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Volkswagen kills planned 10-speed DSG

If there are two things in this wild and crazy industry that keep growing, they are the size of cars and the number of gears in their transmissions. It wasn't ten years ago that cars with six forward gears – either manually or automatically shifted – were a relative rarity. Now, there are a multitude of sub-$30,000 cars with at least a six-speed automatic. But while eight- and nine-speed automatics are becoming increasingly common, no automaker has delivered a production ten-speed automatic (which may be a good thing, considering the reception to most nine-speed gearboxes). Ford and General Motors were collaborating on one as recently as April 2013, and Hyundai has was allegedly working on one way back in 2011. Most recently, though, Volkswagen announced a ten-speed, dual-clutch automatic in November 2014. And now, less than two years later, the project has apparently been shelved. That's according to our Vegemite-loving friends at Motoring.com.au, which report that both the cost and complexity of project has proved unfeasible for VW. "In the end, we had to balance what our priorities were with our transmissions and other things are more important and more urgent," an unnamed source at the Frankfurt Motor Show told the Aussie website. The ten-speed DSG was slated for a number of three- and four-cylinder models from VAG's entire range of affordable vehicles. It was also, allegedly, to feature in the ultra-high-performance Golf R400, Motoring reports. It's unclear how its cancellation will impact the company's future projects, if VW will look elsewhere for its small-car gearboxes, of if there's another – perhaps conventional – new transmission in the pipeline. Currently, VW's highest gear-count dual-clutch is the seven-speed DSG, shown above with company CEO Martin Winterkorn.

Volkswagen e-Co-Motion concept poised for delivery to Geneva

With Nissan getting ready to launch the e-NV200, it appears Volkswagen is looking to go after the same zero-emission commercial vehicle market with the all-electric 2013 e-Co-Motion Concept. Debuting next week at the Geneva Motor Show, the e-Co-Motion Concept might be small in size, but VW says it has cargo and payload capacities that should be perfect for small businesses.
Measuring 179 inches long, 75 inches wide and 77 inches tall, the e-Co-Motion Concept has about the same footprint as the current Golf, and it has a cargo capacity of 162 cubic feet and a maximum payload of more than 1,700 pounds. There isn't too much information on the e-Co-Motion just yet - such as what electric components and platform are used - but the press release posted below states while the concept is shown as a cargo van, future body styles could include a passenger wagon or a refrigerated box van.

Golf tees up new sales for VW

If you consider the Passat and the CC two different lines, Volkswagen USA lists nine different models on its website, and they have sold a total of 238,074 units in the US this year through the end of August. The Golf, which was voted North American car of the year in 2015, and its variants account for 44,416 sales, an increase of nearly 150 percent compared to the same period last year. That's also the most Golfs ever sold in that time in the US, and almost 19 percent of this year's entire brand sales. This is compared to a compact car segment that has gained just 1.1 percent compared to 2014. A number of factors are responsible, according to a report in Automotive News: the MQB platform allows different powertrains to roll down the same assembly line; VW USA product planners can now configure vehicles to suit our market and they work with a selection of dealers to refine the retail offering; and the Golf maintains its proper European driving experience. The expanse of the Golf range has meant not only increased profits and new buyers, but more breadth in the buying demographic - expanding outward from the standard Golf to five different extremes, from the e-Golf to the Golf R. Room will be made for a new kind of consumer next year when the current Sportwagen model goes all-wheel drive with an Alltrack designation. Unsurprisingly, VW USA says, "Golf is a role model for the US for us. We want to learn from our success and implement those lessons in our future model planning." After decades of uneven effort, perhaps that formula plus a long-awaited range of crossovers can finally deliver on the promise of the US market. Related Video: