1997 Vw Passat Tdi on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Golf GTE Sport Concept is good, clean, plug-in fun [w/video]

If racing and hypercars have shown us anything, it's that high performance and hybridization are not mutually exclusive. With the Golf GTE Sport Concept, Volkswagen is showing it understands that fact. This wild hatchback originally premiered at the annual Worthersee festival back in May, but it's making its auto show debut in Frankfurt. The Golf GTE Sport uses both gas and electric sources to develop 396 total system horsepower. That gas engine, a 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, was swiped from the engine bay of Volkswagen's three-time World Rally Championship-winning Polo R WRC, and generates 295 hp on its own. A pair of electric motors – one per axle – each produce 113 hp, and are fed by a lithium-ion battery pack. Total electric range is an impressive 31 miles. Of course, you don't care about that. You care about what the Golf GTE Sport can do when you switch out of EV or hybrid mode and switch into GTE. In this setting, both the gas engine and electric motors kick in to deliver max performance. Sixty-two miles per hour arrives in just 4.3 seconds and the top speed is an impressive 174 mph. The styling is like a mix of older Golf concepts: VW's two Vision Gran Turismo cars, the Roadster and Supersport, with some of the current GTI thrown in. Check out our live images from Frankfurt and let us know what you think. World premiere of the Golf GTE Sport: Plug-in hybrid sports car catapults the GT idea to the future - Lightweight and high-strength body of the Golf GTE Sport is made of carbon - Concept car with a top speed of 280 km/h is a zero emission vehicle and a race car in one Five key facts about the Golf GTE Sport: 1. Golf GTE Sport is powered by a 295 kW / 400 PS plug-in hybrid system 2. Progressive Golf GTE Sport bridges the gap between road cars and racing sport cars 3. Avant-garde exterior design of the Golf GTE Sport perfects the idea of C-pillars with two-level construction 4. Golf GTE Sport debuts with digital instruments arranged on three levels and tailored to motor racing 5. Golf GTE Sport accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds and has a top speed of up to 280 km/h on the racetrack Wolfsburg / Reifnitz, May 2015. Ringing in a new era: with the Golf GTE Sport presented as a world premiere at the legendary GTI event at Lake Worthersee on 14 May 2015, Volkswagen is catapulting the GT tradition into the future.

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #366 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #366 tonight, and you can check out the topics below, drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module, and don't forget to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so. To take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #366
2015 Lincoln Navigator

Volkswagen Diesels: Buy, sell, or hold?

Everyone who owns or has remotely considered a Volkswagen diesel over the past 45 days has tried to figure out the right formula. Is it worth buying after the recall? If I own one, should I sell it? How will it perform if I want to keep it? Questions create doubts, and doubts create a stunning lack of activity when it comes to the new and used car market. I seriously doubt Volkswagen will be rolling out its 2016 TDI models anytime soon. The company already failed to create a fix nearly a year ago and has spent an unusually long amount of time trying to get the formula right. There's also the fact that it rescinded its EPA application for 2016 models. I can't provide the ultimate oracle's guide on whether any recalled Volkswagen diesel will fall under the "good value" perceptions of car buyers. But I do believe four factors in particular will be largely independent of the outcome of that recall, and they're what you should pay particular attention to if you plan on buying any Volkswagen diesel – new or used. 1. Demand Creating Bad Supply There are a large number of car buyers who believe that they can zig while the marketplace tells them to zag. Unfortunately, those are the ones that get sent to the slaughter once articles like the one linked above proclaim, "resale values are down 13 percent." These heavily biased write-ups ignore the fact both the supply and demand of new and used recalled Volkswagen diesels are no longer operating in that free market. The supply side is obvious since the EPA has put a stop-sale on all Volkswagen diesels. However, on the demand side, those Volkswagen dealers who have exclusive access to off-lease vehicles and certified pre-owned programs for 2012 and newer VW diesels are now sitting on the sidelines with all those cars. When your best players no longer play, consumers don't come to the ballpark. What exists right now is a lot like a professional sports strike where the talent sits out until a collective agreement is reached. When your best players no longer play, consumers don't come to the ballpark. The marketplace only offers scabs that can play an inferior game. In the wholesale car business, the scabs are salvage vehicles that are wrecked or flood damaged, vehicles that can't be put under a CPO program due to frame damage and lemon law requirements, and the wholesale repossession market. All of these substandard vehicles make up the new supply, the collective underbelly of low-end quality in the used car marketplace.