Volkswagen seeks to conquer America with new Passat

The sprawling Volkswagen stand at the Detroit auto show is fitting for a company that has declared war on its biggest rivals, insisting it will become the largest carmaker in the world by 2018.

The size of the German group's exhibit at the show belies its embarrassing and costly failure to conquer the most profitable car market in the world - in spite of years of trying hard.

"There was a period when we were very successful," laments Jonathan Browning, chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America as he recalls the days when Americans were wowed by the Beetle and the company's iconic Microbus. Volkswagen Group, which owns a string of brands such as Audi and Bentley in addition to its VW marque, is a tiny player in the vast US market.

Volkswagen aims to quadruple its US sales over the next seven years to a million cars - with 800,000 from the VW marque and the remaining 200,000 from Audi - and by then it hopes to sell one in 15 cars in the US.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Award Winning VW Security

Volkswagen’s latest security system has been honoured at this year’s BusinessCar Techies Awards with the advanced electronic Intelligent Key being named Best Security Device.

A new standard feature on all Volkswagen Touareg 4x4 and Phaeton models, the key maintains a record of whether the car has been locked and alarmed. By simply pressing a button on the key and looking at the red light indicator, an owner can check, even when they are not with the car, the ‘locked’ status of their vehicle. It can also provide vital evidence to insurers and fleet managers as they can confirm by interrogating the car key’s data chip whether the vehicle was secured before any theft or break-ins occurred.

For the full story visit the Volkswagen website here...

source: VW

British Grand Prix 2009

RIVAL are delighted to have been guests of the Red Bull Racing team and Volkswagen Group UK for the F1 practice sessions at Silverstone over the weekend.

The venue still holds the loyalty and admiration of the British F1 fans and it may yet be back there next year.

Christian Horner and chief technical officer Adrian Newey praised the commitment of everyone at Red Bull after they claimed a one-two at Silverstone.

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