2013 Volkswagen Golf Tdi Tech Diesel Sunroof Nav 33k Mi Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Volkswagen Golf R Evo may debut at Beijing Motor Show

If a report in Auto Express is correct, a lighter, faster brother to the Volkswagen Golf R will be shown to the world at the Beijing Motor Show in April. Said to be called the Golf R Evo, the even harder hot hatch would be unveiled as one of those concepts that's practically a de facto presentation of the genuine thing. The Evo in its name will come from having a carbon fiber roof and CF in the bodywork, lighter wheels, thinner bucket seats up front and a roll cage instead of rear seats.
If there's a power increase, it's been described as "a small bump." However, as the report mentions, if the Jenny Craig regimen can drop 100 kilograms (220 pounds) from the the 3,247-pound weight of the European Golf R, then the Golf R Evo will do about the same damage on the scales as the Golf but have at least 50 more horsepower and 44 more pound-feet of torque.
Since we still don't have the current Golf, this isn't something that should keep you awake even if the 'concept' does become a production model. But it is good to know that the Golf R is really going to start pushing its boundaries.

Car companies may need to start curbing model proliferation

Looking at the current automotive landscape, especially from German makers, you quickly get the impression that less definitely isn't more. BMW alone offers its 3 Series platform in practically every segment possible, including the regular sedan and 4 Series Gran Coupe, which would seem to be direct competitors. Porsche might be the winner, though, with 20 different variants of the 911 listed for sale on its US website. However, some of this model madness might be reaching an end as companies begin cutting back spending or shifting money to other priorities.
According to Yahoo Finance, the offerings from the German automakers are up 25 percent over the past three years to over 200 models in Europe. The peak is expected to come around 2018 at 230 separate vehicles, according to consulting company PwC.
Amazingly, BMW, which is among the poster children for this model explosion, might be changing its tune. "I'm sure there will be points in the future where we look at certain cars and say, 'Maybe we need to think differently now,'" said head of sales Ian Robertson in an interview, according to Yahoo Finance. The statement certainly sounds shocking coming from a company rumored to have 23 front-wheel-drive vehicles all using a single platform on the way.

VW midsize crossover production headed for Chattanooga

Potential labor woes aside, it looks like Volkswagen's Chattanooga, TN factory must have done something that impressed the bosses in Germany, because it sounds like the three-year-old factory is set to score a second model.
The factory currently builds the Passat, and has been in the running alongside VW's Puebla, Mexico factory to build a new crossover vehicle, likely based on the CrossBlue Concept. According to Bloomberg, a pair of unnamed sources have confirmed that Chattanooga is the favorite ahead of an official announcement.
When last we heard about the CrossBlue Concept, word was that a production decision had been delayed over concerns about the three-row CUV's business case. That August 2013 story claimed that a decision regarding the CrossBlue would be pushed back until early in 2014, which means we're ripe for some sort of news, whether good or bad.