Car Blog Writers

2022 VW Amarok Pickup: Coming to the US?

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During Volkswagen’s Annual Media Conference, they revealed their second-generation 2022 VW Amarok pickup. This next-generation Amarok will have a Ford Ranger platform and will be manufactured in Ford’s facility located in Europe. Enthusiasts have called it eye-opening and are excited to see what this over the top and rugged truck can do. We were hoping it would come to the United States, but we have some bad news.

This vehicle is not being sold in the US. Let’s take a closer look at the new VW truck we will not receive.

2022 Volkswagen Amarok - current model 

2022 VW Amarok Power & Style

VW and Ford have agreed to start working together in the commercial vehicle department since last summer. Because of this, it will be constructed on the same platform as the next-gen Ford Ranger but will have very different body styles. The most recent version of the Amarok has been manufactured by Volkswagen since the 2011 model year.

While there is speculation, no one is sure about what the powertrain choices will be. Plus, there is no word on if there will be an electric or hybrid option in either vehicle.

If the automaker isn’t exaggerating, we can expect the design from the last version to be bolder. A body that is sculpted, an eye-catching front end and higher ground clearance. This will make the pickup look appealing and different from other models today.

Enthusiasts are wondering how Ford and VW’s relationship will work out. For now, it seems promising. If Ford can keep up with Volkswagen’s luxury opinions, this may work out for the better. Maybe we will even see this model in the future.

Are You Wishing For This New Volkswagen Pickup?

Do you wish the next-gen 2022 Volkswagen Amarok truck was coming to the States? Also, do you think these two carmakers’ partnerships will last? Give us your thoughts in the comments below. Stay tuned for more info on this pickup’s powertrain, pricing and other specs as we learn more.

VW Manual Transmission Listed as a Safety Feature

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There’s no question that fewer people know how to drive a stick shift car these days. In light of this, Volkswagen decided to take advantage of the incompetence with their latest advertising. In VW ads, it’s now recommended that the Jetta GLI’s manual transmission is a safety feature. Still, at the end of the commercial, there is a little warning that the VW manual transmission isn’t enough; you should always lock your car.

Is a VW Manual Transmission a Safety Feature?

If you haven’t seen the ad yet, now is a great time.

The question stands, “Is it safe to leave your manual transmission vehicle unlocked since most people can’t operate the gearbox?” Our answer is absolutely not. If we’ve ever left a car unlocked, it was generally because the car was old, not worth anything or had nothing valuable inside.

Indeed, the GLI doesn’t fall into any of those categories. Even if a thief couldn’t steal your car, we are sure they would find plenty to keep them busy. Some might also attempt to drive it away which could prove to be disastrous to your gears and clutch.

Still, VW asserts they aren’t attempting to get you to leave cars unlocked. VW wants you to know that driving a stick shift puts you into an elite group of people. It makes you different and rare.

The Death of Stick Shift

Fewer cars are offering a stick shift as an option anymore. Even the 2018 Ram 2500 was the last truck to offer it. Because of that, most people will understand this ad, realizing that thieves in this country probably don’t know how to drive a manual gearbox.

What’s funnier is that this ad wouldn’t make much sense outside of the United States. In Europe and several other countries, the manual transmission hasn’t died like it has here.

Still, we can’t help but chuckle at the ad and the “advice.”

2019 Volkswagen Arteon MPG Numbers Don’t Impress

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There’s been a lot of hype regarding the 2019 Volkswagen Arteon. Not only does it have a late arrival for this year’s lineup, but it’s quite stylish. With that said, there’s also been some question about how it will perform. After all, Americans seem to be more interested in SUVs and trucks than fastbacks such as these. While we have had information regarding the style and engine, we haven’t know about the fuel-efficiency until now. Honestly, we aren’t that impressed.

passenger side rear view gold 2019 Volkswagen Arteon
Volkswagen

First Look at 2019 Volkswagen Arteon Fuel Economy

FuelEconomy.gov released the numbers on the VW Arteon. What they found is that the 2019 VW will net 22 miles per gallon in the city, 31 mpg on the highway bringing us to 25 mpg combined. These estimates related to the turbocharged 2.0-liter front-wheel-drive model. If you upgrade to all-wheel drive, those numbers change to 20/27/23 instead.

If this isn’t what you hoped to see, you aren’t alone. Even the 2019 Audi A5 Sportback has better numbers. Yes, this car is slightly smaller, but it features the same shape, same-size engine and comes with standard all-wheel drive. Its numbers are 23 in the city, 34 on the highway and 27 combined.

If you take a look at the 2019 Audi A6 sedan, you find that it comes in at 22/29/25. This sedan is heavier, larger and longer, plus it comes with a more powerful engine. As of right now, VW chose to remain silent about the difference. There’s been no comment about why the Arteon didn’t perform as expected.

2019 VW Lineup

The Arteon is the American flagship passenger vehicle from the company. It sits above the Passat sedan. We don’t know the pricing of it yet but expect to have more information before the release this May. It should start somewhere between $35k and $45k if our estimates are correct.

With the news of the disappointing fuel economy numbers, we can’t help but wonder if VW should focus on their electric lineup. We would much rather talk about the VW Dune Buggy in the works.

Volkswagen’s Last V8 Diesel is the VW Touareg V8 TDI

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At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, we heard a lot about the newest electric and hybrid vehicles. That’s what made it so odd to see the Volkswagen Touareg with a diesel V8 engine. The reason they showcased this particular model was to announce it would be the last V8 diesel from the company.

last V8 diesel
Volkswagen

Diesel Irony

Do we really have to get into why this is an interesting story? VW has long been immersed in the Dieselgate scandal because of emissions cheating. After all of that, they think it’s a great idea to bring their diesel V8 to a car show where everyone is discussing new technology. Strange, to say the least.

If you don’t know about the VW Touareg V8 TDI, it does pump out 419 horsepower plus 664 pound-feet of torque. This diesel V8 crossover came to be after the scandal that forced them to invest billions of dollars in electric lineups. Yet, they showed up at the Motor Show with yet another diesel-powered vehicle.

Of course, we don’t have the VW Touareg V8 TDI in America, and we never will. With that said, it will be the last V8 diesel from the automaker in Europe. The Touareg will also be the last to use the V8.

Last V8 Diesel – Moving to Electric

It’s interesting to see what the future plans are for this huge crossover within the electric lineup. By 2022, VW hopes to have 27 electric vehicles using their new platform worldwide. This program began this year with the ID small hatchback. They also plan to release the ID Crozz, the ID Buzz and more which haven’t been identified yet.

Of course, we report on all the latest electric VW news. We recently told you about VW’s use of Tesla batteries, the VW Dune Buggy and the VW Cargo e-Bike. Stay tuned to Car Blog Writers for more information.

VW’s Internal Combustion Engine Will Be Their Last

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According to Bloomberg, it’s been announced that the next generation of VW’s internal combustion engine is set to be their last. What does this mean for the future production of Volkswagen vehicles?

VW's Internal Combustion Engine
Volkswagen

VW’s Internal Combustion Engine

Michael Jost, the company’s chief strategist, spoke at a conference in Germany last week. He stated that the platform the automaker is creating right now will be the final round of combustion cars.

The plan is to replace all those cars with electric vehicles instead. They hope to reduce the carbon footprint from the company and reverse climate change.

Volkswagen’s Brands

If you didn’t already know, VW is one of the largest automotive companies in the world. That’s because they currently contain 12 brands within their umbrella. Some of the most well known include Audi and Porsche. These automakers have already jumped on the electric vehicle bandwagon. Other brands they own, including Lamborghini, have fallen slightly behind when it comes to technology.

By next year, we should start to see a mass infiltration of electric vehicles. One of the newest electric cars making its first appearance is the Porsche Taycan. In fact, VW plans to spend $50 billion during the next five years to develop self-driving electric cars.

Goodbye to the Gas Engine?

Jost also stated that VW doesn’t plan to abandon all gasoline-driven vehicles, they just aren’t going to manufacture any new engine designs. They will continue to produce internal combustion vehicles with the existing engines they’ve created. In fact, because of the internal combustion engine’s longevity, we figure we’ll still see plenty of gasoline-powered trucks, SUVs and cars well into 2030. On the other hand, the electric car market is set to explode, and there will be plenty more of these vehicles on the road as well.

What are your thoughts on the news from VW? Are you happy to see the automakers moving away from internal combustion engines?

In other news from the company – don’t forget to check out the VW Cargo e-Bike we saw at the LA Auto Show.

Are Volkswagen’s Hail Cannons Killing Crops in Mexico?

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Volkswagen can’t seem to stay away from controversy. Now, they’ve been accused of ruining the crops near one of its Mexican factories by using hail cannons to change the weather.

volkswagen hail cannons
VW

Trouble in Mexico

Local groups in Mexico are irate with the German automobile manufacturer for creating a dry spell with their hail cannons. VW uses the sonic booms to stop the local air from forming hail in an effort to protect their cars parked at the factory.

To alleviate complaints, VW promised to reduce their cannon usage at the Puebla factory despite the lack of evidence that using them leads to less rain. Volkswagen says that their relationship with the locals is more important to them and they wish to maintain a close-knit community.

While they won’t discontinue the usage altogether, they’ve turned off the automatic mode. Now, they only operate them manually, when there’s a threat of hail according to meteorological conditions. The company also plans to install some anti-hail nets over the 150 acres to further protect the cars from harm.

Hail Cannons Doing Harm in Mexico?

VW uses their factory in Puebla, Mexico to build hundreds of thousands of vehicles. There are currently about 15,000 employees on site to produce the Beetle, Jetta, Golf and Tiguan.

Local activists are adamant that the use of hail cannons stopped the rain and caused the crops damage, despite evidence showing otherwise. The owner of the cannon company in New Zealand, Mike Eggers says they’re being incorrectly blamed for the weather issues.

Instead, he says that the technology of his product has nothing to do with rain; just hail. To him, there’s a distinct difference between the two so the cannons couldn’t be stopping the rain. In fact, hail cannons were first produced as a way to protect the crops from hail.

Either way, it’s nice to see VW playing well with others. Now, it will be interesting to see if the rain starts back up now that the hail cannon usage is reduced.

The 2019 Volkswagen Beetle Will Be The Last

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After 2019, it will be much harder to play Punch Buggy. That’s because the 2019 Volkswagen Beetle will be the last year produced. That’s right – this iconic legend is no longer going to be around.

2018 VW Beetle - right side view
Volkswagen

The 2019 Volkswagen Beetle Marks the End

News came that the 2019 Beetle will be the final year of production for this iconic model. In fact, VW even decided to name the cars the Final Edition SE and SEL.

We’ve had the Beetle for seven decades, spanning three generations. The New Beetle debuted in 1998 and quickly became one of the best selling cars in history.

Did you know that the original beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche and Adolf Hitler? In fact, they referred to it as the “People’s Car.” The newer VW Beetle is more of a fun, lively fashion accessory. Since 2011, the company simply called it the Beetle.

Herbie - VW BeetleIt makes sense that VW would halt worldwide production to refocus on crossover and SUV production. In 2017, VW only sold about 15,000 Beetles in America, which was a huge plummet since the 1960s when they were selling over 400,000 units. In fact, it’s most popular year was 1968, right after “Herbie” appeared on the scene.

The Puebla, Mexico plant will roll its final Beetle off the assembly line in July 2019. Most people probably won’t miss the Beetle, but the current-generation did offer some sort of appeal among middle-aged women.

Younger people, on the other hand, don’t seem to have much interest in VW’s Beetle, so it probably won’t be missed.

Other 2019 News

In 2019, we can still look forward to seeing the Volkswagen Jetta, Passat, Golf, Tiguan, Atlas and Golf. Many of those models will also receive an upgrade, which we will be sure to fill you in about later.

We are also actively awaiting any more news regarding the VW concept vehicles: I.D., I.D. VIZZION, I.D. CROZZ and I.D. BUZZ.

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