volkswagen

American Suzuki's product plans are murky--partly as a result of Volkswagen's acquisition of 20 percent of Suzuki Motor this year and partly because of the growing strength of the yen against the dollar.

The Swift, a small car popular in Europe and Japan, was scheduled to go on sale in the United States this year. But its release has been delayed until next year.

Engineering for the U.S. market was completed, and Suzuki was setting the price. But Suzuki's worldwide product plans are under review following the VW deal, said Steve Younan, vice president of product … Read more

For 2011, the VW Jetta gets a major update, at least in two out of three areas. The car looks completely new, but also inconspicuous. Call it a modern, subtle style. The cabin tech is good and a huge improvement over VW's previous efforts, but the navigation system is short on features. The power train and suspension is less an update than a downgrade; it retains the previous five-cylinder engine, and turns in its rear discs for drum brakes. We like the easy feel of the shifter, but only five gears?

Read the full review of the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta. … Read more

Volkswagen made its reputation in the U.S. by offering inexpensive and economical cars of high quality. But that reputation faltered with the its changing product lineup over the years. Now, Volkswagen wants to reclaim the qualities that the original Beetle and micro bus won it, along with lost market share.

To this end, Volkswagen updates its current best seller, the Jetta. The 2011 model received an update to body, interior, and cabin tech. Added to its current 2.5-liter five-cylinder gas engine and turbocharger 2-liter four-cylinder diesel is a new 2-liter four-cylinder gas engine for the base model. A hybrid model comes out in 2012.

Most importantly for Volkswagen's quest to regain the hearts of Americans, the base model comes in at a low sticker price of $15,995. … Read more

For this week's concept car Friday, we're taking a step back from the supercars and luxury sports sedans that we normally feature and take a look at the People's Car of the future. It's no secret that Volkswagen's New Beetle is at the end of its life cycle and that a major redesign is just around the corner. But what will this Newer Beetle look like? We hope not nearly as bland as the new Jetta, but VW isn't talking.

Meanwhile in Brazil, where the classic VW Beetle (or VW Fusca, as it is … Read more

Volkswagen of America today unveiled its new 2011 Jetta that offers best-in-class rear legroom, a premium interior, and Volkswagen essentials.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era for Volkswagen and for Jetta," said Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. "The all-new 2011 Jetta is a class-up driving experience with the kind of styling, design and power under the hood normally found in more expensive luxury cars. At an extremely attractive price, this car is sophisticated, fun to drive and practical."

You have four engines to choose from when buying the new Jetta, including … Read more

For hump day this week, I figured we should stay on the subject of hybrid cars. Today, we're going jump across the big pond to Germany where those crafty engineers at Volkswagen have converted one of their SUV models into a hybrid. So I present this video that takes a look at the 2011 VW Touareg hybrid.

The roads of Florence, Italy, provide a gorgeous backdrop for the 2011 VW Touareg hybrid as it makes its way around city streets and the scenic countryside. As for the Touareg itself, Volkswagen has claimed to have made significant changes for the … Read more

Last year we got a sneak peek at Volkswagen's next-gen infotainment system. Now, the company is soliciting the general public with a contest for applications to run on the new system.

The contest starts May 3 through the Web site App my Ride. And no, we don't like that name, either.

Volkswagen is looking for ideas for apps that would be useful to the driver or occupants of a car. The contest entry can be a good idea, a graphic for an app, or a full program. Here are Volkswagen's requirements:

As we've seen a little bit of this week, old school Volkswagen Rabbit owners can get creative in terms of maintaining their bunny cars. In today's video we observe a Rabbit owner who describes how he runs his bunny on vegetable oil. Really? Let's see...

The narrator walks us through the two-tank setup running in waste vegetable oil along with the diesel fuel that this VW Rabbit is designed to take. The narrator does an excellent job in describing step by step how the process works and all the car parts involved in making this process happen. … Read more

So far this week we've featured a few of the ways that Volkswagen Rabbit fanatics have upgraded this cult automobile. But let's suppose that you don't have the time, money or know-how to enhance your Rabbit...thankfully VW has already done (some of the) work for you in the form of the VW Rabbit Thunder Bunny. But you're probably not going to be able to locate a Thunder Bunny on your local VW sales floor, as unfortunately Volkswagen dropped the Rabbit name once again in favor of the Golf for the most recent model year.

While … Read more