1973 Volkswagen Thing on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Skoda launching two new CNG-powered vehicles in Europe in June

Skoda's second- and third-ever production compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles aren't exactly speed burners, but they are efficient. The Czech automaker, which is owned by Volkswagen, will introduce its Octavia G-TEC and Octavia Combi G-TEC models to most of Europe next month. Skoda's first CNG model was the Citigo, which debuted in 2012. The Octavia models will have a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine that will deliver about 109 horsepower. Quickness isn't these cars' virtue, as their 0-60 mile per hour acceleration time will be almost 11 seconds. But they can go as far as 826 miles on their tanks of gas and CNG, enough to go from Prague to Rome in one shot, in case anyone was curious. Or nuts. The move by Skoda makes sense, as the CNG market in Europe has long been far further along than it is on this side of the pond, where CNG has primarily been used to move delivery trucks, but it's now available in pickups form Chrysler, Ford and General Motors as well as passenger cars from Chevy and Honda. The Skoda Citigo has moved almost 2,000 units since its debut, with 1,300 vehicles sold last year alone. That car can go as far as 385 miles on CNG and gasoline combined, which is impressive but not quite as bladder busting as the Octavia models. Check out Skoda's press release below. SKODA continues its CNG offensive with the new SKODA Octavia G-TEC Launch of the new SKODA Octavia G-TEC and new Octavia Combi G-TEC in June First SKODA Octavia with natural gas drive as standard; 97 g CO2/km High-performance technology: bivalent turbo engine 1.4 TSI/81 kW The ultimate in fuel economy: up to 1,330 km with natural gas and petrol SKODA Citigo G-TEC has enjoyed market success since 2012; only 79 g CO2/km Natural gas is the environmentally-friendly, cost-effective alternative Mlada Boleslav, 19 May 2014 – Expanding its environmentally-friendly model range, SKODA is renewing its emphasis on compressed natural gas vehicles. The new SKODA Octavia G-TEC and the new SKODA Octavia Combi G-TEC will be given their market premiere in June. This will increase the brand's CNG range to three models. Since the end of 2012, the little natural gas-drive Citigo has been successfully touring the European markets. "With the new Octavia G-TEC and the Octavia Combi G-TEC, our model range is becoming even more environmentally-friendly," says Dr Frank Welsch, SKODA Board Member for Technical Development.

Berlin demanding costly German recall of 12 million diesel cars

BERLIN - Germany's Transport Ministry is in talks with car manufacturers about updating the engine management software of up to 12 million diesel vehicles, people familiar with the talks told Reuters on Monday. The cost of updating cars could amount to as much as 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion to $2.8 billion), and the ministry is demanding that vehicles with engines conforming to the euro-4, euro-5 and euro-6 standards be part of the recall, government sources said. The German government has demanded that the auto industry shoulder the costs of the update and is pushing for a solution to be presented before German elections on Sept. 24. The ministry is in talks with German auto industry associations VDA and VDIK as well as representatives from local governments to try and cut nitrogen oxide pollution by about 25 percent, the sources said. The talks come amid growing opposition to diesel in the wake of an emissions cheating scandal at Volkswagen. Several European cities including Stuttgart and Munich have considered banning some diesel vehicles because of emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are blamed for causing respiratory disease. ($1 = 0.8942 euros) Reporting by Markus WacketRelated Video: Government/Legal Green Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Porsche Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles dieselgate

Volkswagen hits Gran Turismo with GTI Supersport concept [w/video]

As impressive as are the production hot hatches that Volkswagen offers based on the Golf, the German automaker cooks up even more impressive conceptual versions. Like this latest design for Gran Turismo 6. The GTI Supersport Vision Gran Turismo is like the GTI you can pick up at your local VW dealer, only more so. The design brings the VR6 back to the GTI, this time packing a (hypothetical) 503 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque, channeled to all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and 4Motion all-wheel drive. In the virtual reality of GT6, that's said to be enough to propel this digital concept to 62 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds and on to a top speed in excess of 186 mph. Naturally VW's designers gave the GTI Supersport concept the show to accompany the go, gracing the shape with more vents, more extreme aero, a wider stance on 20-inch wheels... the works. All that is said to give it a lower center of gravity and a power-to-weight ratio of 5.5 pounds per horsepower. Of course the GTI Supersport isn't the first hot Golf concept VW has dreamt up in recent years. There was the earlier GTI Roadster concept also revealed for the Vision Gran Turismo series, the Golf R 400 concept that may yet see production, and the bonkers GTI W12 650 concept with its mid-mounted twelve-cylinder engine. This one may never see production, but at least gamers will be able to drive it remotely on PlayStation. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Wolfsburg, 14 April 2015 Next level: Volkswagen presents new digital supercar - GTI Supersport Vision Gran Turismo excites PlayStation fans - Race car with 503 HP now available for downloading Volkswagen is expanding its GTI fleet and sending a new supercar onto the digital race circuit. The engine roaring under the bonnet of the GTI Supersport is a 503 HP VR6 TSI coupled with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG). The design of this digital supercar combines the Volkswagen icon with sheer racing design. Following last year's roadster, another version of the GTI, with its long racing tradition, can now head for the starting line on Gran Turismo®6, exclusively on PlayStation®3. The first impression of this racer already shows that the Supersport is what fans want and is designed for racing. 665 Nm of torque catapult the virtual GTI to 100 kilometers per hour from a standing start in only 3.6 seconds.