2005 Volkswagen Beetle Gls Auto Convertible Like New Inside And Out Runs Great on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen could build plug-in hybrids in China

When you're Europe's largest automaker and your largest global market happens to be the one most notorious for its pollution (China), some solutions just present themselves. Volkswagen may be heeding that call. During the upcoming Beijing Motor Show, the company is expected to announce plans to produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in China, Reuters says, citing sources within the company. Few details have emerged, though the plug-ins will likely be produced at VW's Foshan factory in South China, which currently makes the Golf and Audi A3 and has plans to eventually make 600,000 vehicles annually. News has been percolating for a while, as Oliver Schmidt, general manager engineering and environmental office for Volkswagen Group of America, said last March that the company was planning at least two plug-in hybrid lines under the VW badge (and another three with its Audi and Porsche affiliates), including possibly a Touareg and Jetta PHEV. VW said late last month that it was looking to speed up development of "particularly eco-friendly models" made by Shanghai Volkswagen as well as developing a "new, very eco-friendly vehicle" with First Automotive Works (FAW). Earlier this year, VW unveiled its Golf GTE plug-in hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show. That model has a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor to provide 201 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The car can travel as many as 81 miles on electric power alone.

Autoblog Electric launches; we talk EV news, VW ID.4 and Kia EV6 | Autoblog Podcast #770

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. In company news, we launched the Autoblog Electric hub this week, and as such, we spend a lot of this episode talking about EVs. WE start by talking about some electric pickups on the way, EV charging and U.S. infrastructure plans, states banning ICE sales, the happiest EV owners, thoughts on the viability of smaller electric automakers and Formula 1's renewed stance against goinf electric. We also share notes on the Volkswagen ID.4 and Kia EV6 we've been driving, as well as other memorable EVs we've driven in the past year. Finally, we reach into the mailbag for a Spend My Money update before talking about late winter/spring beverages.  Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #770 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Autoblog launches Autoblog Electric Electric pickup trucks available in 2023 and beyond The current and future state of EV charging New Jersey is the next state to ban light-duty ICE vehicle sales by 2035 Rivian R1T, Mini Cooper Electric owners happiest with their EVs Thoughts on smaller electric automaker firms F1 CEO vows there will never be an electric car on the grid Cars we're driving Long-term 2022 Kia EV6 2023 VW ID.4 Other memorable EVs Spend My Money update: Replacing an Alfa Romeo Giulia with a BMW i4 Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Government/Legal Green Motorsports Podcasts Kia Lotus Volkswagen Green Automakers Green Culture Green Driving Truck Crossover SUV Electric Racing Vehicles Infrastructure Lucid

This classic VW bus packs Porsche power

Appearances can be deceiving. The rolling embodiments of that principal we call "sleeper cars": ordinary-looking vehicles that pack a much bigger punch than you'd get by just looking at them. Take this classic VW bus, for example. Sure, it may have some racing graphics and upgraded rolling stock to tell you this isn't just any old van, but looking at it, you'd still have no idea what lies beneath the surface. That's where you'll find oily bits sourced from Porsches. And not from a 914, either. (That was as much a Volkswagen as it was a Porsche anyway.) No, this vintage 1962 VW T1 "Bulli" van packs the air-cooled, forced-induction flat-six from a 993 Turbo, driving 530 horsepower and 558 pound-feet of torque through the six-speed manual transmission from a 996 GT3 to 18-inch BBS alloys. It's the obsessive six-year project of Swiss customizer Fred Bernhard, who also used carbon fiber to cut the curb weight down to 3,300 pounds. The resulting light sleeper can top out at 143 miles per hour, in a vehicle with the aerodynamic profile of, well, a bus. It's called the T1 Race Taxi and is being showcased by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles at the GTI-Treffen at Worthersee this year. Short of maybe the Renault Espace F1 concept, we can hardly imagine any other van we'd rather drive around the Nordschleife. Or just to pick up the kids from school.