Volkswagen Bus/vanagon on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Golf Variant will make a lovely Jetta SportWagen

In addition to several other versions of the Golf, Volkswagen is debuting the new Golf Variant (read: wagon) here at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. And if this bigger version of the Golf looks like it might fit right at home in the States, it's because we could possibly see some version of this car as the next-generation Jetta SportWagen here on our shores.
Volkswagen is debuting the Golf Variant with two efficient diesel engines, rated at 110 and 150 horsepower, the smaller of which is good for an impressive 71.3 miles per gallon on the European cycle (when mated to a six-speed manual transmission). The Golf Variant also gets a version of Volkswagen's 4Motion all-wheel-drive system, making it incredibly all-weather capable.
It's a handsome estate, and it wears the new Golf's design language well. We can't say for sure if this car will actually make its way Stateside, but given the fact that the current Jetta SportWagen still rides on the old Golf platform, the odds look to be in our favor.

Volkswagen Golf R 400 Concept is a 201-mph hot hatch

This, friends, is what happens when you shoehorn 395 horsepower into a Golf. You get a three-door hatch that will happily scurry to 62 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 201 mph. Oh yes, we like you, Golf R 400 Concept.
As we explained in our original post, the R 400 is the long-awaited successor to bonkers Golf creations like the GTI W12 from 2007 and, more recently, the Design Vision GTI. It's powered by the same 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder found in a number of Volkswagen (and Audi, SEAT and Skoda) products, although it's been heavily massaged to pump out 332 pound-feet of torque along side its amplified horsepower.
Naturally, it's been lowered and now rides on 19-inch wheels. Outside of those changes, though, mums the word on suspension and chassis enhancements. While this is a bummer, the striking looks of the Golf R 400 more than make up for it.

Anti-union group files lawsuit against VW and UAW

The fight for unionization at Volkswagen's Chattanooga, TN, factory isn't letting up. Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board decided to allow anti-United Auto Workers employees at the plant the right to defend voting down the measure. Now, a group called the National Right to Work Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of five workers against VW and the UAW for allegedly working together to organize.
The group says in a release that it wants "to block further collusion between the company and the United Auto Workers." It alleges that VW forced workers to attend "mandatory pro-union meetings" and prevented managers from opposing. In a rebuttal on its website, the UAW called the claims "baseless" and said its actions were entirely legal.
One possible problem faces the carmaker in regards to the lawsuit. According to the Detroit Free Press, a recent US Court of Appeals ruling found that neutrality agreements like the one the business had with the UAW could be illegal if the company provided "things of value" to the union. The newspaper also claims that VW held a mandatory employee meeting concerning the election, but workers were free to leave during the UAW's presentation.