The plan, however, was put on hold after lawsuits followed in the U.S. and Germany by Porsche shareholders who claimed that the latter had attained a debt of €10 billion (US$13 billion) in acquiring the majority of VW’s common stock.
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The German firm will assemble the T5 models in Indonesia for the local market together with the importer Garuda Mataram Motor.
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In European trim, the £31,000+ Golf R gets a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four with 270-horses and is capable of reaching a top speed of 155mph (250km/h) while completing the 0-62mph sprint in 5.7 seconds.
According to the preliminary police report, the officer was out testing the Golf R along with a fellow officer in an unmarked Audi, when he lost control of the Volkswagen at a roundabout in Wharfside Way, Trafford Park. The crash was so severe that the 40-year old police officer had be cut from the wreck by firefighters.
The man suffered some back injuries and was hospitalized but has now been released.
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In China, while the overall top sellers continue to be commercial microvans, the bestselling passenger model for 2011 was the Buick Excelle with 254,000 units, according to data provided by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
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The 2012 Monte Carlo rally started on January 17 with a ceremony north of Monaco, in the city of Valence. The real action, which consisted of 430 kilometers (267 miles) spread over 18 special stages, begun three days later, on January 20.
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The new addition to VW's New Small Family, which is the internal name for the model series, keeps the same 2.42 m (95.3-in.) long wheelbase and 251-liter boot as the three-door model.
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Earlier this month, the Volkswagen Group announced that it sold a total of 8.16 million vehicles, up 14.3 percent compared to the previous year, which puts the German automaker in second spot - or so we thought.
You see, today, Volkswagen is questioning GM's numbers and of course its crown as the bestselling automotive group in the world. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the German company argues that unlike GM, it's numbers don't include sales of its affiliates such as MAN SE and Scania AB, in which VW has majority-ownership stakes.
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Volkswagen delivered 484,547 units of the Golf in 2011, down 1.6% over the previous year. The German company also took second spot with the Polo that sold 356,490 cars, up 0.5%, while the Ford Fiesta with 348,465 sales (-13.3%), the Opel / Vauxhall Corsa with 313,325 units (-1.7%) and the Renault Clio with 294,172 (-13.1%) complete the Top 5.
We should note that all Top 10 best-sellers came from either German (7 models) or French (3 models) brands.
JATO Dynamics says that outside the top ten, certain models performed much better than their predecessors did including Peugeot’s new 508, which saw its sales rise almost three times achieved by its predecessor, the 407, in 2010, the new Ford C-Max/Grand C-Max, Citroën C4, BMW X3 and Kia Sportage.
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While Volkswagen is keeping its plans firmly under wraps for now, the company did publish a teaser spot that shows a pack of dogs barking in the tune of the Star Wars Imperial March.
The Germans also tell us to "keep an eye out" for the 2012 Super Bowl game day commercial as "it will all make sense". You can peep the...bark side of the force in the video trailer after the break.
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And what more important than the presentation of the next generation of the Volkswagen Golf, which according to a report from German car magazine Auto Motor und Sport, has been confirmed for the Parisian event.
What we know about the seventh iteration of Volkswagen's Golf series is that it will ride on the German group's new "Modularer Querbaukasten" or MQB platform and that it will be slightly longer and wider than the current version.
The app covers the history of both the regular Golf and Golf R models in the States and includes a variety of photos and videos, a brochure with tech specs, a 360-degree view of the car and even an interview with designer Chip Foose on the VW brand and the Golf.
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Those looking for a cheaper way to get their hands on a new Porsche, however, will be disappointed. Porsche CEO Matthias Muller told German news daily Wirtschafts Woche that the company has no plans to introduce a smaller roadster, refuting rumors about a new entry-level model that would slot below the Boxster.
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The CC, which made its world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show last November, will first go on sale in Germany and Luxembourg in the beginning of February, followed by the rest of Europe at the end of the same month, and then globally, including America, Russia and Asia in spring 2012.
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It’s happening all over the world, from Europe to the United States. Even the current administration’s “car czar”, Steve Rattner, said that the government should have pushed the UAW to take wage cuts in order to enhance U.S. automakers’ competiveness.
It seems to make sense: cutting costs is a tried method of increasing a company’s profitability. But what if it’s all a lie created by profit-hungry, greedy mega corporations and perpetrated by the media – which, in some cases, are owned by the same people?
That’s the question posed by Kevin C. Brown on his article in Remapping Debate. The argument he makes is quite compelling: how are German car workers at companies like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW paid twice as much as their counterparts in the U.S., yet manufacture twice as many cars?
Three men were trying to push a three-door Volkswagen Gol, which looks like it's an Alfa Romeo Arna - but we could be completely wrong, so feel free to enlighten us in the comments section below- up on a very steep road, purportedly in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.
We don't know if someone was actually in the car and the brakes failed or if the three men wrongly assumed that they could handle it themselves (probably the latter as in the beginning of the video, the man in the green shirt looks like he's turning the wheel from the outside), but the result is the same as the hatchback escaped and rolled down the road crashing into a parked vehicle.
Roll down the jump to watch the video.
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The good news is that the BlueSport, which even in its concept form looked like it could enter production with only a few minor tweaks, is virtually ready to offer some open-top, rear-wheel drive affordable pleasure to potential buyers. At least that’s what VW’s engineering boss, Uli Hackenberg, told Autocar magazine.
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In 2011 alone, sales of new clean diesel passenger vehicles soared by 27.4 percent over the previous year according to sales information compiled by HybridCars.Com and market research firm Baum and Associates.
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Wider, lower and sportier looking that the regular Beetle, the concept's name blends the words "E" (for electric), "Bug" and "speedster". It's closest relative is the similarly styled Ragster study back from 2005.
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The compact sedan's hybrid powertrain consists of a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine delivering 150-horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque from just 1400 rpm up to 3500 rpm, a 20 kW (27 hp) electric motor and a 1.1 kWh battery that is integrated behind the rear bench.
Fast-forward six years, and the “People’s Car” company (for that’s what Volkswagen literally means in German) is launching a similar concept at the 2012 Detroit Motor Show .
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