Volkswagen

VW, Darth Vader and determined St. Bernard star in Super Bowl commercial

Even when Darth Vader, the usual go-to Volkswagen star for the carmaker’s Super Bowl commercials isn’t in his usual fictional villain prominence, he’s around. In one of VW’s spots for Super Bowl 46, it’s an overweight family pet dog that gets top billing. The dog undertakes a human healh fitness routine — treadmill, swimming, a better diet — to lose weight. When the dog is fit, he can fit through his owner’s doggy door, and he can match the speed of new VW Beetle cruising down the street. The dog’s name in Bolt. Darth Vader shows up in a bar at the end of the commercial to cause pain to a couple intergalactic patrons with strong opinions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-9EYFJ4Clo James RaiaA

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Super Bowl commercials: Jerry Seinfeld, Darth Vader, singing dogs all selling cars

Bolstered by Volkswagen's clever presence of a young child dressed in a Darth Vader outfit, automakers made a big comeback last year in Super Bowl advertising. And carmakers will combine in this year's extravaganza as the largest-spending industry. Volkswagen will return different Darth Vadar and Star Wars' takes this year. Acura, Audi, Chrysler, Kia, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus and Toyota, among other auto-related companies, will also advertise and will be among the sold out 70 commercial spots in the Feb. 5 game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. Commercial positions for this year's Super Bowl were already taken by late last November, with one slot reportedly selling for $4 million. Ad sales during the Super Bowl, according

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Volkswagen goes to the dogs in Stars Wars homage Super Bowl commerical

Volkswagen may have outdone itself. As if fathers and sons and Darth Vader and Star Wars weren’t the perfect combination for one of the most popular Super Bowl commercials in history, how about dogs playing Star Wars characters and barking the famous movie’s ominous theme song? Last year, the “Mini Darth Vader” commercial was the outright favorite in the Super Bowl. It’s generated more than 40 million page views on VW’s YouTube channel. This year, VW has produced a video for a video of its television commercial “The Bark Side.” It will be broadcast in the third quarter of the Super Bowl on Feb 5. The carmaker has replaced the child dressed like Darth Vader with several dogs in custom

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Hyundai, Kia, VW, GM all back in sold out Super Bowl commercial spotlight

The most coveted and most expensive advertising platform, the Super Bowl, is sold out. And for the auto industry that means welcome back Volkswagen, GM, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia — among other auto-related sponsors. According to a report in USA Today, all 30-second slots, which cost a record $3.5 million each, were purchased by the end of last November. Seth Winter, senior vice president of sales and marketing at NBC’s sports group, told the newspaper, “We have shattered any recent revenue stories in regards to the Super Bowl.” Last year, Volkswagen had two of the most popular Super Bowl commercials, including the Darth Vader spot in which a boy in the super villain’s attire believes he can start his parents’

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Toyota Prius v, Mitsubishi i among five best 2012 'green' cars

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric, 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, 2012 Mitsubishi i, 2012 Toyota Prius v and 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI are the finalists for The Green Car of the Year award presented by the Green Car Journal yearly at the Los Angeles Auto Show. For the seventh consecutive year, the Green Car of the Year will honor environmental leadership in the automotive field, with the winner being announced during a press conference Nov. 17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. These five finalists are also honored as Green Car Journal’s Top 5 Green Cars for 2012 for rising to the top of a field replete with increasingly more environmentally conscious and exciting models. What is notable about this

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Volkswagen Beetle, 2012: High fives and hand claps

Volkswagen isn't the first manufacturer to make clever television commercials. But the new spot for the 2012 Beetle is among the best. It's simultaneously hip and ideally deals a recent prevailing trend that Beetle are only purchased by women. The video features a male driver driving in various situations around town. No matter where he drives, people want to "high five" or do "knuckles." The commercial is shot to the ""The Clapping Song." It was originally recorded by Shirley Ellis in 1965, shortly after she hit it big with a similar song, "The Name Game". The Clapping Song song made it to the top ten on the charts. Here a synopsis of the lyrics: "Three, six, nine The goose drank

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Volkswagen set to debut electric Nils at Frankfurt Show

The Volkswagen Nils, an all-electric, single-seat urban concept car not much bigger than a larger motorcycle, will make its debut in October at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. Less than 10 feet in length, four-and-a-half feet wide and shorter than a Porsche 911, the Volkswagen Nils has 17-inch alloy wheels positioned outside of the main body. Volkswagen claim the Nils has a range of about 40 miles and a top speed of 80 mph. The Nils weighs about 1,014 pounds has laser-controlled cruise control, hazard avoidance systems and a full safety cell. More details on the new futuristic-looking Volkswagen are available on the website, www.greencarreports.com. To receive The Weekly Driver newsletter via email, visit: Free Newsletter James RaiaA sports, travel

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Volkswagen Beetle, 2012 car review

Volkswagen has been selling its iconic Beetle model seemingly forever, but the 2012 version tops them all. The new third-generation Beetle won’t be mistaken for any other car because it retains the familiar shape of all Beetles ever built. But it’s larger and sleeker — or “longer, lower and wider” as Detroit’s automakers used to say. The new model also is more powerful and faster than the last model, which caused quite a stir when it arrived in 1998 as the second-generation “New Beetle.” The original, first-generation Beetle arrived in America around 1950 and underwent numerous small changes over the years. It was the country’s most popular foreign car during the 1950s and 1960s despite its basic 1930s design. It

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Ford, Volkswagen cooperating with feds on safety concerns

Ford and Volkswagen are cooperating with safety regulators conducting preliminary investigations into issues with two of the manufacturers’ most popular vehicles, the Mustang and Jetta. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is examining the Ford Mustang for possible manual transmissions for possible shifting problems and diesel Volkswagen Jetta sedans for possible fuel leaks. Spokesmen for both automakers said they were not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the issues. A preliminary investigation is the first step in a process that could lead to a recall if regulators determine a manufacturer needs to address a safety issue. The NHTSA reported it opened a preliminary investigation into an estimated 26,000 Ford Mustangs from model years 2011-2012 over potential problems with

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Volkswagen announces models, pricing for 2012 Beetle

Twelve years after it re-introduced the Beetle, Volkswagen has announced pricing for the third-generation of its classic “people’s car.” The new 2012 “21st Century” Beetle will start $18,995, offering a more muscular design that honors the Beetle’s past with revisions that offer a stronger, more powerful coupe. Unlike the other options in its segment, few vehicles offer consumers the heritage and character of the Volkswagen Beetle. “Cross shoppers might consider the Mini Cooper or Fiat 500,” said Jesse Toprak, VP of Industry Trends and Insights at TrueCar.com, but “most consumers looking to purchase the Beetle are already determined to buy it.” Traditionally, the Volkswagen Beetle has appealed to a primarily female audience.  The Volkswagen New Beetle was in 20101 the

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It's a small, cool world: Tata to Toyota, Rolls-Royce to Ford

Rolls-Royce gets it. Tata Motors and Ford get it. And so does Toyota and Volkswagen. Small cars are cool cars. That was one of the themes at the recent New York International Auto Show and the Geneva Motor Show. And the trend certainly didn’t go unnoticed by John Filiss of SeriousWheels.com. Filiss, in conjunction with CNBC.com has compiled a list of 10 cool small cars, some available now, some still in concept stages. Tata Motors, most well-known for its uber-cheap Nano, will in two years introduce the Tata Pixel, which looks surprisingly looks like a rabbit, not a Volkswagen by the same name, but the real creature. Here’s what Filiss said about the Tata Pixel: “This car concept capable of

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BMW 335d gets diesel car of the year honors over VW duo

BMW dominated voting over two Volkswagen models and its 335d was named 2011 Diesel Car of the Year by a global vote of readers of The Diesel Driver magazine and as announced at the New York International Auto Show. The BMW 335d received 29.6 percent of 3,669 votes cast by readers from 43 countries. Eighty-three percent of the voters were from the United States. The Volkswagen Golf TDI finished second (16.1 percent) with the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI (16 percent) third. Each year, the Diesel Driver’s readers select the Diesel Car of the Year and recognize the top three diesel automobiles offered in the U.S. For the 2011, votes wer cast among 12 passenger vehicles and sport utility vehicles and

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Volkswagen Beetle is back with big, bad 2012 model

Sixty-three years after its iconic legacy began, the Volkswagen Beetle is back. The 2012 edition, the third generation of one of the best-selling cars in history, is debuting simultaneously this week in media days at the New York Auto Show, Shanghai Auto Show and Berlin Auto Show. Launched in the U.S. in 1949, the car has had two distinct tenures. It in first 30 years, more than five million were sold in the United Sates until it was discontinued in 1979. The second generation Beetle sold just under 500,000 units in the U.S. from 1998-2010, increasing to what Volkswagen reports is more than 22.5 million Beetles made globally. According to Volkswagen, the third generation Beetle is “substantially wider, the front

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Chicago Auto Show, 2011: Volkswagen debuts 2012 Jetta

Volkswagen is debuting the 2012 Jetta GLI this week at the Chicago Auto Show, and the big news is the 2.0-liter turbo that pumps out 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque, is available with a six-speed manual transmission or VW’s DSG automatic. Roman Mica, contributing editor of www.theweekly and publisher of www.tflcar.com, reports VW states the VW GLI will be available in three trim levels and that Jetta GLI has a starting MSRP of $23,495. The GLI Autobahn, with an MSRP of $25,545, adds 18″ alloy wheels, sunroof, dual zone climate control, heated V-Tex Leatherette seats and the Fender Premium Audio System. The top of the line Jetta GLI Autobahn with Navigation adds the RNS-315 navigation system and keyless

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