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The people want an empire, apparently, with that unassuming little black VW bug at the head of it. The U.K.’s Guardian explains, "Volkswagen-Porsche has overtaken Toyota to become the world's largest car manufacturer as the German group benefits from state-backed stimulus packages around the globe." VW has "produced 4.4 million vehicles so far this year, outstripping its Japanese rival which has seen four million cars roll off production lines since January." Ironically, VW reached the milestone in part by taking over Porsche – which it was forced to do after Porsche failed in an attempt to take over VW earlier...

Volkswagen Group has displaced Toyota for the first time as the world's largest car manufacturer in terms of production. The German carmaker produced 4.4 million vehicles in the first nine months of the year, overtaking its Japanese rival by 400,000 units, consulting firm IHS Global Insight said on Wednesday. Volkswagen Group owns a variety of models such as Skoda and Seat and high-end lines Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. In July it expanded its stable by acquiring Porsche. HIS Global Insight said Volkswagen was able to beat Toyota thanks to increased sales in China, Germany and the U.K. even amid...

When United Auto Workers (UAW) union chief Ron Gettelfinger announced the end of GM's two-day strike in the early hours of September 26, 2007, it was the beginning of the end for the world's largest car manufacturer. The agreement to end the first US nationwide automotive strike in 31 years, which saw General Motors' then 73,000-strong US workforce walk out, was the final death knell in the company's 101-year history. The strike had occurred not over the future of those employees however, but rather of the fate of GM's 460,000 retired workers whose continuing eligibility for healthcare benefits had placed...

Volkswagen and Porsche announced plans to merge on Wednesday in a move that would relieve the sports carmaker from its debt burden and bring the 3½-year takeover saga surrounding Europe’s largest carmaker to an end. After a meeting of the Porsche family owners and VW and Porsche executives in Salzburg, the family clan agreed to create an “integrated car-manufacturing group” with 10 marques united under one roof. The move would in effect set Porsche aside from the nine existing brands of the VW group and bring the sports carmaker’s hopes of a domination of Europe’s largest carmaker to an end....

Toyota's place as No. 1 in the world faces a challenge. Not from Detroit, but from Wolfsburg. Volkswagen is where the action is. General Motors (GM) and Chrysler are sinking away, Toyota (TM) is losing money, but in Wolfsburg (the lair of the German car company), Volkswagen (VLKAF.PK) is planning to conquer the world (or at least be No. 1) by 2018. Let's look at a few of the recent headlines: In the first quarter this year VW worldwide sales closed the gap on No. 1 automaker Toyota. VW sales of 1.4 million fell 11%, while Toyota's 1.8 million dropped...

The international automotive industry has undergone some massive changes over the past year (to put it lightly). It wasn’t that long ago that General Motors was the number one carmaker in the world, with Ford a not-too-distant second. Of course, the top spot was usurped by Toyota last year, forcing GM and Ford down to second and third respectively. And then there was Volkswagen. Not long ago, the German giant began talking of plans to take the top spot, and it would seem now that its ambitions are not quite so distant anymore. R.L. Polk Germany says that Volkswagen is...

VW Introduces Fifth Generation Polo; Weight Down, Fuel Consumption Down Volkswagen unveiled the fifth generation of the supermini Polo at the Geneva Motor Show. Despite improvements in all aspects of the car, Volkswagen was able to reduce the Polo’s body weight by 7.5%. The introduction of new TDI and TSI engines, as well as the 7-speed dual clutch transmission (DSG), has resulted in reduced fuel consumption and emissions over a wide range of engine power outputs. As an example, the 1.2 TSI turbocharged four-cylinder direct injection gasoline engine produces 77 kW (103 hp), while consuming 5.5 L/100km (43 mpg US),...

FRANKFURT (AFP) — Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, said on Monday its 2008 profit rose 15 percent and it expected to gain market share during the current global automotive sector crisis. A VW statement said 2008 net profit came to 4.75 billion euros (6.0 billion dollars) as sales rose 4.5 percent to a record 113.8 billion euros, with operating profit up 3.0 percent to 6.3 billion euros. The 2008 dividend was increased seven percent to 1.93 euros per share. "We met our target and surpassed our record results for 2007 even though conditions were tougher," chairman Martin Winterkorn said. VW...

Adolf Merckle, one of the world’s richest men, committed suicide yesterday by throwing himself under a train, Bloomberg reports. Financial difficulties, and particularly great losses he suffered on Volkswagen stock, are being cited as the key reason he ended his life: [Merckle's company] VEM was caught in a so-called short squeeze after betting Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen’s stock would fall. Merckle lost at least 500 million euros on the bets on VW stock, people familiar said on Nov. 18. VEM lost “low three-digit million euros” on VW stock, the company said in November. A “short squeeze” sounds inconspicuous enough; you wouldn’t...

Maximum driving fun with minimal fuel consumption: that's how VW has started car year 2009 by presenting the Concept BlueSport roadster at the North American International Auto Show. "The BlueSport proves to be a compact and passionate car with a clear Volkswagen signature. The car offers pure dynamics with a powerful 134kW Clean Diesel engine that is combined with the characteristic Volkswagen philosophy of efficiency," Volkswagen's board chairman Martin Winterkorn confirmed at the Detroit show. The Concept BlueSport is making its appearance at the car show in Detroit with a Flex Silver exterior and orange fabric convertible top. "It is...

German tycoon Adolf Merckle commits suicide 25 mins ago FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German billionaire Adolf Merckle, assailed by financial turmoil and struggling to salvage his business empire, has killed himself, his family said on Tuesday. "The desperate situation of his companies caused by the financial crisis, the uncertainties of the last few weeks and his powerlessness to act, have broken the passionate family entrepreneur and he took his own life," a family statement said. Prosecutors in the southern German town of Ulm, near Merckle's home, said the 74-year-old died when a train struck him late on Monday. There was no...

Lenny Brecher was in a foul mood yesterday as he wheeled his bicycle out of the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg. Germany, the powerhouse of Europe, is in recession and the bad news had just caught up with the 24-year-old welder. “Recession, what does that mean?” he asked, trying to push his way through a knot of colleagues leaving the early shift. “It's just another excuse to get rid of us.” He was grumpy because VW's first reflex in the swirling economic crisis has been to shed 750 workers before Christmas. Thousands more temporary workers like Lenny are expected to be...

Hedge funds fear bankruptcy after Porsche squeeze Helen Power, Tom Bawden and Christine Seib Hedge funds were heading for a full-blown row with the German Government last night as it emerged that funds sitting on tens of billions of euro losses after short-selling Volkswagen could go bankrupt. Porsche, VW's biggest shareholder, stands to pocket a quick €6billion (£4.7billion) profit from the short-selling. The London-based Alternative Investment Management Association (Aima), the hedge fund trade body, said yesterday that it planned to ask the European Union to clamp down on a controversial German legal loophole that allowed Porsche secretly to take its...

VW becomes world's biggest company as short sellers' panic drives shares Volkswagen briefly overtook Exxon as the world's biggest company by market value as panic buying by short sellers to cover positions drove the shares up 93pc. By Roland Gribben Last Updated: 2:16PM GMT 28 Oct 2008 Volkswagen briefly overtook Exxon as the world's biggest company by market value after its shares hit 1,005 euros as short sellers closed positions. Photo: Reuters Europe's largest vehicle manufacturer was valued at €296bn (£236bn), against $359bn (£227bn) for Exxon, after its shares hit €1,005 in early trading in an ongoing reaction to details...

Chattanooga Chosen For $1 Billion Volkswagen Plant Plant At Enterprise South To Have 2,000 Jobs posted July 15, 2008 Volkswagen AG has chosen Chattanooga for its new $1 billion U.S. plant, the European carmaker announced today.

Volkswagen announced this morning that it would build a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. where it will build a vehicle specifically for the North American market. The plant will employ 2,000 workers from the tri-state area and is expected to invest $1 billion in the local economy. The plant is an integral part of Volkswagen's plan for expansion in the N.A. market, with sales expected to crest 800,000 units by 2018. The 1,350-acre site will produce 150,000 vehicles annually – specifically a midsize sedan – in 2011.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The U.S. State of Alabama will be the likely home of a new Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) manufacturing plant, beating two other states, German industry newsletter Automobilwoche said on Saturday, citing senior company sources. A VW spokesman said that a decision on the location of the plant had yet to be taken and that Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan remained in the running. A decision is expected by July 21, the spokesman said. Daimler's (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) Mercedes Car Group has had a manufacturing plant in Alabama for years and ThyssenKrupp (TKAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), an...

Although you can definitely pre-order an Aptera if you're okay with space-aged design, Volkswagen is hoping to provide another option for those looking for ridiculous MPG and a little bit of normalcy in construction. Okay, so maybe the 1-Liter isn't exactly standard fare -- with its plastic / magnesium shell and all-glass roof -- but at least it packs four whole wheels and an iconic VW badge, right? According to Motor Authority, the automaker will be producing said vehicle and pushing it to market as early as 2010, and while the minuscule engine will only take you to 75MPH, it...

Volkswagen AG said Wednesday it has narrowed its list of states competing for a potential U.S. production facility to Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee. The German automaker said it was still evaluating whether to build a new plant in the United States and would make a final decision this summer. "We reviewed many excellent sites and the process to narrow down the locations was not an easy one. We look forward to continuing to work with the states of Alabama, Michigan and Tennessee as the evaluation moves forward," said Stefan Jacoby, Volkswagen Group of America's president and chief executive.

Porsche approved plans to take a majority stake in Volkswagen (VW) yesterday as part of a massive shake-up of the European car industry. Earlier yesterday, Volkswagen, which already owns Audi, Skoda, Seat, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, took over Scania, the Swedish lorry firm. The Porsche supervisory board approved a plan to boost Porsche's 30.9 per cent stake in VW, already Europe's largest car manufacturer, by a further 20percent. “Our aim is to create one of the strongest and most innovative automobile alliances in the world, able to measure up to the increased international competition,” Wendelin Wiedeking, chief executive of Porsche,...

Ferdinand Piëch, the former head of Volkswagen who is known as the patriarch of the German motor industry, denied knowledge yesterday of a company slush fund to pay for prostitutes and mistresses of company workers, in a trial that has called into question the national system of labour relations. Mr Piëch, who is at the heart of Porsche’s current takeover of Volkswagen, said that no one had reported to him the tales of sex and sleaze haunting Europe’s largest car manufacturer. The 70-year-old entrepreneur was testifying at the trial of two senior employees accused of defrauding the German company. The...

Volkswagen of America announced at a press conference today that, indeed, it is moving its corporate headquarters from the Detroit suburbs to Herndon, Va. At this morning’s press conference, VWoA’s new president and CEO, Stefan Jacoby, in that post only since Sept. 1, cited a host of reasons why the company is moving from Detroit to Virginia: closeness to customers; support of the state and business community; and a fresh start for VWoA, which is embarking on a new strategic direction after sales of its once-popular Volkswagen brand models have tanked while U.S. financial losses mount. Jacoby said VWoA is...

BERLIN:The chief executives of German auto giant Volkswagen and US technology group Apple met in California recently to discuss a joint venture, a VW spokesman confirmed Thursday. He declined to say whether the meeting between VW's Martin Winterkorn and Steve Jobs of Apple was about the launch of an iCar, which German business magazine Capital said would follow in the footsteps of hit Apple products such as the iMac computer, iPod MP3 player and the new iPhone handset. "It is not about a specific car yet -- it is too soon for that," the spokesman said. Capital said the new...

A German fund set up to compensate forced laborers during the Holocaust has completed paying victims. The Remembrance, Responsibility and Future Foundation, set up in 2000, paid $5.8 billion to 1.7 million people, mostly non-Jews who were forced to work in concentration camps and participate in sadistic medical experiments, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.. The German government and German corporations that utilized forced labor during World War II contributed equally to the fund, which will see its remaining money go toward reconciliation projects. Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler, Bayer and Deutsche Bank were among the companies that made tax-deducible donations to the...

WOLFSBURG, Germany — The head of the Volkswagen Group's supervisory board, Ferdinand Piëch, used celebrations surrounding his 70th birthday over the weekend to point at the resurrection of plans for a new super-economical small Volkswagen. In an interview with the Braunschweiger Zeitung newspaper, Piëch said the production of a car capable of traveling 100 kilometers on just one liter of fuel (the equivalent of 235 miles per U.S. gallon) is now achievable, citing advances in materials and general reductions in costs. Piëch hinted that newly installed Volkswagen chairman Martin Winterkorn will likely make the car a reality, although he declined...

In Germany, sales of SUVs have risen by more than 45 percent in the past three years. People proselytize for hybrids and fuel efficiency, but they buy fat, gas-guzzling autos. Why do drivers, businessmen and politicians have such a hard time saving gas to protect the environment? Children can sometimes be painfully honest. When they play top trumps, there's only one question that matters: Which car is the most powerful -- which is fastest? "Mine has 255 horsepower." -- "Mine has 278." -- "From zero to 100 kilometers an hour in 7.1 seconds." Later, when the children have become grown-up...

Germany’s Automobilewoche reports that with the change in Volkswagen’s top management is coming a change in strategy for hybrids. Martin Winterkorn, who formerly headed the company’s Audi AG unit, became CEO after Bernd Pischetsrieder resigned at the end of 2006. Pischetsrieder had brought in Wolfgang Bernhard from DaimlerChrysler to run the Volkswagen unit. Berhard has now left (as of today), and Winterkorn will personally oversee the VW brand for the time being. Now, rather than target a mild hybrid Jetta for sale into the California market in 2008 as described by Pischetsrieder, Volkswagen will focus first on a full hybrid...

For all the nonsense about the love affair between Americans and their cars, people seem to spend a whole lot of time and effort to avoid climbing into a car. Super Stop & Shop's Peapod provides home delivery of groceries. That eliminates one's weekly trip to the grocery store. Get the grocery list online, pick the items, and the food appears in the insulated box outside your house. People can go to Match, Jdate, EHarmony and Match.com to start dating without even heading to a bar. What happened to joining the ski club? What happened to taking night classes? Tennis,...

The biggest carmaker in Europe, yesterday announced the surprise resignation of Bernd Pischetsrieder, its chief executive, who will step down on December 31. Representatives of the company’s supervisory board have nominated Martin Winterkorn, chief executive of Audi, the Volkswagen subsidiary, as his replacement. The company gave no reasons for the departure of Herr Pischetsrieder, 58, which came in the middle of complex negotiations between VW and MAN over the proposed combination of the lorry businesses of VW, MAN and Scania. Volkswagen extended Herr Pischetsrieder’s contract until April 2012 only six months ago. The extension came, however, after opposition from the...

If anyone hasn't seen the hilarious new VW commercials, here are all three of them. Admin mods, please move if I posted it in the wrong place. http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/02/22/vw-strikes-again-un-pimp-my-ride-videos/

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California filed suit against Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - News), General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - News), Toyota Motor Corp. (Tokyo:7203.T - News) and three other carmakers on Wednesday, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have cost the state millions of dollars.

It has proved one of the most endearing of cinematic legends - a loveable car with a mind of its own that can drive itself. And for 40 years Herbie - or the 'Love Bug' - as the Volkswagen Beetle was dubbed in its first movie outing - has enthralled millions of families in a series of Hollywood sequels. But now German car giant Volkswagen has turned fiction into reality by unveiling a fully automatic car which really can drive itself - and at speeds of up to 150mph. It can weave with tyres screeching around tricky bends and chicanes,...

Volkswagen says it wants to lengthen its standard working week at plants in western Germany to 35 hours without raising salaries. The move - which would end a 28.8-hour working week in place since 1994 - is designed to improve efficiency. But union leaders oppose the move, which VW sees as key to a comprehensive agreement on pay and conditions. The car firm warned that longer hours might not be sufficient to safeguard future employment. It previously said that 20,000 jobs were at risk unless productivity could be increased. VW needs union approval to see the controversial changes through. The...

SHANGHAI (AP) - SAIC Motor Corp., a partner of both Volkswagen and General Motors in China, is gearing up to begin making its own brand of cars, aiming to begin exports to major markets including Europe by 2007. The company recently invested 3.68 billion yuan (US$460 million; euro377 million) in a new unit, SAIC Motor Manufacturing Co., to handle its own-brand production. It aims for an annual capacity of 600,000 SAIC-brand vehicles, including both cars and commercial vehicles, by 2010, said Zhu Xiangjun, a SAIC spokeswoman. Most of the cars now made by SAIC are produced in its joint...

DETROIT -- For the first time in nine years, all of the top picks in Consumer Reports' annual vehicle guide are made by Japanese automakers. The Honda Civic is the magazine's top small sedan, while the Toyota Highlander Hybrid is the top mid-sized sport utility vehicle, according to results released Wednesday. Vehicles from Nissan Motor Co. and Subaru, a division of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., round out the top picks in 10 categories. Asian brands also fared best in the magazine's survey of vehicle reliability. Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand was first, while Honda was second and the Toyota brand...

DETROIT (AP) - Volkswagen AG said Thursday it will work with DaimlerChrysler AG on a Volkswagen minivan for the North American market that will start production in 2008 and may be built in Canada. VW chairman Wolfgang Bernhard told German-language reporters at the Los Angeles Auto Show that Chrysler will build the minivans either at a plant in Windsor, Ont., or at a plant near St. Louis, Mo. The minivan will be based on the next-generation Dodge and Chrysler minivan platform, but VW will design the interior and exterior. "We're developing a design that will be uniquely Volkswagen's because we...

Peace mom slips from public stage: Cindy Sheehan plans to return to presidents ranch for Thanksgiving SAN FRANCISCO — Peace mom Cindy Sheehan peered out a window 14 floors above the Civic Center on Friday and asked, Want to see my new car? She pointed to a sky-blue Volkswagen Beetle convertible parked near City Hall. She explained she hasnt treated herself to much since her son, Casey, died in Iraq in April 2004, but shed always wanted such a car and recently decided it was time for a change. Sheehans life has changed profoundly since Caseys death — richer in...

OCT. 9 3:56 P.M. ET A driverless Volkswagen won a $2 million race across the rugged Nevada desert Sunday, beating four other robot-guided vehicles that completed a Pentagon-sponsored contest aimed at making warfare safer for humans. The race displayed major technological leaps since last year's inaugural race, when none of the self-driving vehicles crossed the finish line. Stanley the Volkswagen, designed by Stanford University, zipped through the 132-mile Mojave Desert course in six hours and 53 minutes Saturday, using only its computer brain and sensors to navigate rough and twisting desert and mountain trails.

/begin my translation   N. Korea Ordered 300 Volkswagen Cars, Including a Luxury Sedan   by Kim Jong-ho Recently, N. Korea purchased about 300 passenger cars from Volkswagen, including top-class luxury model Phaeton, and mid-size model Passat in Europe. A source from Volkswagen Korea said on (Jan.) 28th, "We heard from an executive from the headquarter who visited here recently that N. Koreans came to Volkswagen headquarter in Germany, and placed orders for 300 Passats, mid-size car, and 5 Phaetons, a top-class luxury sedan." N. Koreans first placed orders for 300 Passats (engine displacement: 1,800~2,000 cc(cubic centimeter)), airlifted one Phaeton with 6-cylinder engine(engine displacement 6,000cc) to Pyongyang, and...

The sex, bribes and corruption scandal at Volkswagen is shaking the company to its core. But in a company whose largest shareholder is the German state of Lower Saxony, a number of politicians also have their fingers in this mess. Now, the affair is casting a shadow over federal elections.

GERMANY’S conservative opposition leader, Angela Merkel, is hoping to exploit a lurid sex and bribery scandal at Volkswagen to boost support for her plans to take on the trade unions if she wins a general election in September.Her Christian Democrat Union (CDU) manifesto, to be unveiled tomorrow, will outline measures to weaken the powers of the unions. The party wants to change the law to allow companies that have secured the support of two-thirds of their workforce to bypass union negotiators and deal directly with their employees. Merkel — known as Germany’s Iron Maiden — argues that the unions, which...

SEX and bribery accusations engulfed Volkswagen yesterday in a scandal that could destroy Gerhard Schröder’s last slim chances of re-election. Germany’s tabloid press has been having a field day with stories alleging that the country’s biggest car manufacturer kept union leaders sweet with expensive holidays, prostitutes and tolerance of corruption. But the latest sleaze allegations were leaked yesterday to the more serious Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: a lap dancer from Lisbon was flown at company expense to the Georges V hotel in Paris to entertain two VW board members. The directors implicated in the scandals are representatives from the workers’ council,...

Germany is the home to an automobile industry that is admired and respected worldwide. Their products range from low to high end, with almost every manufacturer commanding respect in their target demographics. From the success of introducing the world’s first luxury marque at Mercedes-Benz, to pioneering the mix of luxury-sport at BMW AG, almost all German automobiles are revered. Lately, however, there has been one sore thumb in the almost exclusive group. That would be the long-heralded heritage of home-grown Volkswagen AG. Volkswagen, literally “people’s car,” has been producing vehicles in Germany since its original founder, Adolf Hitler, brainstormed their...

Pope's VW breaks eBay records May 02 2005 06:35:09:267PM     VW eyes building 'Pope-mobile'   Old pope sells more than new   Vatican running in the red   Cashing in on pope's image   Berlin - Interest in Pope Benedict XVI's old Volkswagen, currently on offer on eBay Germany, has smashed all records for the Internet auction site with nearly four million hits, the company said on Monday. "It was viewed more often than any other item we have ever had on eBay Germany," the Berlin headquarters said. The bidding for the metallic gray 1999 Golf IV in...

I never thought anything associated with a suicide bombing could make me laugh. If this commercial is real, it is amazingly non-PC. If not, it is a great satire. I found it linked in a post by David Thomson at http://www.rogerlsimon.com/mt-archives/2005/01/for_the_byrds.php

Polo. Small but strong.

VW may open U.S. plant Weak dollar, losses in U.S. operations forcing German automaker to look at possible U.S. plant. December 3, 2004: 12:00 PM EST FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Continued depreciation in the dollar is forcing Europe's largest automaker Volkswagen to consider building VW and Audi brand cars in the United States, the company's sales and marketing head said. "We are thinking about manufacturing those models there that for the most part are also sold in the U.S.," Georg Flandorfer told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview published on Friday, adding that the planned Audi Q7 sports utility...

FIANO ROMANO, Italy, Nov. 5 - It is not a toy, they swear, but a serious piece of police gear, no matter how many Japanese tourists stood at a highway rest stop here snapping away in awe. "It's a responsibility to drive it," said Chief Inspector Laura Ciano of the Italian highway police. Paolo Mazzini, a highway police commander, said: "Italian people are not always friendly toward authorities. They are curious, so they accept the ticket more readily." "It's not for fun," he added. Still, Superintendent Vincenzo Bizzarro wore a satisfied look on his face when he gave a reporter,...

A new study found that if all vehicles were equipped with stability control, an electronic safety technology that the industry has been slow to adopt, some 7,000 lives a year could be saved. Stability control, which has sensors that determine when a driver is about to lose control of the vehicle and try to correct that course, reduced the risk of being in a fatal single-vehicle crash by 56%, according to the study to be released today by the Arlington, Va.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. That group is the research arm of the insurance industry. It is the second...

The $75,000 People's Car Allison Fass, 10.27.03 Bet you didn't know that VW stands for "very Wealthy." Class-piration VW is ramping up its image and prices. For the starting price of a basic Phaeton, car shoppers could buy 75 Beetles at the 1949 price. 2003 Phaeton $60,000 2003 Touareg $34,900 1998 New Beetle $15,200 1990 Passat $14,770 1980 Jetta $7,650 1955 Karmann Ghia $2,000 1949 Beetle $800 As Volkswagen of America was plotting the launch of its Phaeton luxury sedan 18 months ago, 50 or so people in New York and Los Angeles received dinner party invites from good friends....