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Inside Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias’ dream VW collection
Everyone has an attachment to their first car, a certain nostalgia that makes them want to relive every memory from those years. For comedian Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, success has allowed him to turn that passion for the VW Bus into something close to an obsession. Ten years ago, the comedian decided to go back in time and purchase a 1968 Volkswagen Transporter, his first car at age 17. The project of finding and refurbishing the Bus quickly turned Iglesias into a collector. Today, the comed
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Watch snowmobile champ Keith Curtis get a cool ride from Tanner Foust
To celebrate the newly formed collaboration between Volkswagen and Warren Miller Entertainment, the two iconic brands teamed up to give their respective athletes a taste of each other’s sports at the recent Red Bull Global Rallycross race in Seattle. Warren Miller snowmobile rider Keith Curtis visited the GRC doubleheader to take in the rallycross action, and rode alongside Tanner Foust in his 600-horsepower Beetle GRC. Snowmobile hillclimb is a timed form of racing, in which riders tackle a
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How the Volkswagen Bus still hauls in business
To be a successful entrepreneur, hard work is a given. When it comes to owning a small business, passion is also required – especially, if you’ve chosen to run your business from a Volkswagen Bus. Across the country, VW brand enthusiasts and small business owners are taking original VW Microbuses and repurposing them a working Bus. Some started as Volkswagen enthusiasts and wanted to find a way to capitalize on their hobby of working on their buses. Others came to the idea through the inspira
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Volkswagen unveils the People First Warranty, the new industry leader
The literal English translation of “Volkswagen” is “people’s car,” and over the past six decades Volkswagen vehicles have delivered billions of miles and smiles to the people who drive them. Today, VW wants to say thanks for those votes of confidence with one of its own – a pledge it calls the People First Warranty. Building on the success of the new Atlas and Tiguan’s guarantee, the People First Warranty will offer customers who buy a 2018 model-year VW (except e-Golf) a six year or 72,000 m
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Air heads unite for a 1,700-mile cruise
For the past 19 years, groups of intrepid air-cooled Volkswagen owners have set out on a 1,700-mile journey along the Pacific Coast, driving south from Washington State to the U.S.-Mexico border. Since its inception, this “Treffen Cruise” has been organized by Airhead Parts—a Ventura, Calif.-based distributer and manufacturer of components for air-cooled Volkswagen models. Volkswagen of America decided to get in on the fun this year, joining the California leg of the trip with two rear-en
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How Volkswagen Chattanooga changes kids’ lives through mechatronics
Imagine: programming a robot, using a 3D printer to create a fidget toy or dissembling then reassembling a Passat’s engine. Thanks to Volkswagen Chattanooga, in collaboration with a local university, Chattanooga-area high school students have the chance to experience all of these activities while attending summer camp – for free. The annual Volkswagen Summer Camp, now in its third year, serves as a precursor to the company’s Automation Mechatronics Program (AMP), a VW Academy-run dual program
read moreRabbits, run: The home-brewed magic of the Mk1 Madness Festival
Esher Lutzo organized the first Mk1 Madness Festival 10 years ago because he wanted to gather together owners of first-generation Volkswagen Rabbits, GTIs, Cabriolets and pickups, and maybe swap parts and stories. A few people showed up in the rain for a camp out. This year, more than 300 people came to the campground in Maple Grove, Penn., for the weekend festival, and more than 150 people brought their Mk1s to be entered in the annual auto show. Campers came from around the country – travel
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A hard ride for a good cause: Ride On for Red Nose Day
Imagine biking nearly 400 miles in four days through the mountains and deserts of Nevada and southern California, burning through as many as 20 bottles of water each day during your eight to 10 hours on two wheels – just for fun. It’s not a spin class gone horribly wrong. It’s one of two long-distance rides hosted by professional racing cyclist and bike enthusiast, Tim Johnson to raise money and awareness for this year’s Red Nose Day event, called Ride on For Red Nose Day powered by Walgreen’
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A look ahead: VW + SUVs
Who says all SUVs are the same? Dr. Hendrik Muth, Senior Vice President, Product Marketing and Strategy at Volkswagen, talks about how the 2018 Atlas and Tiguan have already become major players in his family’s and neighbor’s lives, and also gives a few insights into how VW is approaching its new SUV lineup.
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The Best Museums You’ve Never Heard Of
What do a one-man band, a former shoe factory, and a rocket-like 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit have in common? They’re all draws at these seven lesser-known, yet seriously brake-worthy, museums across the country. They all have a little something for everyone (young, old, and everyone in between).
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How the I.D. Buzz evokes Volkswagen’s first electric bus
Volkswagen has a long heritage with electric propulsion. Ferdinand Porsche, the engineer who designed the Volkswagen Beetle, made a name for himself with his first electric car in 1900 (one later adopted to become the world’s first hybrid.) But it would be some 70 years before a production electric vehicle would carry the Volkswagen brand – and it’s likely not one you’ve ever heard of. The global oil crisis of the early 1970s set many automakers to work looking for alternatives to gasoline p
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Going up country in the Golf Alltrack Country concept
The 2017 Volkswagen Enthusiast Fleet features specially-designed show vehicles customized for all different tastes and styles. One car that received the most attention was the Golf Alltrack Country Concept. Inspired by the third-generation Golf Country special edition, the Golf Alltrack Country Concept features a number of modifications to turn the Alltrack into the ultimate camping weekend getaway. The stock Golf Alltrack is already equipped with 4Motion® all-wheel drive and has more gro
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Saving the manuals, one Golf Alltrack at a time
Last year, just 3.1 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States came with a manual transmission, the lowest share in decades according to U.S. government data. Despite the benefits of driving feel, social acceptance among enthusiasts and even anecdotal evidence of how three-pedal cars can confuse carjackers, many automakers and their customers have chosen to shun the stick shift. But not Volkswagen. The first Volkswagen Beetle sold in America came with a manual transmission. That wa
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How a Passat parked inside a hospital helps people get moving again
The mint-green sedan was the first thing you noticed inside the inpatient therapy gym at the Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation. Parked facing a window, with its engine compartment chopped off, the 1978 Pontiac with matching-green vinyl interior looked a bit alien next to the treadmill and staircases – but all are tools that help patients reacquaint themselves with the outside world. While that car served Siskin Hospital for the past 26 years, Volkswagen Chattanooga thought it could
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Volkswagen’s I.D. CROZZ, the electric SUV concept, makes its world debut
Few automakers have made the commitment to electric mobility that Volkswagen has with its I.D. series concept vehicles. The original I.D. unveiled last year in Paris was the preview of an all-electric VW going on sale by 2020, and the vanguard of a future Volkswagen electric fleet. The I.D. BUZZ revealed in Detroit showed how a similar vehicle could embrace the fun and flexibility of the original Microbus. This week in Shanghai, Volkswagen revealed the third concept in the ID series. Dubbed t
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America’s Best SUV Bumper-to-Bumper Transferable Warranty arrives on the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas & Tiguan
For most Americans, a car will be the second-largest purchase they make in their lifetimes, behind only a home. It’s a commitment not just of money, but time and resources. Published research shows the average new-car buyer holds onto his or her vehicle for six years – yet most bumper-to-bumper warranties don’t last nearly so long, leaving owners potentially exposed to repair bills for manufacturer defects or unease for the next owner when they choose to sell it. Today, Volkswagen took a step
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Volkswagen’s future cars: Connected, personalized and smarter than ever
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Volkswagen offered three big ideas about where mobility technology will go next. The Volkswagen of the future will have an always-on digital connection with the driver and the world at large. It will come with new, intuitive ways to interact with its passengers. And the technology that makes such steps possible will hit the road sooner than you might expect. “CES stands for progress and for change, and that’s exactly where our focus is,” said Dr. Fran
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