1962 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Deluxe 1.2l on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically "retired" earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.
In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the "Spirit of Le Mans" for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.

VW to relax ambitious US sales targets?

The Volkswagen brand sold 407,704 cars last year, a 6.95-percent decline compared to 2012, and it's down a further 8.36 percent through the end of April 2014 compared to this time last year. In order to to put the sales football between its Strategy 2018 goal posts, the brand would need to add 100,000 more sales every year to achieve the lofty 800,000-unit target. Coming to grips with how unreasonable that is, VW US CEO Michael Horn has said, "For now, we have to have realistic targets."
The reasons for the brand's slow-down are imprecise, but lots of folks are throwing lots of reasons around. Last November, VW Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech told Bloomberg, "We understand Europe, we understand China and we understand Brazil, [but] we only understand the US to a certain degree so far." Analysts say the brand hasn't had midsize and compact SUV offerings, especially an overdue retail version of the CrossBlue, and the ones it does have are priced too high for their segments. It "didn't introduce enough new engines, or alternative technologies or model variants" for the Passat and Jetta. It devoted so many resources to China that the US market suffered. It was being outspent two-to-one on advertising by competitors. Its J.D. Power dependability ratings aren't high enough to overcome its past. It "has never really taken the US customer seriously." And so on.
There's still no official admission of defeat concerning the target, but reading between the lines there are some VW execs that appear to accept it won't happen short of some deus ex machina. Still,

Volkswagen planning Up! hybrid model using XL1 powertrain

Even though we've finally gotten a look at the production version of the 261-mile per gallon Volkswagen XL1, this aero-shaped two-seater was never intended for high-volume sales. Fortunately, it sounds like the same isn't true for the car's diesel plug-in hybrid powertrain, which, according to a report from AutoCar, could make its way under the hood of another Volkswagen model: the Up! minicar (shown above).
A potential Up! Hybrid would likely be able to return some of the same impressive fuel economy numbers as the XL1, but it would be a more realistic car with more passenger space and greater production capacity. The hand-built XL1 will use a 47-horsepower, two-cylinder TDI engine paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and the 27-hp electric motor and lithium-ion battery helps deliver an all-electric driving range of 31 miles.
One of the core pillars of the XL1's design is its lightweight construction with a 1752-pound curb weight, which makes the Up! a perfect recipient for using this powertrain since it weighs just 300 pounds more. The report says that the Up! Hybrid is still in the developmental phase, so a production version isn't expected for at least another 18 months.