There you HAVEit: VW Renders Drivers (almost) Obsolete

We’ve seen them in science-fiction films: cars that drive themselves. And, as car enthusiasts, we hoped that this invention will never be realized, or at least not in our lifespan. But is seems like Volkswagen and the EU have other plans.

At the final presentation for the HAVEit (Highly Automated Vehicle for Intelligent Transport) project in the Swedish city of Boras, the German car company presented the “Temporary Auto Pilot”, or TAP, a system that allows the car to semi-automatically drive itself up to speeds of 130 km/h (80 mph) on motorways, with the driver simply monitoring the vehicle.

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Volkswagen Announces Super Efficient 68.9mpg Passat BlueMotion for the UK

Revealed at the Geneva Motor Show this past March, the new generation of Volkswagen’s fuel-efficient Passat BlueMotion is available to order now in the United Kingdom, with first examples scheduled to hit showrooms towards the end of July. The BlueMotion version of the seventh-generation Passat (not to be confused with the US model), itself launched in Europe in January, is offered in both sedan and Estate formats with prices starting at £19,875 and £21,180 respectively. Read more »

KBR Motorsport Tricks Out Volkswagen’s Passat CC

It has been a long time since we last saw a tuning firm getting its hands on the Volkswagen Passat CC, but today we received news on a freshly developed styling and performance package for the mid-size sports saloon by German firm KBR Motorsport. Read more »

Volkswagen Studying Tiguan SUV Production in North America to Lower Costs

Citing inside management sources from Volkswagen, a news report from German weekly business magazine WirtschaftsWoche said the German automaker wants to produce its Tiguan compact SUV in North America in order to reduce costs and protect itself against fluctuation of exchange rates. Officially, Volkswagen declined to comment on the magazine report. Read more »

VW Prices the Passat from $20,675 in the U.S.

Volkswagen has announced pricing for the all-new 2012 Passat, the firm’s midsize sedan design to meet the needs of U.S. consumers. The four-door saloon will have a starting MSRP of $19,995 (€14,110), not including a $770 destination charge that increased the price to $20,675.

Built at Volkswagen’s newly inaugurated Chattanooga plant in the state of Tennessee, the Passat is available with three engine options and eight equipment levels. The starting price corresponds to the 2.5L model, which features a 170HP 2.5-liter petrol engine mated to a manual gearbox. The entry-level Passat comes equipped with automatic dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth connectivity, steering wheel audio controls and VW's no-charge three-year/36,000 mile Carefree Maintenance Program as standard.

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VW Premieres Sharan and Passat Variant Emergency Vehicles at the 2011 RETTmobil

After Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Volkswagen also revealed its dedicated lineup at the annual RETTmobil exhibition, which is dedicated to emergency and rescue vehicles. The Wolfsburg-based manufacturer premiered the Sharan and Passat Variant as emergency vehicles together with new features for its range of specialty cars. Read more »

Volkswagen’s Little Darth Vader Uses the Force on the European Passat

Unless you've been living in some oddball world where the internet doesn't exist - in which case, you wouldn’t be reading this anyway (…), you’ve undoubtedly seen Volkswagen’s much praised Super Bowl commercial starring a pint-sized Darth Vader who uses the Force when he discovers the new, North American-spec 2012 Passat.

Having garnered close to 40 million views on Youtube on VW USA’s channel alone, the German company decided to bring the TV spot to Europe, and specifically to the UK to promote the seventh generation of the Passat that went on sale in the country in January. Not surprisingly, the only thing the advertising agency changed in the ad was the car. The campaign aired on UK television today and will run for six weeks.

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Little Thor: Marvel’s Spoof on VW’s Little Darth Vader Commercial

When everybody starts making parodies of your commercial, you know you have a hit in your hands. Remember Volkswagen’s Little Darth Vader advert with the North American market Passat that aired during this year’s Super Bowl Sunday? After the Toyota Corolla parody, we have yet another spoof on VW’s successful creation, this time from Marvel Studios to promote its upcoming movie, Thor.

The tongue-in-cheek video clip duplicates most of the scenes seen in VW’s original advertisement replacing Little Darth Vader with Little Thor and the Passat with a MG Rover ZT Estate (based on the BMW Group-era Rover 75) – though the interior of the car is from an Audi model. Take a look at both Marvel’s and VW’s original adverts after the jump and tell us what you think in the comments section below.

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VIDEO: What if Toyota Made a Cute Darth Vader Commercial?

Everyone seemed to love Volkswagen's Darth Vader Super Bowl commercial. In fact, some people out there liked it so much that they wanted to see what it would be like had Toyota made the ad. Well now we know (which is half the battle). Needless to say, the Toyota version isn't as heartwarming. It is quite entertaining, though. Check out the clip below for 1:08 of dark-sided hilarity.

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2012 Volkswagen Passat: Live Photos from NAIAS Plus Driving Footage and First TV Ad

One of the most highly anticipated world premieres of the 2011 NAIAS, the new U.S. market 2012 Volkswagen Passat, turned out to be one of the less exciting -at least in terms of design- introductions of the show. The US-built replacement for the European-sourced Passat literally looks like an extra-large Jetta, which drew its own share of criticism for its uninspired and generic looks. For comparison, we've added a few shots of the Jetta after the jump.

While the design may not be engaging, the car's lower sticker prices will certainly attract more buyers as the new Passat will start from around $20,000 or some $7,000 to $8,000 less than the 2011MY it replaces.

However, keep in mind that while the base 2011 Passat was offered with a modern 200HP 2.0 TFSI, the entry-level 2012MY Passat will come with VW's old 2.5-liter five-cylinder unit rated at 170HP.

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Born in the USA: 2012 VW Passat, Previously known as NMS, Revealed Ahead of Detroit Show

Volkswagen has finally lifted the covers of its New Midsize Sedan [NMS], and it's name is... Passat. In other words, the Wolfsburg-based carmaker chose to retain the Passat name for its new mid size sedan model, which has been specifically developed for the North American market and will be built at the firm's new US plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The four-door saloon model will be launched in the States in mid-August with an entry-level price in the US$20,000 range, according to the company. Final prices will be announced in March. "There is hardly any other saloon of this size (exactly 191.7 inches or 4,868 mm long) that offers such high technology and quality at a comparable price," said Volkswagen in a statement.

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2012 Volkswagen NMS Teaser Shows Up on Official Site, Confirms Detroit Debut

It's no secret Volkswagen is developing a new mid-size sedan (hence the NMS codename) to replace the Passat in the North American market, but today the German automaker posted a teaser on its website ahead of the car's world premiere which will take place at next week's Detroit motorshow.

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China Market 2012 Volkswagen NMS Unwrapped?

Chances are you've already seen a set of pictures, supposedly depicting the U.S. market version of the 2012 Volkswagen New Midsized Sedan (NMS), floating around on the web-o-sphere this week. As always, we looked around and tried to find the original or one of the original sources of the photos. Turns out that these pictures originated from a Chinese car site called Autohome. If we are to believe the report, what you see here is the China-market version of the NMS. Even so, we would like to note that we're not entirely convinced of their authenticity as the photographs could very well be fabricated.

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New VW Scirocco BlueMotion returns 62.8 mpg UK

Volkswagen is upping the fuel economy ante in the UK with the presentation of new Scirocco and Passat CC diesel range that benefit from the firm's BlueMotion Technology.

Starting with VW's proposal in the compact coupe segment, all entry-level and GT trim models with the 2.0-litre 140HP diesel engine now feature BlueMotion Technology modifications, which include Stop/Start and battery regeneration systems, thus helping to create the cleanest and most fuel efficient Scirocco to date.

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VW Releases UK Pricing for New Passat Ahead of January Launch

Starting from Tuesday [Oct.19], UK buyers will be able to place their order for the redesigned Volkswagen Passat. Available in sedan and Estate variants, the new car will cost from £18,470 for the entry-level saloon with a 122HP 1.4-liter TSI petrol to £26,955 for the station-wagon with the 170HP 2.0-liter turbo diesel and a DSG transmission.

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2011 VW Passat B7 Facelift: New Gallery with 50+ Photos

We first showed you the redesigned 2011 Volkswagen Passat B7 at its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show earlier this month, but thanks to the German automaker, we now have a plethora of new images that were released as the car goes on sale across Europe.

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