1973 Volkswagen Super Beetle Coupe Black on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Andretti Autosport partners with Volkswagen for Global Rallycross season

Michael Andretti and Volkswagen have both been involved in Global Rallycross for a couple of years, but not together. Andretti Motorsports Marketing organized the final round of the 2012 GRC series in Las Vegas, and there were rumors then that Andretti was going to get in. Around the same time there were news reports that Volkswagen was preparing a 600-hp Polo Mk5 to race in the SuperCar class; the photo above is racer Anton Marklund in his privateer Marklund Motorsports Polo at the 2013 X-Games round in Los Angeles.
Now it's official: Andretti Autosport will campaign the 2014 GRC season with VWs. That's all that's been said for now, Andretti being busy at the moment launching four entries for IndyCar, two for Indy Lights and two for Pro Mazda. We have a feeling we'll be seeing the MkVII Golf involved, but the cars and the driver lineup will be presented at the Chicago Auto Show on February 6.

Audi rumored to buy Alfa Romeo, officials deny it

For more than two years, Volkswagen has been making public statements about its willingness to buy Alfa Romeo and quadruple the Italian brand's sales, and for just as long, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has replied with some version of "Mr. Piëch, drop it." According to a report in Ward's Auto, all that jousting might be over: it claims that sources close to both Marchionne and Audi CEO Rupert Stadler admit that the two are in talks for Audi to buy not just Alfa Romeo, but a production plant in Italy. In fact, a final deal could possibly include partsmaker Magnetti Marelli.
Against that backdrop, a report by German news weekly Stern quotes a Fiat spokesmen as saying it doesn't comment on rumors and an Audi rep has said flatly that "There is no substance in the news." If a sale is being arranged, the timing would seem to point to how eager Fiat is to raise cash to complete its major initiatives. Even though Alfa Romeo continues to delay its return to the US, it just showed off the production version of the 4C at the Geneva Motor Show (shown above) and said that preferred Fiat dealerships here would get them. Then there's Alfa's recently concluded deal with Mazda to develop a roadster based on the next generation MX-5 Miata - a deal that would seem to help both the Italian and Japanese brands.
The monetary issues are troublesome, though. Fiat is taking a beating in the European market and its weak-kneed balance sheet is delaying gotta-have-it products like the Jeep Cherokee. Fiat has been talking to banks about getting money to buy the rest of Chrysler and those financial institutions have also raised issues about debt and cash reserves, and the nasty game of chess Fiat is playing with the United Auto Workers (and now the court system about the portion of Chrysler it doesn't own) could end up blowing another hole in Marchionne's plans. It is possible that this could finally have convinced Fiat to at least see how serious Audi's parent company, Volkswagen, is about buying Alfa Romeo. Or it could be just another rumor.

US-spec 2015 Volkswagen Golf and GTI to finally debut in New York

The seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf is hardly new to us. In fact, we've already driven it. And elsewhere in the world, the new Golf is already winning awards. Even so, we still have yet to see the US-spec version of the car, though that won't be the case much longer. As part of the New York Auto Show festivities later this month, Volkswagen will finally show off the 2015 Golf models destined for our shores.
Three different versions of the Golf will debut under the lights of New York City's Javits Center: the turbocharged TSI, oil-sipping TDI and hotter GTI. The first model in that list uses Volkswagen's new 1.8-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, replacing the outgoing 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline five-cylinder. The latter two models use familiar engines: the 2.0-liter TDI diesel and 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, respectively.
Even though the new Golf officially debuts later this month, it won't go on sale in the US until the first quarter of 2014. We'll be waiting patiently.