2009 Volkswagen Gti, 2dr, 6spd Mt, Autobahn Pkg on 2040-cars

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Audi to keep hiring workers despite VW diesel scandal

Even while Volkswagen contemplates delaying or canceling projects to pay for costs related to the massive diesel emissions scandal, its stablemate Audi is hiring, according to Reuters. Audi certainly isn't immune to the diesel scandal, with around 2.1 million affected vehicles worldwide including 13,000-14,000 in the US, but the scandal so far isn't affecting staffing levels. "We are sticking with plans for strategic growth and are continuing to hire new employees as planned," Audi board member for human resources Thomas Sigi said in a German newspaper, according to Reuters. Sigi even suggested paying a "respectable" bonus to workers next year. Audi has some big projects on the horizon, too. Among them, the company intends to launch a production version of the E-Tron Quattro Concept in 2018, and for performance fans a new TT RS appears to be on the way. The new A4 should be a big contributor to global volume when its worldwide rollout is complete. Rather than allowing the diesel scandal to hurt all of its divisions, the VW Group instead wants to concentrate the fallout (and costs) on the VW brand, according to Reuters. Those expenses could be huge. Volkswagen is budgeting around $7.3 billion just to repair the 11 million emissions-cheating vehicles. Worldwide, maximum estimates put the whole mess at $87 billion. Related Video:

Volkswagen Motorsport cranks out Golf touring car

Just when you thought Volkswagen had done all the hot Golfs we could handle, its motorsports division has come out with an even hotter one. This racing version is built to compete in the Touringcar Racer International Series (TCR) across Europe and Asia, and certainly looks the part. Based on the production Golf hatchback we all know, the TCR competition version promises to be to circuit-based touring car racing what the Polo R WRC is to the rally stage. And that little pocket rocket has been positively dominating the World Rally Championship. Developed in conjunction with Seat's racing department and Liqui Moly Team Engstler, the Golf touring car packs the 2.0-liter turbo four from the Golf R. Only instead of 292 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque in the production version, it's been tuned to channel 330 hp and 302 lb-ft to the front wheels (instead of all four) through a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. It rides on 18-inch alloys fitted to a track widened by nearly a foot and a half, along with a competition-spec aero kit to keep it glued to the tarmac and a stripped-out cockpit. Though the 2015 TCR series is already under way, a pair of these racing Golfs will be entered in the upcoming round at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, before the series heads off to Singapore (in support of the F1 grand prix there) and Thailand ahead of the final round in Macau. If everything goes well, customer teams will be able to pick these up and enter them in next year's championship. Volkswagen develops new Golf for the racetrack - Concept car for customer racing, in line with new TCR regulations - Production-based touring car with 330 hp, front-wheel drive and six-speed DSG gearbox - First competitive test this weekend in Spielberg (A) Wolfsburg (09 July 2015). A new Golf for the racetrack: Volkswagen Motorsport is developing its first racing car based on the seventh generation Golf. The production-based, 330-hp concept car is assembled in accordance with TCR regulations and is intended to help Volkswagen evaluate a potential customer racing programme from the 2016 season onwards. In order to accelerate the development of the car, the new Golf will be tested under competitive conditions between now and the end of the season: as cooperation partner, the Liqui Moly Team Engstler will run two cars at the eighth round of the Touringcar Racer International Series (TCR) at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg (A).

CES Part 2: Honda/Sony Afeela, BMW i Vision Dee and more | Autoblog Podcast #763

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor James Riswick and Associate Editor Byron Hurd. This week, they pick up from last week and dig deeper into some of the reveals and news coming from this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) including the Ram 1500 Revolution, the Afeela EV collaboration from Sony and Honda, Peugeot Inception, BMW i Vision Dee and VW ID.7, among other highlights and musings from the show. They also discuss the cars they've been driving, including the BMW iX, Mercedes EQS SUV, two-door Bronco Badlands, Mazda CX-50 Meridian Edition and Toyota RAV4 Wilderness Edition. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #763 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown CES 2023 Ram 1500 Revolution Sony Honda Mobility Afeela EV prototype Peugeot Inception BMW i Vision Dee Volkswagen ID.7 Cars we're driving 2023 BMW iX 2023 Mercedes EQS 450 SUV 2022 Ford Bronco Badlands Two-Door 7MT 2023 Mazda CX-50 Meridian Edition 2023 Toyota RAV4 Woodland Edition Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Green Podcasts CES BMW Ford Honda Mazda Mercedes-Benz RAM Toyota Volkswagen Peugeot Truck Coupe Crossover SUV Concept Cars Electric Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Sedan Afeela