Volkswagen

Volkswagen made big news when it announced a revival of the iconic American Scout name, and the automaker promised to build electric vehicles under the brand at a facility in South Carolina beginning in 2026. Automotive News Europe recently reported that to help rebuild the brand, VW plans to outsource production to Magna Steyr, a powerhouse automotive supplier that builds the G-Class for Mercedes and the Ocean for Fisker.

Today's UCOTD is a 2020 Volkswagen GTI that is "tastefully" modified.

Volkswagen needs to cut costs and to get there, the automaker is cutting jobs. Company CEO Thomas Schaefer said that VW’s growing costs and waning productivity have necessitated the cuts, which will take place over the next several years.

Volkswagen’s Cariad software division has been a mess for quite a while, and its dysfunction has caused the delay of some highly anticipated vehicle launches, including the Porsche Macan. VW is restructuring the unit in hopes of righting the ship, but the move will come with significant job cuts.

Several automakers have decided to ‘offroadify’ some of their crossovers – Mazda with the CX-50, Honda with their Trailsport trim, and Subaru’s new Wilderness packages to name a few. Volkswagen is taking a different tack, choosing to offer a raft of accessories instead of installing items on the assembly line.

Today's UCOTD is a nearly two-decade-old hot hatch with some mods. Hit the jump for more on this 2004 Volkswagen Golf R32.

From the time of the first KdF-Wagens until distressingly deep into the 1970s, Volkswagens had air-cooled engines in back and rode on goofy 1930s chassis designs. Finally, the Audi 80-based Dasher showed up here as a 1974 model, but it wasn't until the following model year that the first true water-cooled VW went on sale in North America.

Volkswagen intends to temporarily limit production of the SEAT Cupra Born and its very own ID.3 EV in October. The company has cited market forces as the cause, noting that its Zwickau and Dresden plants in Germany would be throttled down for a couple of weeks.

It is yet again time to showcase the type of car that makes automotive journalists drool -- a manual transmission wagon. In this case, a 2017 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen.

Today's UCOTD is essentially a barn find.

Or in the case of this Volkswagen 412, perhaps a forest find, based on the photos.

The feds are telling Wolfsburg to recall about 47,000 Jetta sedans in this country, all from the 2019 and 2020 model years, thanks to an issue in cars with the old-school ignition switch.

The crew at Volkswagen have slung a few improvements at their all-electric ID.4, including a significant power boost and a jump in range. And, oh yeah, they seem to be listening to some of the carping about its infotainment system.

Rumors of the Volkswagen GTI’s death may be overblown. Though the car is losing its manual transmission option next year, it will make the transition to electrification, and we’re now learning that VW may expand the GTI name to other electric models. 

Pour one out for yet another sporty car being denuded of its manual transmission. According to reps at Volkswagen, 2024 will be the final year of three-pedal production for the Golf GTI and Golf R.

A Tiguan, you say? Surely a 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan, even in R-Line and 4Motion guise, isn't unique enough for the UCOTD feature.

What if I tell you it's "Golf R inspired"?

This Chicago-based 2004 Volkswagen Beetle convertible is a bit different from our usual pickings.

We're going hatchback today with this 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI.

We love to salivate over sports cars around here. But sometimes, an automobile is truly unpretentious and does the basics well without any fluff.

That can be a very good thing – just ask us about the 2023 Volkswagen Jetta.

Electric vehicles are heavy, there’s no way around it, but the debate over the consequences of that heft is far from over. Some believe EVs will destroy our roads, and most safety experts agree that being hit by an EV can yield deadly results. Volkswagen, busy gearing up to release its long-awaited ID. Buzz retro electric van in the United States, is having cold feet over the weight of the Euro version of the vehicle, which can far exceed three tons with people and gear. The automaker is reportedly delaying the van over concerns that its laden weight could exceed the standard European driver’s license limits, requiring potential owners to get a commercial license.

Today's UCOTD is a MK7 generation Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen of indeterminate model year.

Volkswagen stopped selling the standard Golf here a few years back, leaving only the GTI and Golf R to carry the hatchback torch in the United States. Though impressive, the current eighth-generation models are not going to make it through the transition to electrification, but a newfound patent application suggests the cars could be reborn as electric models down the road.

In honor of the 40th Anniversary Volkswagen Jetta GLI, today we have a used one from North Carolina.

Volkswagen has announced they will begin production of a limited 40th Anniversary Edition of the 2024 Jetta GLI, a trim that is promised to be made available exclusively in North America. 

Volkswagen’s head of design is on a mission to normalize EV styling. Speaking with MotorTrend, Andreas Mindt said the company’s current EV offerings are styled to appeal to early adopters, and he acknowledged that the automaker has work to do to regain confidence in its designs.

Part of the presentation that Volkswagen reps gave to assembled media in upstate New York last week centered on how Volkswagen has spent the last decade changing its product mix from one dominated by cars to one dominated by utility vehicles.

I was cruising along a Catskills two-lane in a 2024 Volkswagen Atlas at a leisurely yet quick pace when I caught a flash of brown and white out of the corner of my eye. Conversation with my drive partner ceased and I instinctively got deep into the brakes as Bambi decided that she needed to cross the road right that second, traffic be damned.

Today we're coming at you with a stock 2018 Volkswagen Golf R. Yes, it's a manual.

This modified Volkswagen Beetle TDI has mud tires -- and a lot more when it comes to some off-roading type stuff.

Autoblog reports via Autocar that no one should expect the Volkswagen Beetle (or Scirocco) to ever return.

Diesel! Manual! Truck!

Yes, it's old, but this 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit pickup checks a lot of boxes.

We recently learned that BMW plans to nix the dual-clutch transmission as it transitions to electrification. Now, Volkswagen is changing its gearbox offerings to comply with new Euro 7 emissions regulations. 

The Volkswagen Arteon is dead. Long live the Arteon.

I was out of the office dealing with some routine medical stuff last week (I'm fine) so I mostly followed the unveiling of the Volkswagen Buzz via our TTAC story and social-media posts.

Quick, better run out and buy that Type 2 lover in your life some flowers or, ahem, some other plant life. Today, June 2nd, is International Volkswagen Bus Day, according to the National Day Calendar people. Raise a bong in celebration.

VW chose to celebrate by unveiling the three-row version of their all-electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz today in Huntington Beach, California, surrounded by a beachful of classic Microbus brethren. While the two-row ID. Buzz has been available in other countries, we in America are in need of something a bit more substantial, so a proper three-row minivan is what will be offered here.

Today's UCOTD offers only three pics, and they all include the engine. Here's why: This 2003 Volkswagen GTI 20th Anniversary with 143,000 miles on the clock has a long list of performance upgrades.

The seller asks for 10 grand.

Volkswagen has confirmed the debut of the U.S.-spec ID.Buzz for June 2nd — naming it “the first ever International Volkswagen Bus Day.”

Cake is often served as a dessert at business meetings, but not like this.

Activists crashed Volkswagen's annual meeting in Berlin to throw cake at executives.

Today's UCOTD is an Imola Yellow 2003 Volkswagen GTI 20th Anniversary asking $6,750.

Our run of project vehicles continues. Today we feature a 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit pickup that needs its engine to be put back in.

We've been covering the Volkswagen ID.7 in the lead-up to today's unveiling, and now we have the official deets.

Volkswagen has introduced their new APP550 drive unit that’s assumed to be powering the ID.7 we reported on earlier in the week. Though the Chinese specs seem a little modest. We're thinking the electric motor will be reserved for higher-trimmed EVs and/or Western markets.

Volkswagen has been teasing the upcoming ID.7 electric sedan for a while now, but it’s finally out in the open. The automaker isn’t planning to reveal the car until next week at the Shanghai Auto Show, but un-camouflaged images surfaced on China’s National Intellectual Property Administration website ahead of the announcement. 

Russia’s Gorky Automobile Plant (Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod or GAZ) is suing Volkswagen Group over vehicles it was contracted to assemble but never had the opportunity to after the German automaker pulled out of the market at the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Volkswagen recently recalled the Atlas for a potentially dangerous airbag sensor issue, but the serious-sounding announcements from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration aren’t over. The automaker issued a stop-sale order and a recall for the ID.4 over an issue with the door handles that could cause the door to open unexpectedly.

Every crossover/SUV needs to have a rugged "outdoorsy" edition, it seems. That includes Volkswagen's Atlas. Meet the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Peak Edition.

Volkswagen hasn’t been secretive about its plans to go all-electric, but many held out hope that we’d get at least one more generation of Golf with internal combustion. Company CEO Thomas Schäfer told Automobilwoche that the cars wouldn’t get a new gas powertrain in future generations.

Manual-transmission wagons are usually going to get our attention when it's time to pick a used car of the day.

Today we give you a 2001 Volkswagen Passat GLS wagon with a five-speed stick.

An 11-year-old Volkswagen Golf R owned by a technician? Color us intrigued.

I use a corporate database that shows what's for sale on our forums to highlight each UCOTD, and the pickings were a bit slim today. So this modified 2003 Volkswagen GTI 20th Anniversary car stood out to me.

Especially since the seller wants just $9,000.

Following news that Volkswagen was far more enthusiastic about establishing battery plants in North America than in Europe, we have confirmation on the location of the automaker’s next cell manufacturing facility. It will be located in St. Thomas, Ontario. Despite scattered assumptions that VW’s recent praise of the Biden administration’s EV incentive scheme would signal another factory based in the United States, setting up shop in Ontario should still satisfy regional supply chain needs to manufacture electric cars under the provisions outlined in the USMCA.

Volkswagen is reportedly pausing plans to build a battery plant in Eastern Europe so it can prioritize construction in the United States. Though the situation could be more accurately described as VW notifying EU officials that the U.S. is offering an estimated €10 billion in US incentives as part of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

It’s not the first time something like this has happened. Volkswagen similarly delayed decisions on where to build a battery plant in December of 2022, telling EU leadership that the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia all looked good – but that it wanted to consider its options. This time around, it’s being a little clearer by stating that the U.S. is offering sweeter subsidies and tax incentives than what’s available to Europe.

International Harvester has been defunct for nearly 40 years, but one of its most iconic products continues to draw significant interest today. The Scout was a line of pickup trucks and SUVs that remain desirable today, thanks to growing interest in vintage off-roaders. Volkswagen purchased the rights to the Scout name and hopes to capitalize on that nostalgia with a line of electric vehicles. The automaker recently shared some teaser images and updates on the production of the highly anticipated EVs.

Today we're featuring a car entering its fourth decade of life -- and apparently, it's still in decent shape. Not everyone who is in their 40s can say that.

We’re several months away from the launch of the retro-inspired Volkswagen ID. Buzz, and there’s already talk of delays and extreme demand. Autocar reported that VW has more than 26,000 orders for the van, with wait times that extend to 18 months for European buyers. The situation may be the same when it lands here, but the automaker has some tips on beating the extreme wait.

The Volkswagen CC is one of those cars that always gets forgotten, it seems. Personally, I liked the manual transmission version. And what do we have here? A manual-transmission R-Line trim. For $12,500.

For $7,000 and a little bit of work, you can live out your camping fantasies with this 2002 Volkswagen Eurovan.

Today's QOTD is pretty self-explanatory. What vehicle that debuted here in Chicago caused you to sit up and take notice?

For the 2024 model year, Volkswagen is rolling out a raft of changes for its two largest crossovers. In addition to revised looks, there are a number of material and tech improvements inside its cabin.

Oh yeah – and it packs an entirely new engine.

The ID.4 is Volkswagen’s first mass-market EV in the United States, but it will soon be joined by many others as the automaker shifts to electrification. VW saw strong demand for the ID.4 in its first year on the market in 2021, but now it appears that many of them need a software update to prevent a dangerous potential loss of power while driving.

Another day, another wagon. Today's car-enthusiast catnip comes courtesy of Columbus, Ohio (home to many a TTAC'er) and this 2017 Volkswagen Alltrack has three pedals. Yay!