07 Touareg V10 Tdi 68k Miles! Nav Cam Air-sus Keyless Loaded Maintained Pristine on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lincoln Aviator returns, VW ponders pickups, and Subaru Forester endures

NEW YORK – Volkswagen is taking a hard look at a pickup truck, the Lincoln Aviator is back, and you love old Subarus (we'll explain). The New York Auto Show returned last week with flair and a wide range of promising reveals. Let's break down some of the big news, plus a few things you might have missed. News: Ford is fortifying Lincoln with the Aviator SUV Views: Doing a mid-size SUV is obvious. Calling it the Aviator wasn't. I like it. Using Navigator design cues, this thing looks the part and should give Lincoln some energy and sales volume. Not playing in the midsize SUV segment has been a mistake for Ford's luxury brand, and the Aviator should fill a much-needed hole. Props to Lincoln for dusting off the Aviator name, most recently used on a rebadged Ford Explorer built in 2003-2005. It sounds classy and historic, like something from 1930s, even though it only dates to the tail end of the " Friends" era. Speaking of names, when the MKC gets a new one, Lincoln should dust off Zephyr, a moniker it actually used in the '30s and then briefly in the early 2000s. Why use the Aviator name? Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets, said it's about reminding consumers that Ford has traditionally built strong SUVs. "I think in a way the legacy is falling in love with what we do best," he said. "We wanted to go back to our roots. We know how to do this well." Farley also said the Aviator could prove to be Lincoln's bestseller. The Aviator was well-received in New York, earning our Best in Show award and garnering cautiously optimistic reactions from some analysts. "Lincoln ran this experiment once before ... differences in the market conditions, stronger differentiation and appetite for utility vehicles may prove a different story for this Aviator," IHS analyst Stephanie Brinley said. View 19 Photos News: VW surprised the car world with the Atlas Tanoak pickup concept Views: Good move. VW should build this. The concept is based on a longer version of the Atlas platform and would take aim at the midsize truck segment. VW is using this prototype to "gauge the reactions" of automotive influencers, but make no mistake, the Tanoak is totally doable. Using Atlas bones and mechanicals punched up with rugged styling and some soft-road capability, the Tanoak would grow VW's portfolio in a smart way. The Atlas Cross Sport concept, also revealed in New York, signals that Atlas expansion is already underway.

Recharge Wrap-up: Volkswagen Sustainability Council meets, Zee.Aero flying car spotted?

The Volkswagen Sustainability Council held its inaugural meeting in Berlin. Made up of nine international experts, the council will advise VW and take action on its own as it sees fit. In the meeting, the council decided that in 2017 it will focus on tackling CO2 emissions, planning for post-2025 regulations, and assisting the automaker's "transformation from car manufacturer to mobility services provider," as VW Chairman Matthias Muller puts it. Volkswagen has approved 20 million euros (about $21.75 million) in funding for Sustainability Council projects for its first two years. "We are fully aware of the large transformation that lays ahead Volkswagen Group," says George Kell, Sustainability Council Chair and Founding Director of UN Global Compact. "We were invited to be part of this journey and are very much looking forward on being actively involved in the development of this journey." Read more at Green Car Congress, or from Volkswagen. Honda plans to ramp up its share of hybrids sold in the US. In response to increasingly strict emissions standards, the company wants electrified vehicles (including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery electric, and fuel cell vehicles) to make up two-thirds of Honda and Acura sales in US by 2030. Some analysts are skeptical, though. Christopher Richter of CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets says that dealers are telling Honda they don't want hybrids. "Unless there's a change in what dealers want, I don't think they are going to get there that fast," Richter says. Read more at Automotive News. Witnesses report spotting what could possibly be the Zee.Aero electric aircraft at Hollister Airport in California. Zee.Aero, a startup funded by Google cofounder Larry Page, has a hangar at that airport, where a photo was taken of the aircraft in question. The craft is said to be capable of vertical takeoff and landing and can fit in a one-car garage, earning it the "flying car" moniker. Eyewitness Saul Gomez described the aircraft as "quiet" and "hovering 20, 25 feet off the ground." Read more at Electrek, and watch the interview at Mercury News. Related Gallery 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid: First Drive View 26 Photos News Source: Green Car Congress, Volkswagen, Automotive News, Electrek, Mercury NewsImage Credit: Copyright 2016 Sebastian Blanco / AOL Auto News Green Acura Honda Volkswagen Green Automakers Electric Hybrid recharge wrapup

2015 VW Beetle GRC packs 553 rallycrossing horsepower

In case you couldn't tell from all the wings and vents, this is not your average Volkswagen Beetle. It's the rally machine Tanner Foust and Scott Speed will be driving in the Global Rallycross Championship this year. Don't let the retro form fool you – it is an absolute beast. Last year's Beetle GRC packed a 1.6-liter turbo four good for an astonishing 544 horsepower and 387 pound-feet of torque, but the new one does one better: it now features a 2.0-liter turbo four good for 553 hp and 465 lb-ft. That's right – in a Beetle. It's also got ZF dampers, 9.5 inches of suspension travel, 14-inch front brake discs with four-piston calipers packed into 17-inch wheels and, of course, all-wheel drive. The result? 0-60 in – wait for it – two seconds flat (or thereabouts). It's geared low so it'll only top out at around 125 miles per hour, but that's all it needs for the short tracks on which it's designed to compete. Foust and Speed will be driving this beast for Andretti Autosport in the 2015 championship that kicks off at the end of May in Ft. Lauderdale. Both have quite the act to follow as Foust won back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012, and former F1 driver Speed won three rounds last season to finish third in the standings. Related Video: VOLKSWAGEN ANDRETTI RALLYCROSS TEAM UPDATES BEETLE GRC CARS FOR 2015 SEASON Tanner Foust and Scott Speed will contest the 2015 Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship with a pair of 2.0-liter Beetles Indianapolis, IN (April 29th, 2015) - After a strong performance in its inaugural season, the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team is ready to challenge for this year's driver and manufacturer titles in the Global Rallycross Championship. In 2015, the team will be on the attack with two Beetle GRC race cars, which debuted in the final races of 2014. This rallycross car is the ultimate expression of the third-generation Beetle. Designed and engineered from the outset as a GRC car, it features a sequential six-speed transmission, with a fixed-ratio all-wheel-drive system that features multiplate limited-slip differentials at the front and rear. For the 2015 season, the team has chosen to change the engine specification from the car that ran in selected rounds of the 2014 series. In place of that car's 1.6-liter turbocharged and intercooled TSI® four-cylinder engine, there is now a 2.0-liter TSI engine that produces 553 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, compared to 544 hp and 387 lb-ft for the 2014 car.