2004 Vw Passat Gls Tdi Wagon Turbo Diesel Needs Work on 2040-cars

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Porsche 911 with VW turbodiesel prepares for LeMons assault

LeMons racing is a wonderful example that setting limits can actually breed creativity. The series mandates that all entries must cost $500, not counting safety equipment, and that cap forces teams to be ingenious in how they build a racecar. Take for example this diesel-powered Porsche 911, which its creators have dubbed Ferkel the Nein-11, that will be racing in the Sears Pointless race this weekend in Sonoma, California.
This Frankenstein combines a 911 chassis that was originally bought just for its European powertrain and a Volkswagen TDI diesel engine mounted in the rear. After deciding the shell could still be of some use, the team decided to go racing. "We began brainstorming what replacement drivetrain to use for maximum offense and there was really only one answer: a diesel," said Philipp von Weitershausen, one of the team captains, to Jalopnik. They bought a 1998 Jetta TDI on the cheap and started figuring out a way to hack the engine into the bay. To pay respect to the donor, the VW's trunk was highly modified (and drilled) and grafted onto the back of Ferkel.
This team isn't a newcomer to LeMons. Its last car was a classic VW Beetle with a Subaru engine and dual controls, named Ferdinand the Bug, which could be driven from the left or right side. It's quite a sight.

Volkswagen continues hunt for new chairman

Volkswagen is going to need a new chairman. And the question is not only who that will be, but when he or she will be selected. The German automaker held its Annual General Meeting in Hannover yesterday, the first in a baker's dozen years without Ferdinand Piech presiding as chairman. The gavel was wielded instead by Berthold Huber, a labor representative on the board who was named as interim chair. Piech was ousted along with his wife Ursula (who also sat on the board) after a failed attempt to push out Martin Winterkorn as CEO. According to Winterkorn, in speaking with Reuters in an article published by Automotive News, the industrial giant is working hard at finding a new chairman in short order. "The executive committee and the supervisory board are working hard to swiftly resolve the remaining issues with regard to the composition of the supervisory bodies in the best possible manner," Winterkorn said. The publication's German counterpart, however, paints a different picture. Speaking with Stephan Weil, the president of Lower Saxony who sits on the board as a shareholder representative, Automobilwoche says Volkswagen is in no rush to name a new chairman. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. What is clear, however, is that the new chairman will need broad support from the company's labor representatives as well as its shareholders – including the Porsche and Piech families and government representatives from Lower Saxony and Qatar. Porsche Automobil Holding SE holds 50.7 percent of the company's shares, the State of Lower Saxony another 20 percent, Qatar 17 percent and the remaining 12.3 percent by other shareholders. Some have speculated that Winterkorn could be promoted to the chairmanship of the Supervisory Board, but could end up having his term as chief executive (and chairman of the managing board) extended instead, with the chairmanship going to another candidate. Related Video:

Who wants to pay a million dollars for a VW Beetle?

The Volkswagen Beetle was always envisioned as a cheap mode of transportation, but now one is being offered for over $1 million by a dealer in the company's home base of Wolfsburg, Germany. So just what makes this Beetle so special? It's not the first one made, and it's not the last one made – but it comes close: This particular example is an Ultima Edicion – one of the final Bugs made in Mexico before production ended even there in 2003. It's decked out in beige with a black fabric interior and none – repeat, none – of the bells and whistles. With less than 75 miles on the odometer, it offers one wealthy buyer the rare opportunity to get an original Beetle (not some modernized incarnation thereof) in factory-fresh condition, which no one has been able to do for over a dozen years now. Does that make it worth the million-euro ($1.1M) asking price? Not if you ask us, no. But then we wouldn't count ourselves among the most dedicated Beetle fanatics out there.