Remember that old game, PunchBuggy? Sometimes called SlugBug?
You know, that game that annoyed your mother so deeply when you played with friends or siblings in the back seat because it required you to punch each other with frantic glee every time you identified a Volkswagen?
Well, Volkswagen apparently knows it’s part of a game that celebrates casual brutality on the part of children, because it’s just released this commercial, called “PunchDub.” The end will feature the greatest surprise of all as Tracy Morgan gets into the act. We mentioned it briefly a few days ago in a rundown of Super Bowl ads–but here’s the whole thing.
This is hilarious stuff, really, and a great advertisement for Volkswagen. Nothing like seizing on a little piece of everyone’s childhood and running amok with it. We’ve got the video below, and I can assure you that it’s as big a hoot as you remember, and then some, especially by the time you get to the end. There are lots of little surprises here, so keep your eyes front.
So today we’re going to spend about four and a half minutes with a 2010 VolkswagenScirocco R thanks to the magic and wonder that is YouTube.
One thing you’ll notice immediately, as you watch this car go speeding over a test track, is that this is a terribly small car. But it seems to do a pretty nice job of nimbly handling corners.
Further, when you get a look at it in a field of similar cars on a race track, which is the second part of the video, you’ll see it performing ably in both straight and curved environs.
It’s an unconventional looking little vehicle, too, but this is a point that might actually work in its favor in light of a series of vehicles that have looked entirely too much the same for entirely too long. Can the Volkswagen Scirocco R keep up with a changing and steadily more demanding marketplace? Or will it throw a rod in the crucial lap? Tell us what you think and enjoy the video!
A number of concept cars and prototypes were shown off at the 2010 North American International Auto Show, providing consumers a sneak peak on what the world of motoring has in store for them. Notable automakers were on hand to show off their concept vehicles such as the MINI which showed off its Beachcomber concept, Hyundai with its first hybrid and GMC with the Granite.
Mercedes, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen also showed off their design and engineering chops at the show. To see what went on over there, check out the video below.
It’s been called the 2010 Automobile of the Year, and we’ve got a video right here of the crew out at Edmonds. com taking one of these beauties for a ride around the test track. Will the Volkswagen GTI live up to its name? Or will it crash and burn? Metaphorically, anyway…or maybe even literally…?
Cheap drama aside, folks, the word out on the Volkswagen GTI is that it definitely deserves its ranking as 2010 Automobile of the Year by virtue of a relentless pursuit of improvement. The 2010 GTI isn’t a radical overhaul, it’s said, but rather is the result of countless smaller improvements. Countless smaller improvements, you understand, that add up to a whole much greater than the sum of its parts.
Though it is a little disappointing to look at the 2010 GTI and know that the hot-hatchback era is pretty much deader than disco, it’s worth it to know that a process of continuous improvement drives the tech behind the Volkswagen GTI.
Enjoy the video below, and see just what can happen when you set out to constantly make yourself better.
Automobile Magazine has named the Volkswagen GTI as the 2010 Automobile of the Year which marks the first time that a single make and model has won the award twice (the last of which was in 2008 when the Mark 5 edition copped it). A lot has to do with its athleticism and flexibility of the Volkswagen GTI made possible thanks to its crisp steering, chassis and firm but well-damped drive. No wonder it still stands out even when pitted with luxury cars such as the Porsche Panamera S and the Jaguar XFR. So if you had a choice for cost-efficient cars that can practically provide the same comfort of high end ones, the Volkswagen GTI is the car to look at.
Sometimes I really love car technology. Sure, it’s given us its share of preposterous car gadgets but one shining day it will give us the car that drives itself. And that will be a happy day for me.
Until that day comes, however, you’ll be happy to know that they HAVE managed to create the automated navigator in the form of AIDA.
The Affective Intelligent Agent Driving–AIDA–will tell you the best route to your destination by keeping track of traffic reports. But not only will it tell you how to get where you want to go, it will also tell you when you should get gas, and even suggest places you may want to go that you didn’t know about based on your earlier visits.
Moreover, this joint project of MIT and Volkswagen is slated to include a “display” to communicate with the driver, allowing it to “smile when the driver seems angry”.
A pretty clever idea, though release dates and pricing are still wildly up in the air. If you were considering buying a GPS, you may want to hold off and keep track of AIDA instead.
We’ve all heard of biodiesel and we’ve all heard of hybrid vehicles but how about a hybrid biodiesel burning 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle? No? Me neither. Neither did students at the University of Kansas until they built one, that is.
What you see above is their creation which gets close to 50mpg running on both biodiesel and 10 lead acid batteries.Professor Chris Depcik, leader of the team, comments on the project:
“We have driven it around and reached approximately 30 mph, but this was more of a proof of concept drive without pushing the boundaries. We are currently getting the vehicle into road-ready shape to be driven safely in order to determine these values.”
If Opel’s really planning to take market share away from Volkswagen, then they’d better pack a lunch because it’ll be a LONG day. Volkswagen has plans on the board to introduce TWO new models, the former chief executive of Volkswagen said while at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
This is already significant enough news in the face of a badly contracted economy–introducing new models is a cash-intensive process that requires loads of money and plenty of time and advertising, as well as focus groups, design and redesign and all like that.
But the new designs themselves may be the newest part, as they’re going to come out of the upcoming acquisition of Porsche.
Now that’s got my motor running–what if we get a car that looks like a Porsche with the gas mileage of a Volkswagen? That’d be a dream car right there, and one everybody else would be scrambling to imitate.
Volkswagen has been presenting different versions of their L1 concept since 7 years ago, and this time they’ve got another round by calling it the “world’s most fuel-efficient automobile”. Maybe it is a claim too big to be true, or not…
Anyway, the L1 name comes from the fact that the car only spends 1.38l of diesel per 100Km which is pretty good. One of the reasons for the low consumption is probably related to the total weight – 380kg – of carbon fiber. In terms of CO2 emissions, the L1 only puts out 36 grams per Km which is also awesome.
Other details: it uses a 10kW electric motor powerplant, a 0.8-liter TDI, the top speed is 100 mph and there are 2 driving modes: eco or sport.
Is it just me, or does the upcoming word out of the Frankfurt Auto Show look like a bad soap opera? Seriously–this is nuts. One of the biggest such tidbits is how Opel is revamping the Astra line to pit it against Volkswagen.
No, seriously–considering that Opel is in the tank anyway because of its GM connections, and the further fact that it’s surviving on a massive loan from the German government, it’s probably not a good idea for it to go after the iconic German automobile that is Volkswagen.
It’s especially worse given the rest of the hurdles that Opel will be operating under. They can only sell their cars in certain countries, their connection to GM is hampering their local operations, there’s that whole “surviving on a giant loan” thing, the boost from the European version of cash for clunkers is SHOT…frankly, this is just bad for Opel all the way around.
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Is it just me, or does the upcoming word out of the Frankfurt Auto Show look like a bad soap opera? Seriously–this is nuts. One of the biggest such tidbits is how