Volkswagen Talk

Volkswagen joins other car manufacturers in Europe in growing their range of natural gas and autogas powered vehicles. The car manufacturer introduces the Passat TSI EcoFuel and the Golf BiFuel.

The Passat TSI Ecofuel that first took center stage in the 2008 Geneva Car Show is powered by a 148 horsepower engine that runs on gasoline or natural gas. The car is designed to be monovalent and the car manufacturer does not have any plans to include an option of manual switchover from natural gas to gasoline. The gasoline tank is just there to serve as a fuel reserve.

The fuel consumption for the Passat TSI Ecofuel is an impressive 100 kilometers for every 4.38 kilograms of autogas. Carbon dioxide emissions are measured at 119 g/km making the car Euro-5 compliant.

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Following the trend of clamor for city cars in Europe, Volkswagen is charges its work on the production version of the Up Concept line set to compete with the Smart ForTwo of Japanese car maker Toyota.

The production of the Up strengthens the market presence of VW on the small car race together with the planned release of the new version of Polo early 2009.

The car manufacturer utilizes the platform of the New Small Family template for front engine small vehicles. This idea also saves the companies hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Chico brand of VW, used in the early 1990’s for their small concept car, may be revived for the new release. The new city car will have a lower roof line contrasted to the tall architecture of the Up.

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There are many people who look at awe at the Volkswagen Golf GT1 but ask them about the history of the car and they are dumbfounded. Most of them know about the Volkswagen organization and know about the quality of the cars they produce, but few of them have any idea about the individual models. They will be surprised to know that the Volkswagen Golf GT1 has been around for a long period of time, more than 3 decades to be specific. Manufactured by Volkswagen, this particular model is also known as the Rabbit or the Caribe. The Volkswagen Beetle preceded this famous model from Volkswagen.

Originally this car was designed as a small family subcompact car when production started in 1974 and this was the trend till 1984. From 1985 onwards the design of this was changed and it was made into a compact car. Even now one can find people purchasing this beauty that is famous for popularizing the use of hatchbacks in C segment cars. This is how the Golf class car of Volkswagen was started. Earlier versions of this car were famous for their swallowtail rear side and many people still seek those cars. The diesel version of the Golf GT1 was introduced in late 1976. A notchback version of this series was released in the fourth quarter of 1979 and was called Jetta. In January 1980 the Cabriolet was released along with the VW Caddy, a golf-based pickup.

A long time has passed since the Volkswagen Beetle was released way back in 1938 by the German carmaker Volkswagen. Though the car is referred to fondly as the Bug & Beetle, the public gave these names to the car; its original name was Volkswagen Type 1. It was sometimes in late 1967 the manufacturer of this car too started referring it as Beetle too. Till 1967, this car was marketed in Europe as Type 1, or 1500, 1200 and 1300. For the curious minded, these numbers referred to the vehicle’s engine size in cubic centimeters. There are many people who love this classis car and it is not tough to see why. There are some innovations that this vintage car had when it was initially released.

Later on, in the year 1967, the Beetle underwent some minor changes. Though the size of the car did not become bigger, quite a few of the components and mechanical systems of the car did and these included a bigger engine. Prior to the changes the output of the electrical generator was a paltry 180 watts. This was changed with the changeover and had been increased to output 360 watts. The older generator had also been enhanced from the original six volts one to twelve volts. There were changes in the flywheel, the braking system and the rear axles. The clutch disk too was made bigger. Regardless of the changes made, all car lovers remember this classic.

As the owner of a Volkswagen car you have every right to be a proud owner, but have you completed all the official formalities? Most people do not insure their cars well enough because of the high premium charges. They never bother to think of the money they will have to shell out if their cars get damaged due to an accident. You might be a good driver and there is no doubt that the Volkswagen is a good car, but what if your car is bumped from the rear? Car insurance is a must!

Not only the damage to your car, but you need to consider the injuries caused to the occupants of the car at the time of injury. Medical charges are quite steep nowadays and it might put a huge dent in your wallet.

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The Volkswagen Passat CC is a coupé of the already extremely sporty new Passat. I’m liking the look and I’m liking the ad as well. It feels a little inspired by BMW…

Where the leopard comes from, I don’t know…

The Bluemotion series are extremely strong when it comes to fuel economy, and in the light of the recent shifts towards alternative car fuels and caring for the environment, that’s not only an important thing for the liberals, but also an excellent sales pitch for any multinational corporation…

The 1.6 liter diesel engine in the 2009 Bluemotion Golf (turbo diesel!) with just over 100bhp will perform well in city-area’s and the highway, and will average diesel usage of under 4.5 liter per 100 km.

Expected in January 2009.

Photos thanks to Wheeltronix.