Beautiful Golf Gls, 5spd, Low Miles, Cold Air, 90 Day Warranty Included-bargain! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

VW CEO under fire after emissions scandal, stock slide

Pressure piled on the head of Volkswagen on Monday in the wake of an emissions-testing scandal that's seen around 15 billion euros ($16.9 billion) wiped off the company's market value. Following revelations that the German carmaker had rigged US emissions tests for about 500,000 diesel cars, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn apologized Sunday for the fact that his company had "broken the trust of our customers and the public." But saying sorry wasn't enough for investors as they digested the financial and reputational implications of the scandal on the world's biggest carmaker by sales – in mid-afternoon trading in Frankfurt, Volkswagen's share price was down a stunning 17.8 percent at a near three-year low of 132.15 euros. Earlier it had tumbled by more than 20 percent. In the wake of Friday's revelations from the US's Environmental Protection Agency, VW has already halted sales of some vehicles in the US and pledged to cooperate with regulators in an investigation that could, in theory, see the company fined up to $18 billion. Industry analysts said the VW CEO faces difficult questions in the coming days, particularly when the company's board is scheduled to meet Friday. "At the moment, I'd be surprised if Winterkorn can ride this out." - Christian Stadler "At the moment, I'd be surprised if Winterkorn can ride this out, but in Germany there's often a slightly slower process in these matters," said Christian Stadler, a professor of strategic management at Warwick Business School who researches the car industry. Stadler said that if VW were a US company, then the CEO would have gone more or less immediately. In essence, Volkswagen stands accused of skirting the US's clean air rules. The EPA said VW used a device programmed to detect when the cars are undergoing official emissions testing. The software device then turns off the emissions controls during normal driving situations, allowing the cars to emit more than the legal limit of pollutants. Guido Reinking, a German auto expert, said that for a company to engage in such blatant trickery the company's top executives would have to be informed. Winterkorn, an engineer by training, led research and development across the VW group from 2007. He became chairman of the management board the same year. "It's almost impossible to imagine that he didn't know about this special way of programming the engine," Reinking told German television station n-tv.

Carlex Criollo is a Volkswagen Multivan shrine to Alcantara, leather and... fish

A keen angler recently went to Polish tuner Carlex Design (the same folks who did that steampunk Mini Countryman a while back) for a revamp of his Volkswagen Multivan. What resulted is perhaps the most striking - yet fishing-unfriendly - interior we've ever seen in a van. Below the shoulder line, if a surface isn't covered in cross-stitched Alcantara, then it's covered in cross-stitched leather. Even the steering wheel airbag boss. And the seat supports. And the cupholders.
The brown hue of the Multivan's interior is called Criollo, named for an especially fine specimen of cocoa. The finishing touch on the overhaul is a fileting knife that Carlex made for the owner. We imagine he'll use the knife for the marine life, but keep his van far away from it.

Volkswagen drops first teaser of next-gen T6 Transporter

The history of Volkswagen's line of boxy Transporter vans goes all the way back to 1950, and the early models' shape likely ranks in fame with the Beetle. VW Commercial Vehicles is now teasing the next step in that legacy with this sketch of the new T6. Judging by this shot, VW is sticking with the van's familiar, square shape. Although this sketch makes the front end look a bit more curvaceous and possibly with a shorter overhang than the current T5. Finding out the truth won't take long because the T6 will debut on April 15, and it will go on sale in the UK by the end of the year. These days the US commercial van segment is rapidly expanding with new models filling the market. Autoblog reached out to VW spokesperson Mark Gillies to find out if the latest Transporter might come across the Atlantic. "LCVs are under consideration, but there are no plans" to bring the T6 to the US at this time, Gillies said. Related Video: Show full PR text VOLKSWAGEN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES REVEALS SKETCH OF FORTHCOMING SIXTH-GENERATION TRANSPORTER Ahead of its official world premiere on 15 April 2015, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has revealed a sketch of the sixth-generation Transporter. When it made its public debut in 1950, few could have predicted the enormous impact the Transporter would have in revolutionising the commercial vehicle market, creating a timeless automotive icon in the process. Whilst the Transporter has evolved dramatically during that time the philosophy and vision that created the original still holds true. Getting the job done efficiently and reliably has been at the heart of the Volkswagen philosophy for the past 65 years. Its reputation for rugged reliability has endured over the decades to make the Volkswagen Transporter one of the world's best-selling light commercial vehicles. The sixth-generation Transporter will go on sale in the UK later this year. (ends)