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Volkswagen breaks 40-year-old sales record in 2012

The last time Volkswagen moved this many vehicles in America in one year, Richard Nixon was still a President in good standing, Let It Be was a radio hit and each car wearing the VW badge boasted an air-cooled engine. That's right, with a grand total of 580,286 vehicles sold in the US last year, the VW Group has broken its own four-decades-old sales record by 2,899 vehicles.
Of that 580k total sold, 438k were Volkswagens and 139k were Audi products - increases of 35.1 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively, in year-over-year sales. The ultra-premium members of the VW group also fared well; Bentley delivered 2,315 vehicles for a 23.3-precent increase, and Lamborghini delivered 520 units for a 52.9-percent jump. Bugatti, we're told is "right on track."
Jetta (pictured) sales paced the marque with 170k models sold, and Passat also finished very strong with sales of 117k total. Tiguan also racked up its best year on file, with 31,731 models shifted.

Felicity Ace sinks with thousands of VWs, Porsches, Lamborghinis

The stricken ship Felicity Ace sank overnight after a week of salvage efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. The ship, which was carrying up to 4,000 VW Group cars, went to the bottom unexpectedly while a salvage team was attempting to tow it to shore, Bloomberg reports.  "Initial reports from the local salvage team state that the vessel had sunk at around 9AM local time having suffered a list to starboard," Mitsui O.S.K. Lines transportation company (MOL), which owns the Felicity Ace, said in a statement released early Tuesday.    "The last vessel position was around 220nm off the Azores," MOL said. "The salvage crafts will remain around the area to monitor the situation. Further information will be provided as it becomes available." The ship sank after being battered by waves and listing 45 degrees to starboard, the ship’s operator said. “The weather was pretty rough out there,” Pat Adamson, a spokesperson for MOL Ship Management (Singapore), a unit of Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd., said by phone. “And then she sank, which was a surprise.” VW, Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini-branded models were aboard the ship, which was headed to Rhode Island from GermanyÂ’s Emden port when the fire broke out on Feb. 16.  Rough seas and ongoing fires fueled by the lithium-ion batteries of EVs onboard delayed the ship's salvage and recovery operations for the better part of a week. While the likelihood of salvaging the smoke and potentially fire- and water-damaged vehicles from Felicity Ace's hold was slim to none, some had held out hope that their special-ordered vehicles might survive the mishap.  The Panama-flagged Felicity Ace was safely evacuated of its 22 crew members by the Portuguese navy after a fire started in its hold more than a week ago. The ship can carry up to 4,000 cars. European carmakers declined to discuss how many vehicles and what models were on board, but it appears to have been transporting approximately 2,500 cars, including roughly 1,100 Porsches and an undetermined number of Volkswagens.  The cars aboard were on order. Porsche customers in the United States were being contacted by their dealers, the company said. “We are already working to replace every car affected by this incident and the first new cars will be built soon,” Angus Fitton, vice president of PR at Porsche Cars North America, Inc., told The Associated Press in an email. The ship sank in water nearly 10,000 feet deep, the Portuguese Navy said.

Lamborghini loans an Aventador S to father and son building 3D-printed replica

In October we shared the story of Sterling Backus, the physicist in Erie, Colo., who was building a Lamborghini Aventador replica with his 11-year-old son Xander. In progress for nearly two years, Backus — who designs lasers as his day job — fabricated a steel chassis, sourced an LS1 V8 from a Chevrolet Corvette for power, bought lights on eBay and 3D-printed the body panels that were then encapsulated in carbon fiber. Backus and son call the coupe the Interceptor, and Sterling said he subtly changed every exterior panel to avoid legal issues with Lamborghini. The Sant'Agata automaker was paying attention to the Interceptor, though, as an exec phoned Sterling about it before Christmas. The subject of the call: Lamborghini's marketing chief wanted to know if he and Xander would like to borrow an Aventador S for a couple of weeks and shoot a video. The Italian automaker has been known to go on hunts for deep-down Lamborghini fans. Last year Lamborghini had a surprise for one lucky kid going Christmas shopping at a store in Italy; kids that said they wanted a model Lamborghini were told the store was out, and almost all the kids accepted a different model instead. One child made it clear he didn't want a substitute if he couldn't have the Lamborghini, so he not only got a the model he wanted, he got it delivered in a Lamborghini driven by factory driver Marco Mapelli. Xander's devotion to the Aventador in "Forza Horizon 3" is what compelled him to ask his father if they could build a real-life version. For that, Xander and Sterling earned Lamborghini's #RealLover distinction this year. Katia Bassi, Lamborghini's CMO, said, "Automobili Lamborghini is against any attempt at counterfeiting. However, a true story of such authentic passion deserves to be featured, which is why we chose to tell of SterlingÂ’s and XanderÂ’s project in our 2019 Christmas video." Lamborghini Real Lover Campaign View 21 Photos The Interceptor build continues, documented on Facebook. The senior Backus aims to turn his work it into an educational tool. "Ultimately, I want kids to get interested in STEM, and this is a great platform for it because of all the disciplines involved in a project like this." But after 20 months of effort, he and Xander will probably enjoy taking a holiday break in the car that started it all. Related Video: