1979 Volkswagen Super Beetle Base Convertible 2-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

VW to announce $1B investment in Mexico plant

Big news south of the border could be slated for later this week, as Automotive News is reporting that the Volkswagen Group will announce a $1-billion investment in the company's Puebla factory. The company officially declined to comment, but AN is claiming the investment in the Puebla facility, which has been operating for over five decades, will add 1,900 jobs to the nearly 16,000-strong workforce. According to AN, a person familiar with the situation in Puebla claims the investment will support production of the next-generation Tiguan, slated to arrive in 2017. The Puebla factory currently produces Golf, while total output last year nearly hit half a million vehicles, or about 15 percent of Mexico's total automotive output. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Susana Gonzalez / Newsmakers/ Getty Plants/Manufacturing Volkswagen Mexico vw tiguan puebla

Prop-driven VW Beetle hopes to land in Bonneville [w/video]

Sometimes you meet folks who, when they tell you "Hey, I have an idea," your reflex response is to stop what you're doing and tell yourself, "Get ready...." We imagine Mike Niemans is one of those folks, and the idea in question is putting a tank engine on a Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle. Not just any old tank engine - as if there were such a thing when we're talking about putting them in cars - but a 668-cubic-inch, 220-horsepower radial engine built by Continental in 1941 and procured from an M2 tank.
In the image above Nieman is using the tank clutch hub to get the motor set up, but in one of the images below you can see what really belongs back there is: a two-inch, reverse-pitch prop taken from a wind generator. He says there's enough mojo with the propeller action to get the car rolling down the runway like a jet when he gives it gas - and speaking of gas, the engine's been refitted to run on propane.
After a few safety tweaks Nieman's going to take the matte-black Beetle to Bonneville, "put the prop on, let her go and see what happens!" We can't wait to see the video of that. There are two shakedown videos below to get you ready.

VW still set on Phaeton redux despite cost-cutting drive and losing $32k per car

While critically well regarded, the Volkswagen Phaeton has proven to be a vehicle largely unloved by luxury buyers around the world. Despite this, it refuses to die. While VW's luxury sedan hasn't been sold in the US since 2006 due to low sales here, it has soldiered on in Europe with occasional updates. As the model's long lifespan has been winding down, VW has decided to keep pushing the Phaeton into a new generation, despite in-house alternatives like the Audi A8 and Bentley Continental Flying Spur. The move might not make much business sense, but Volkswagen executives are determined to make the Phaeton work. According to market analysts speaking to Reuters, developing the next-gen luxury sedan on the MLB platform could cost as much as 650 million euros ($737 million), despite relying on the same underpinnings in the A8. It's not like the Phaeton is leading the luxury sedan sales ranks, either. Reuters notes VW produced just 5,812 of them in 2013 (the most current year with data), and from 2002 to 2012, the automaker reportedly lost 28,000 euros ($32,000) on each example sold. Conversely, Mercedes-Benz sold 103,737 units of its new S-Class in 2014, an astonishing 82.2 percent jump over the previous year. The decision to keep the Phaeton going doesn't seem to square with the VW brand's cost-cutting strategy. Boss Martin Winterkorn announced last year a plan to save 5 billion euros ($5.7 billion) annually in the coming years. That plan reportedly also includes killing off less profitable models. Apparently, VW can't just rip off the band-aid and get rid of the Phaeton. Even some VW bosses seem somewhat perplexed at the sedan's business case. When Reuters asked the company's US boss Michael Horn about selling the Phaeton here, he said. "That's a dangerous question. It's an image bearer with no relevance for volume." The next-gen Phaeton is scheduled to go on sale in Europe in 2017 or 2018, according to Reuters, which is about a year later than previous rumors. A US launch will reportedly follow in 2018 or 2019 with the plug-in hybrid and potentially even diesel versions on offer. A starting price around $70,000 is estimated. Featured Gallery 2011 Volkswagen Phaeton View 15 Photos News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Volkswagen Plants/Manufacturing Volkswagen Luxury Sedan vw phaeton cost cutting