Archive for the ‘VW’ Category

Based on simple production stats, Volkswagen is now the world's largest automaker. Over the first nine months of 2009, VW produced 4.4 million units, while Toyota cranked out 4 million even. (Ford came in third at 3.7 million.) We're not sure how long VW will remain at the top of the heap, since much of its production and sales have been driven by government-run incentive programs in Europe, and many those programs have now ended. But even if the company's victory is fleeting, VW can technically say that it achieved its goal of becoming the world's largest automaker nearly ten years ahead of its stated 2018 deadline. [AutoCar]

If you're anxious already about the growing influence of China in America, brace yourselves for the next decade of cars.

The Wall Street Journal points out this afternoon how China's role in the development, manufacturing and marketing of cars is deeper and wider than ever. According to the paper, consumer trends now are beginning in the Middle Kingdom and making their way to North America and western Europe, in a reversal of history that shows no sign of abating.

The Journal cites examples from Volkswagen to GM, particularly the deep relationship General Motors has with Chinese consumers and American shoppers under the Buick brand. For a...

Is it 1973 all over again? Volkswagen is amping up for a fuel-economy battle with Honda and Ford, right here in America, with a new hatchback. Only this time, some of the names have changed, and so have the rules. Come 2011 or so, it's the VW Polo readying for a fight with the Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta. The fuel economy sea-changes and financial crises? Those things are reassuringly chillingly familiar.

Now, the Polo you see here--the one we drove in Germany recently--isn't the car you'll see in the U.S. in about two years' time. This Polo's a mid-lifecycle freshening of the current car, with the added spin of a three-door hatchback joining...