2008 Volkswagen R32 Base Hatchback 2-door 3.2l on 2040-cars

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Tanner Foust and Scott Speed get VW internships

Tanner Foust and Scott Speed both already have quite impressive motorsport resumes. The former is a rallycross and drifting champ, and the latter counts two years in Formula One with Toro Rosso among his accomplishments. Still, it's never too late for a career change. In a humorous new ad for Volkswagen, the professional racers take on the duties of summer interns at a dealership. The commercial is timed with the kickoff of the 2015 Global Rallycross Championship season in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on May 30 and 31. Speed and Foust are both racing in Beetle GRCs for the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team. This year's Bug is even more potent than last year, though. It now packs a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine to produce 553 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, versus the previous 1.6-liter turbo four with to 544 hp and 387 lb-ft. The racer can reportedly hit 60 miles per hour in just two seconds thanks in part to low gearing and all-wheel drive. One of the Andretti team Beetles might look a little different, too. Foust is sticking with his Rockstar Energy Drink sponsorship, but Speed gets an animalistic livery for Shark Week to celebrate the annual event from the Discovery Channel. Check out both of the cars in the gallery below or the ad in the video above. SCOTT SPEED TO RACE SHARK WEEK THEMED BEETLE GRC IN RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS SEASON OPENER Scott Speed and Tanner Foust will contest the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship in Beetle GRCs, starting this weekend in Fort Lauderdale Herndon, VA — The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team begins its second full season of racing this weekend in Ft. Lauderdale. The team will again be battling with two Beetle GRC race cars, which debuted in the closing races of 2014. As Volkswagen enters its fourth consecutive year as a presenting sponsor of Discovery Channel's SHARK WEEK, Scott Speed will concurrently begin the Red Bull Global Rallycross season behind the wheel of the No. 41 SHARK WEEK Volkswagen Beetle GRC, wrapped for SHARK WEEK, which begins on July 5th. "My father raced with No. 41 in karts when I was younger so it's pretty special to me," said Speed. "I have only had the option to choose the No. 41 twice in my career and was able to win championships each time. Hopefully it continues to bring me luck in 2015!" New this year, the team has chosen to change the engine specification from the Beetle GRC race cars that ran in 2014.

Brazil contemplates safety exemption for VW Kombi as it goes out of production today [w/poll]

Brazil: the country of carnivals, indescribable beauty adjacent to abject poverty, Ayrton Senna and old Volkswagen models. Only they're not old - they're new, they're just based on old designs. The original Beetle continued production there long after it had been phased out elsewhere, but the original Kombi van has lasted much longer. That ends today, however, with the iconic VW Microbus ambling out of production on the last day of 2013.
VW kept making the van in Brazil with the original air-cooled 1.2-liter boxer four until 2005, after which the original design was updated with a 1.4-liter water-cooled engine. Today, however, it ultimately falls prey to safety regulations that mandate that all vehicles - no matter how old their design - need to have airbags and ABS, forcing Volkswagen do Brasil to cease production of the Microbus after a 56-year production run. But the latest word is that the Kombi (as it's presently known) could get a stay of execution - or at least a resurrection in short order.
According to reports, the Brazilian government is looking into granting the Type 2 Microbus an exemption from said safety regulations, reasoning that the van was designed long before the advent of airbags and ABS. If the measure goes through, the Kombi Last Edition (pictured above) could prove not to be the last at all. So what do you think, should the Microbus get an exemption from Brazilian safety regulations for nostalgia's sake? Vote in our poll below, then have your say in Comments.

Recharge Wrap-Up: Tesla, CarCharging and the EPA

Credit Suisse analysts are bullish on Tesla. The group gives the electric car company's stock an "outperform" rating with a target price of $325. For its continued success, Credit Suisse cites the vehicles' superior technology, in turn offering more torque, roominess and reliability. Says analyst Dan Galves said of Tesla's competition with ICEs, "If Tesla can get to cost-parity with Internal Combustion vehicles and still offer $1,400 to $2,500 per year fuel savings to the consumer, it won't be a fair fight." Read more at Yahoo Finance or at Business Insider. In other Tesla news, Tesla Model S owners will be able to unlock and start their car using an iPhone. The Tesla app is adding this functionality soon, perhaps with the update to iOS 8. It's not yet clear how this function will work, but it's one more innovative convenience feature that Model S owners can enjoy. That means drivers will have less to carry in their pockets or purses when they go for a drive. Read more at 9 to 5 Mac. CarCharging Group has remotely lowered the amperage on some of its residential users' Blink charging stations to 24 amps. This will slow down the charging time for affected customers with 6.6-kilowatt charging by about 15 percent. The company cited safety reasons for the move, with concerns about overheating. The amperage reduction is temporary, until CarCharging is able to provide replacement parts for the chargers. Some are concerned about the delayed action, as well as the fact that the reduction was handled without owner permission. Read more at Plugin Cars. Ford is halting test drives and sales of certain C-Max hybrid and Focus models due to a safety concern. Cars made during a single week this month at a Michigan factory may not have enough ball bearings in the steering gear assembly, which could lead to loss of control. None of the affected cars have been sold, Ford says, and about 50 units are currently at dealerships. Just over 600 will need to be recalled. Dealerships have been notified of the problem. Read more at Reuters and the The Detroit News. A new EPA report shows that urban air in the US is becoming less toxic since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The report shows a 66-percent reduction in benzene, almost 60 percent reduction in mercury from man-made sources, 84 percent less lead and more.