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Volkswagen bringing new Touran minivan to Geneva

Volkswagen is bringing a wealth of new metal to the Geneva Motor Show this year. Unfortunately little if any of it is ever likely to reach American shores. There's the new Passat Alltrack, the Golf GTD Variant and a trifecta of new vans: the facelifted Caddy, the revised Sharan and this, the new Touran. Smaller than the Sharan, the Touran is Germany's top-selling minivan and boasts over 1.9 million units sold to date. It was introduced to the VW passenger van lineup in 2003 and was replaced in 2010 with an all-new model. What you're looking at here is the third-generation Touran, based on VW's ubiquitous new MQB architecture. Most obvious is the new sheet metal that makes it look sharper and more in step with the rest of the German automaker's lineup compared to the model it replaces. But there's more to the new Touran than its skin. It's also nearly five inches longer, with most of that length added in the wheelbase to give it a more commodious cabin that's also been updated with the latest equipment and offers room for up to seven passengers. Despite the larger size, it's a good 136 pounds lighter than the outgoing model, so it promises better performance in both its driving dynamics and its environmental credentials. Prospective customers (in markets where the Touran is sold) will be able to choose from a range of three gasoline and three diesel engines ranging from 108 horsepower up to 187, burning as much as 19 percent less fuel than the outgoing model's lineup thanks to features like stop/start engine management and brake force regeneration. There's even a sporty R Line package to give it a little visual aggression. For better or worse, though, the US market will almost certainly be left out: reached for comment, our source at VW USA pointed out that the Touran and Sharan aren't big enough to fill the shoes left by the Routan - but that the upcoming three-row crossover will. Volkswagen presents the new Touran - Germany's best-selling MPV completely redeveloped - More room; smart new design - New engines up to 19 per cent more economical Volkswagen presents the new Touran. The completely redesigned MPV was showcased before an audience of international media representatives at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, not far from the production site where the popular family car is made. The interior of the new model has undergone a significant increase in size and is highly configurable.

VW's Winterkorn tells 20,000 staffers of big cost-cutting plans

During a gathering of 20,000 Volkswagen Group employees at company headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany on Wednesday, CEO Martin Winterkorn dropped a bombshell. The boss stated that the automaker isn't operating efficiently enough and admitted the company needs to radically start cutting back to raise its profit margins. To right the ship, Winterkorn has proposed killing off less profitable models and spending less on research and development.
According to Reuters, Winterkorn wants to raise the VW brand's profit margin from about 2.9 percent in 2013 to a target of 6 percent. To make that possible, his plan amounts to increasing cost cutting until Volkswagen reaches about 5 billion euros ($6.7 billion) per year to get things back in order. "Over the short-term, we urgently need more efficiency and higher profit," the CEO said during his speech, according to Reuters.
However, Winterkorn can't make these decisions unilaterally. Volkswagen's works council also has a seat on the supervisory board to represent laborers, and it isn't likely to take the proposed cuts sitting down.

A fix and buyback program for Audi V6 diesels may be on the way

While Volkswagen reached a settlement to buy back 2.0-liter diesel inline-fours with emissions defeat devices, the roughly 80,000 cars with 3.0-liter diesel V6s built by Audi have yet to be addressed. But a new report from Bloomberg indicates that a solution is near. The publication says that sources familiar with the situation say the company has a fix ready for the majority of the cars, and that the EPA and California Air Resources Board are ready to approve it. According to Bloomberg, this fix would involve a software update and would work for about 60,000 of the Audi A8, Q5, Q7, Porsche Cayenne, and VW Touareg models with the engine. The rest of the vehicles won't be fixable without major modification, so those would have to be purchased back from the owners. Bloomberg does point out that approval from the EPA and CARB are only one piece of the puzzle. The publication said that this deal has yet to be approved by owners of the cars and the Federal Trade Commission, both of which may demand that VW offer a buyback to all owners, even those whose cars can be fixed. The good news for owners of VW products with this engine, is that they should have some closure pretty soon. And owners that still like their diesel V6 can take solace that they might actually be able to get them fixed, as opposed to owners of the 2.0-liter diesels. VW offered buybacks to owners of all 475,000 cars with the turbo four-cylinders, or a fix when it's available. However, there have been no signs of an approved fix. Related Video: News Source: Bloomberg via Automotive NewsImage Credit: Sebastian Blanco Government/Legal Green Audi Porsche Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal audi diesel