2012 Volkswagen Beetle - Classic 2.0t Turbo on 2040-cars

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Giorgetto Giugiaro sells shares in legendary styling house to Audi

Giorgetto Giugiaro undoubtedly stands among the great automotive designers of the 20th century, having penned the original Volkswagen Golf and Delorean DMC-12, among countless others. However, the great stylist is now longer an employee or even an owner of the company that bears his name. According to Automotive News, Giugiaro and his son, Fabrizio, sold their remaining 9.9 percent of Italdesign Giugiaro to Audi on Sunday, June 28, and the two resigned from the business the following day. The news about this just came out, though. The exact reason that the two men left the company hasn't been made entirely clear. According to Automotive News, a statement said that Giorgetto Giugiaro went "to dedicate more time to his personal interests." Italdesign Giugiaro remains open and intends to keep growing, though, the same announcement asserts. After stints at Bertone and Ghia, Giugiaro founded Italdesign in 1968. He created some masterpieces there, including '70s wedges like Maserati Merak, Lotus Esprit, and much more. The 2000s weren't so kind and 90.1 percent of the company was sold to Volkswagen Group in 2010. Former Audi design boss Wolfgang Egger took over styling duties there in late 2013, but he only lasted for about a year, leaving in late 2014. Since the sale, Italdesign has continued to work, including with the Gea concept at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show and the very mean-looking Parcour in 2013. Giugiaro's designs are still highly prized, as well. On September 5, Bonhams is auctioning the Maserati Boomerang concept by him and expects to get around $4 million for it. The gallery above offers a few more examples of his and Italdesign's concepts for VW Group over the years.

VW outsells GM in China for first time in 8 years

In case you didn't know, Volkswagen is hell-bent on becoming the largest automaker in the world. The German carmaker has inched closer to that goal, having outsold General Motors in China last quarter for the first time in eight years.
Volkswagen's sales in China, its largest marker, increased by 21 percent last quarter to 704,991 units. Those numbers almost tripled GM's third-quarter growth, and were enough to beat out the American automaker's 664,765 sales. GM, however, still leads in year-to-date sales in China by a slim margin of around 77,000 units. The Asian nation also happens to be GM's largest market, and according to the report in Automotive News, China's car market may grow to be larger than the US, Japan and Germany combined in three years' time.
About the news his company was bested in China by VW last quarter, GM CEO Dan Akerson is quoted saying, "It's not whether you're the biggest car manufacturer. It's whether you want to be the most profitable." It should be noted of these figures that GM includes truck figures, yet excludes Hong Kong and Macau from its Chinese sales numbers, while VW does just the opposite. Through September of this year, Volkswagen had 5 of the 10 best selling vehicles in China. GM boasted three of the cars on that list.

Subaru WRX vs. Volkswagen GTI | Under-$30K fun

If financing a new car purchase for 60 months, you'll spend roughly $200/month for those five years on every $10K you finance. Subaru's WRX and Volkswagen's GTI, each with a base price of around $25K (which equates to roughly $400/month with 20 percent down) can easily become $40K (in WRX STI and Golf R trim). That extra $15,000 will cost you almost $300/month over the life of a 60-month payment book. A $40K Subaru or Volkswagen is cheap in terms of enjoying the additional performance, but if your goal is only to get places in a fast hatch or sedan, you can keep your outlay far closer to the base price. Just mind the options. VW GTI: In the increasingly popular hot hatch segment, the GTI was arguably the first. Based on the revolutionary (for the mid-'70s) Golf hatchback, the GTI offered upgraded power, improved handling and just enough cosmetic enhancements to let others know you were driving something special. Consumer response was immediate, and imitators came out of the woodwork. Now in its seventh iteration (as of the 2015 model year), the GTI has consistently evolved. Its 2.0-liter turbocharged four makes 210 horsepower and — more important in day-to-day driving — 258 pound-feet of torque. Its footprint remains comfortably small, with easy access to front and rear seats and, if you need to carry something large, it has an expansive hatch and fold-down rear seat. Like most of the VW/Audi family, its interior design and appointment bat well above the $25,000 price point. Whether selecting the six-speed manual transmission or six-speed DSG automatic, know that a responsive, agile hatchback is just a throttle tip-in away. It's perfect for the in-town commute, weekend getaway or cross-country romp. And it appeals to a wide demographic, so resale value will remain high. Subaru WRX: This once was a performance derivative not shared with American consumers. But with its success globally, Subaru brought the WRX to the States, with the high-performance STI variant not long after. Having been offered in the U.S. as a sedan, wagon and hatchback, today's WRX is available only as a four-door sedan. As on every Subaru available in the U.S. (except the BRZ), all-wheel drive is standard. Power is supplied by a turbocharged flat four displacing 2.0 liters but upping the horsepower to 268, while available torque is numerically identical to the GTI's at 258 pound-feet.