDI and TSI engines, as well as the 7-speed dual clutch transmission (DSG), has resulted in considerably reduced fuel consumption and emissions over a wide range of engine power outputs. An excellent example here is the new 1.2 TSI. This turbo-charged four-cylinder direct injection gasoline engine produces 77 kW / 105 PS, yet it consumes just 5.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (129 g/km CO2); this is 19 percent less than on the equivalent model of the previous generation!

In total, seven different engines will be offered on the new Volkswagen Polo in its first year – four gasoline and three diesel – spanning a power range from 44 kW / 60 PS to 77 kW / 105 PS. Five of these engines are entirely new or are being used for the first time in the Volkswagen Polo.

The new engines include all three TDIs (turbo-diesel direct-injection); thanks to the implementation for the first time of common rail technology in the Volkswagen Polo, these engines are both efficient and refined. The potential in the new TDI engines is clearly evident in the example of the Volkswagen Polo 1.6 TDI with 66 kW / 90 PS: when combined with a “BlueMotion package”, its average fuel consumption of 3.8 liters per 100 kilometers and 96 g/km CO2 makes it the most fuel efficient and lowest emitting five-seater diesel in the world. The “BlueMotion package” may be combined with any of the three equipment lines developed for the Volkswagen Polo. Available for selection here are the base version “Trendline”, the mid-level “Comfortline” and the top of the line “Highline”.

Individually combinable high-tech features

Options that Volkswagen Polo drivers will be able to order on their new Volkswagen include static turning lights integrated in the front fog lights, (from “Comfortline” up), side curtain airbags (head airbag system for front and rear passengers), radio and radio-navigation systems and integrated hands-free telephone systems. A panorama sunroof and bi-xenon headlights will follow at a later time.

Market launch starts the end of June 2009

Start of production of the five-door Volkswagen Polo is scheduled for the end of March 2009. This will be followed, starting in the last week in June, by the market launch of the visually and technically advanced new edition of the million unit bestseller in Germany. Just two weeks later, thanks to an ambitious logistics plan, Volkswagen will begin selling the car across mainland Europe, and soon Volkswagen Polo engines will be revving up across all continents.

Next week, Volkswagen will introduce their live VW Desert Racer to the Los Angeles Auto Show. Until then, you’ll have to settle for the official Touareg TDI Trophy Truck Press Release and sketching from Volkswagen.

VOLKSWAGEN TO UNVEIL PURPOSE BUILT RACE TOUAREG TDI TROPHY TRUCK AT L.A. AUTO SHOW – First turbo-diesel Trophy Truck in historic SCORE series

Volkswagen of America, Inc. will unveil its purpose-built Volkswagen-Red Bull Baja Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck, powered by a clean diesel TDI engine, during a news conference at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. The news conference is scheduled for 10:45 to 11:10 a.m., Wednesday, November 19, 2008, at the Volkswagen stand.

The Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck that will run the 41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race in the SCORE Trophy Truck class is powered by a 5.5 liter V-12 clean diesel engine that produces 550 horsepower and 625 lbs.-ft. of torque.

Staying true to the off-road prowess that the Touareg is best known for, the purpose-built Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck takes the Touareg’s off-road tenaciousness to a whole new level. With a double A-Arm front suspension that allows 25 inches of wheel travel, and a 4-link rear suspension that allows 30 inches of wheel travel, combined with Fox Racing Shocks, Eibach Coils and BFGoodrich Baja KRT 37×13.5×17 off-road tires the Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck should have little difficulty maneuvering the highly difficult and technical 634 mile Baja 1000 course.

Chassis design and production was handled by Arciero Miller Racing located in Foothill Ranch, California. The Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck features a wheelbase of 125 inches, overall length of 213 inches, width of 92 inches, an overall height of 78 inches and weighs 5650 pounds. The Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck Body was designed by the Volkswagen Design Center located in Santa Monica, California. The Volkswagen-Red Bull Baja Race Touareg TDI is sponsored by Volkswagen of America, Inc., Red Bull, BFGoodrich Tires, Dow Automotive, Oakley, KMC Wheels and Fox Shocks.