New Volkswagen Polo R-Line and Passat Exclusive Edition

European customers now have new choices when it comes to Volkswagen's Polo supermini and the Passat as the German brand is expanding its customization program for the two aforementioned models.

For the Polo, Volkswagen has introduced two R-Line styling packages. The first is the R-Line Exterior package that is available as an option for the Polo Comfortline (€1,450) and the Polo Highline (€1,010).

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Two New Volkswagen Production Models to Debut at the LA Auto Show

Next up on our international motorshow calendar is the Los Angeles Auto Show that will be open to the public from November 18 to 27. The event organizers say that at least 17 world premieres have already been confirmed, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.

Among the new cars to debut in LA will be two Volkswagen models. According to a report from Kicking Tires, Volkswagen made the announcement on Wednesday but didn't name the new vehicles simply stating that both will be production cars.

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New Raunchy Volkswagen Passat Ad shows us the "Naked Truth"

Volkswagen is trying its best to associate the new U.S. built 2012 Passat with both the big (cinema) and small (television) screen.

Following up on its mini Darth Vader parody, das Germans have now joined forces with FX and its sitcom, "The League", for a sketch-like ad called "Win At All Costs: Naked Truth".

The spot, which is more than two minutes long, shows Stephen Rannazzisi as Kevin and Katie Aselton as Jenny playing out a humorous sketch about winning and losing bets. Hit the jump to check it out.

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VW Delivers its First N.A. 2012 Passat to Local Chattanooga Woman

Last Monday, Tennessee Arts Commission Chairwoman Ellen Hays received her new car. So what’s the big deal, we hear some of you ask? Thousands of people do the exact same thing every day.

What makes Ms. Hays case special is the fact that, although she wasn’t the first in the country (this distinction belongs to a man in San Jose, California), she was the first local to receive a new Passat built at VW’s newly constructed US Chattanooga plant.

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Volkswagen Zubehör: Business Class (and Accessories) for All

In an attempt to sell more Zubehör (accessories) to its international customer base, Volkswagen’s German arm created a web campaign based around the concept of “Business class for all”.

The TV ad, which you can watch in full below, features a woman dressed in 1960s air hostess stewardess flight attendant attire and a host of accessories now available for the 2012 Volkswagen Passat.

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Frankfurt Rumors Fuel Design of 2012 Volkswagen CrossPassat

Recent rumors have suggested that Volkswagen may introduce a high-riding, faux-crossover Variant of its latest generation of the European market Passat, as early as at the forthcoming 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

And while we can’t confirm the rumormill, what we can do is show you a very well executed rendering of the VW Cross Passat made by a talented reader of Autoblog.nl.

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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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Nielsen: Chevy's Miss Evelyn the Most Watched Ad Ever, but VW's Little Darth Varder was the Super Bowl Favorite

The numbers are in for last week's Super Bowl event and they show that the winner is General Motors with its Chevrolet’s spot, “Miss Evelyn’s Wild Ride”. According to Nielsen, an estimated 119,628,000 viewers watched two guys describing a woman’s wild ride in a silver Chevrolet Camaro making it the most-watched commercial ever. The previous record holder was a Doritos ad from 2010 with 116,231,920 viewers. GM's winning streak continued with the Chevy Cruze ad that came in second with 119.3 million views.

However, despite the record viewing number, Chevy's lovely ladies couldn't beat Volkswagen's little Darth Vader in the Passat ad for the most favorite commercial of the game with a Nieslen likability index of 186 (the average score for the Super Bowl ads is 100, meaning VW's Passat ad was almost twice as liked as the average commercial).

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VIDEO: Volkswagen's Über Cool Super Bowl 2012 Beetle and Passat TV Spots [Full Edition]

We've already told you about Volkswagen's plans to air two new commercials during this Sunday's Super Bowl event and even shown you a teaser trailer of the 'Black Beetle' ad, but today, the German automaker released the full TV spots for both the 2012 Passat and 2012 New (or is that New²?) Beetle on Youtube.

The first advert is about the upcoming Beetle and shows a real bug with white racing stripes acting like a car on the forest ground, while the other commercial is for the U.S.-market spec 2012 Passat and is more humorous concentrating on a child dressed up as Darth Vader. Watch them both right after the break.

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NHTSA Investigates 490,000 Volkswagen Passat Models Over Engine Compartment Fires

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA] has upgraded an ongoing investigation into the Volkswagen Passat with 4-cylinder turbo powerplants over reports of engine fires to include all sedans from the 2001-2007 model years and Wagons from the 2006-2007 model years. Last summer, the government agency had opened a preliminary examination into the 2002-2003 model year Passat amid concerns on fires caused by failing ignition coils. The upgraded investigation now covers some 490,000 VW Passats.

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VW will Tease Next Beetle, Show Off 2012 Passat in Super Bowl XLV TV Spots

Joining an increasing number of advertisers, Volkswagen plans to air two never before seen TV spots during the 2nd and 4th quarters of Super Bowl XLV on February 6. The 30-seconds ads will showcase two models, the all-new 2012 Passat sedan that we first saw in Detroit earlier this month, and the so-called 21st Century Beetle.

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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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