Cool Sporty New Beetle "r-line" on 2040-cars

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Tanner Foust and Scott Speed get VW internships

Tanner Foust and Scott Speed both already have quite impressive motorsport resumes. The former is a rallycross and drifting champ, and the latter counts two years in Formula One with Toro Rosso among his accomplishments. Still, it's never too late for a career change. In a humorous new ad for Volkswagen, the professional racers take on the duties of summer interns at a dealership. The commercial is timed with the kickoff of the 2015 Global Rallycross Championship season in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on May 30 and 31. Speed and Foust are both racing in Beetle GRCs for the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team. This year's Bug is even more potent than last year, though. It now packs a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine to produce 553 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, versus the previous 1.6-liter turbo four with to 544 hp and 387 lb-ft. The racer can reportedly hit 60 miles per hour in just two seconds thanks in part to low gearing and all-wheel drive. One of the Andretti team Beetles might look a little different, too. Foust is sticking with his Rockstar Energy Drink sponsorship, but Speed gets an animalistic livery for Shark Week to celebrate the annual event from the Discovery Channel. Check out both of the cars in the gallery below or the ad in the video above. SCOTT SPEED TO RACE SHARK WEEK THEMED BEETLE GRC IN RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS SEASON OPENER Scott Speed and Tanner Foust will contest the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship in Beetle GRCs, starting this weekend in Fort Lauderdale Herndon, VA — The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team begins its second full season of racing this weekend in Ft. Lauderdale. The team will again be battling with two Beetle GRC race cars, which debuted in the closing races of 2014. As Volkswagen enters its fourth consecutive year as a presenting sponsor of Discovery Channel's SHARK WEEK, Scott Speed will concurrently begin the Red Bull Global Rallycross season behind the wheel of the No. 41 SHARK WEEK Volkswagen Beetle GRC, wrapped for SHARK WEEK, which begins on July 5th. "My father raced with No. 41 in karts when I was younger so it's pretty special to me," said Speed. "I have only had the option to choose the No. 41 twice in my career and was able to win championships each time. Hopefully it continues to bring me luck in 2015!" New this year, the team has chosen to change the engine specification from the Beetle GRC race cars that ran in 2014.

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

Volkswagen Touareg hybrid axed for 2016

Volkswagen is axing the Touareg hybrid for the 2016 model year. At a starting price of $67,905 (after $910 destination), the 2015 version sat at the top of the Touareg range, but it didn't offer significantly improved fuel economy for the extra money. The hybrid was only three miles per gallon city and one mpg highway better than the base V6. Another hurdle for potential buyers: the entry-level diesel had even better highway mileage and cost over $14,000 less. Earlier this year, Nissan made a similar decision to scrap the Pathfinder hybrid, and the future for the QX60 hybrid is murky. Volkswagen has a few other adjustments in store for the 2016 Touareg. The biggest change is that the whole lineup sees about $2,000 sliced off the price. According to Car and Driver, the adjustment knocks $2,090 off the base price to bring things to $42,705. In addition, the Lux and Executive trims now get standard 14-way power adjustable and ventilated seats, and the two of them are also offered with new, 21-inch wheels. The Executive also now gets power adjustment on the steering column and a suite of safety tech, including adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, and lane departure warning. Related Video: