Volkswagen debuts zero-emission Tiguan HyMotion in the U.S.
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Tiguan HyMotion Volkswagen has shown off its Tiguan HyMotion Fuel Cell Concept for the first time in California. The five-passenger SUV, based on the Volkswagen Tiguan, features a hydrogen fuel cell powering an electric motor. The electric motor may also pull power from a 6.8 Ampere-hour lithium-ion battery that is recharged by recuperating braking energy. The VW hybrid generates 107 horsepower under normal conditions. With assist from its auxiliary energy...

Cross-bred Caddy: Volkswagen Caddy Carrera Cup Edition 2.0TDI R
Click above for a gallery of the VW Caddy Carrera Cup Edition 2.0 TDI R.The link between Volkswagen and Porsche is about to get stronger, but VW's Swedish contingent has already created a special edition to honor the alliance. The VW Caddy has lived a staid life as a popular work truck in Europe, but the Swedes apparently think it could be so much more. So it's releasing 250 Carrera Cup Edition Caddies outfitted with black, 17-inch wheels wrapped in 225/45 R17 rubber, a new body kit, red-on-white paint...

Germany approves new Volkswagen Law
Porsche didn't win... this round. The German cabinet approved amendments to the Volkswagen Law yesterday, but lawmakers left Porsche's key clause untouched. For those of you who haven't been following this saga, "Volkswagen Law" is the legislation that includes a provision to allow the federal state of Lower Saxony to keep a blocking minority vote in Volkswagen. That minority position is just 20 percent, exactly the amount currently held by Lower Saxony. With Porsche gobbling up shares in VW, intent on...

Volkswagen and Sanyo form lithium-ion battery JV
Volkswagen is the latest carmaker to announce a co-operation with an electronics company over the joint-development of advanced lithium-ion battery technology for future hybrid vehicles. The German giant, together with Sanyo will work on a new and extremely efficient electric power storage system based on lithium-ion technology. Emissions-free travel in an all-electric operating mode is already possible today, though only at limited speeds and over short distances. To extend the range, carmakers need...

Spy Shots: 2010 Volkswagen Robust pickup
In its quest to overtake Toyota in the sales race, especially in the lucrative U.S. market, Volkswagen is developing a new pickup truck to expand its line-up. These latest spy shots, depicting the new pickup, shows that VW will be targeting the midsize truck market. This particular variant features a short tray and quad-cab chassis. VW is keen to strengthen its image in the U.S., where sales of pickups are still high compared to the rest of the world. However, VW’s plan may be a little late as rising...

Spy Shots: Partially disguised Volkswagen Golf Plus
While everyone is gearing up for the reveal of the all new sixth-generation Golf hatchback later this year, the new Golf Plus, which will share the same face as the Mark VI Golf, was spotted recently as it conducted several towing capacity tests. The new Golf Plus retains the body of the current model but its front end will be completely restyled to match the new Mark VI. This means that it will feature the same generous proportions of the current model, with a 1,580mm roof and a slightly longer...

Road Test: Volkswagen Passat CC
The Passat CC is Volkswagen's dishy new coupé version of the dull as dishwater saloon. But not every model is a motoring coup I drove a Mercedes-Benz CLS last Monday. It always seemed a ludicrously indulgent car on which to spend a manufacturer's development and marketing budgets, as it is broadly an E-Class saloon with a side view shaped like a banana, less room inside and some more exotic mechanical parts. But buyers love it, because it looks like a concept car. They can drive a little bit of...

Volkswagen wins 2,600 kilometer Central Europe Rally
After previously clinching four stage wins at the new rally run by the Dakar Rally's organisers, the Volkswagen factory pairing of Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn won the last of the seven specials as well, relegating Stéphane Peterhansel Mitsubishi to second place overall by 2.01 minutes. A third-place finish was the overall rally début result claimed by Dieter Depping/Timo Gottschalk in the Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, powered by an innovative TDI diesel. The German duo set the day's second-best time on...

What will Volkswagen build at a new US factory? The Scirocco?
With Volkswagen due to make a decision about the location of its first US factory in more than two decades, the next obvious question is what to build there? We had a chance to pose that very question to Steve Keyes, GM of Public Relations for VW of America. According to Steve, the driving force for the factory is two-fold. First and most obvious is the exchange rate issue. With dollar being worth less almost daily against the Euro, it's increasingly difficult for VW to price cars competitively...

Volkswagen finishes up Jetta BlueTDI development, on sale this summer
The new, fifty-state legal Jetta BlueTDI is finally done and it's coming soon. At the International Vienna Motor Symposium in Austria, Volkswagen announced that it's completed development on what they are calling the BlueTDI system for their US diesels. Like Mercedes BlueTec and BMW BluePerformance, VW is adopting the Blue moniker for their cleanest, most efficient systems. The Jetta BlueTDI will be the first Tier2 Bin5 compliant diesels that doesn't have to use a urea injection system to meet the new...