Vehicles

Keeping driving fun alive in the 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R

Over seven generations and almost 40 years, the Volkswagen Golf GTI has defined what a hot hatchback should be. The Volkswagen Golf R has become a performance standard of its own, offering all-wheel-drive grip and refined power. This year, the eighth generation of both legends arrive in the United States to keep the spirit of driving fun alive. The all-new versions of both vehicles offer more standard power, more standard technology and sharper style than before, while preserving their afford

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Parts

How a Volkswagen Bus part inspired the KONG dog toy empire

If you are among the millions of American households who adopted a dog during the past 12 months, you’re likely familiar with the KONG toy, a hollow, rugged rubber cone that can be filled with treats. It seems like a perfect shape for chewing – but that wasn’t its first purpose. In 1970, KONG inventor Joe Markham owned an auto repair shop in downtown Denver that was prone to burglary. “It wasn’t a great area at the time,” says company president K.D. Decker. Frustrated, the 25-year-old auto

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Vehicles

Eight of the coolest Volkswagen concept cars

Over the years, Volkswagen has debuted a wide range of concept cars that have opened windows into the future of car design, technology and performance. These dream machines are often built to test an idea, a vision and/or showcase features that may one day end up on the road.  Some of these groundbreaking vehicles – like the all-new VW ID.4 EV, born from the ID. CROZZ – have made their way to the company’s line-up, though many others were seen once on an auto show floor and then never again. 

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Vehicles

Blending the past and present in the Volkswagen GTI BBS concept

The Volkswagen Golf GTI has defined the genre of  hot hatch for decades, and the new 2022 Golf GTI follows in tradition. But progress doesn’t have to mean losing sight of heritage– which is why Volkswagen and Philadelphia-based VW enthusiast Jamie Orr worked together on an enthusiast concept that injects a healthy dose of the past into the latest generation. The inspiration for the concept was an enthusiast-built Mk2 version of the GTI, which supplanted the only U.S.-built generation of the G

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Community

How a telepresence robot made a young soccer enthusiast’s dreams come true

Like a lot of 10-year-old soccer fans, Luna Perrone of Palm Beach, Florida, has a few favorite stars – like Alex Morgan, the U.S. Women’s National Team forward and Volkswagen Ambassador. Unlike most other young supporters, however, Perrone has some high hurdles to clear in order to see Alex in person at a match, let alone have the opportunity to meet her. The biggest hurdle - Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer that requires intense treatments close to her home. Or that was the case until

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Company

Why AI and app stores will power Volkswagen factories in North America

The technological changes that have turned cars into software-driven machines have begun to apply to the factories that build them too. Backed by an estimated $1 billion investment in electric mobility and digitalization in North America through 2025, Volkswagen plans to roll out technologies such as cloud-based industrial software, new intelligent robotics and artificial intelligence throughout the factories in its North American Region. The goal? A 30 percent improvement in productivity by

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ID.4

Ten surprisingly smart features on the Volkswagen ID.4 SUV

Today’s electric vehicles feature an abundance of technology, which can often be overwhelming to someone new to EVs. However, the new Volkswagen ID.4 SUV was designed with the goal of simplifying the driver’s life by creating an easy and enjoyable experience behind its wheel. The ID.4 offers a wide range of intelligent features, including smart technology Volkswagen offers across its lineup, like wireless App-Connect for compatible devices, voice controls, and a kick-to-open rear hatch – along w

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History

#TBT: The Beetle successors that never were

The Volkswagen Beetle is an icon. Over the years, it has symbolized many different things to many different people, from a classic example of German ingenuity to the calling card for a counterculture movement to a reminder that the simplest of things can sometimes be the best. Above all, it set the standard by which all other small, economy cars are judged. From the beginning of the modern Volkswagen, the Beetle was a boom car for affordable transportation in Europe and elsewhere, and by 1952

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Community

Photographer William Woodward on capturing America in a VW Vanagon Westfalia

For the past six years, William “Willie” Woodward has been living and traveling across the United States in his 1990 Vanagon GL. A travel, adventure and commercial photographer, Willie has taken his two-wheel drive, maroon companion, dubbed “Ruby,” on a series of wild adventures – from the backwoods of Montana to the rocky hills of California and slick-rock canyons of Utah. His social media account and blog, both entitled Where to Willie, serve as a photo journal of the pair’s escapades.

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Company

Volkswagen takes the quantum computing revolution from the lab to the factory

From artificial intelligence to cloud computing and beyond, Volkswagen Group of America has one of the most aggressive portfolios of technology developments in the automotive sector. That also includes research and development in quantum computing, a space where Volkswagen has worked alongside key innovators to bring cutting-edge innovation into real-world use. Quantum computing uses the imprecise nature of quantum mechanics – the physics of how individual atoms and subatomic particles in

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Vehicles

Four first-time EV owners share why they made the switch to the ID.4 EV

What makes someone choose to purchase an electric vehicle for the first time? We spoke with four new owners of the all-electric Volkswagen ID.4 about what motivated them to make the switch and embrace an electric future. Erick Freligh, a 50-year business systems analyst in Bothell, Washington, was considering what new Volkswagen to purchase next—in the past, he has owned a 1967 Beetle, 1986 Golf and 2012 CC—when an ad for the ID.4 popped up on his screen. He was instantly intrigued. “I

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Enthusiast Event

Volkswagen showcases vintage electric Type 2 transporter at Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

Volkswagen showcased a 1979 Elektrotransporter that was used in a pilot study by the Tennessee Valley Authority at the annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance to reflect the show’s dual electric vehicle themes—EVs from the dawn of motoring and EVs of the present and future. Now in its third decade, the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance has inspired automakers from around the world to bring their rare rides and gather with like-minded car enthusiasts on the fairways of Amelia Island, Flor

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Magazine

6 driving situations where IQ.DRIVE can lend a hand

No matter how focused you are when behind the wheel, or how careful you are in everyday driving, things happen—like a sudden obstacle or a vehicle you can’t see in your mirrors. And no matter how comfortable it is inside your vehicle, that highway commute can be a little stressful. To help you better manage these situations, Volkswagen has developed advanced driver-assistance technology called IQ.DRIVE. Available on many model-year 2021 Volkswagen vehicles and standard on the Volkswagen ID.4

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Community

#TBT: Remembering Bruce Meyers, creator of the Meyers Manx

Bruce Meyers lived the life most people only read about. A surfer, inventor, artist, war hero and racecar driver, Meyers distilled the essence of 1960s Southern California car culture with the invention of his Meyers Manx, a Volkswagen Beetle-based buggy that went where the pavement ended. Last week, Meyers passed away at the age of 94. A creator of the race which would come to be known as the famed Baja 1000, Bruce was an energizing soul of car culture until the very end, living and celebrat

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Vehicles

Why American drivers prefer monochrome vehicles – and why that might change soon

If you drove down an American street and looked only at the new vehicles, you might be forgiven for thinking you’re in a black-and-white movie. Last year, U.S. car buyers chose white more often than any other color, followed closely by silver and black, according to experts in automotive paints. That’s been the trend for a decade, part of a longer evolution toward muted shades in automotive exteriors stretching back 70 years. It’s one that Volkswagen experts see as likely to continue – wi

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Innovation

How Volkswagen Automotive Cloud will help shape the connected car of tomorrow

Seattle may not be known as a hotbed for the U.S. automotive industry, but that’s changing, thanks to the increasing importance of cloud computing for connected and autonomous vehicles. In recent years, Seattle’s nickname of “Cloud City” has not only referred to the weather, but for the industry built around some of the best cloud companies and experts in the world. That’s why Volkswagen Group chose the city to help shape the future of connected vehicles with the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud.

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News

Meet two of the first Volkswagen ID.4 EV owners: a solar-powered grandmother and a baseball superfan

Alice Dibben has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to technology. A former cryptanalyst at the National Security Agency, she mastered early modern computing systems to help collect and decipher complex codes. At age 80, she installed 120 solar panels on the roof of her barn in Pasadena, Md., to help reduce her carbon footprint. And now, the 91-year-old grandmother and horse breeder has kept her innovation streak going by embracing electric driving with the Volkswagen ID.4 EV.

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Community

Violinists traveling in a Volkswagen Westfalia bring music to essential workers

Violinists Etienne Gara and YuEun Kim usually perform for crowds of several thousand in renowned venues and concert halls. The classically trained artists studied together at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Gara is the founder and artistic director of Delirium Musicum, a Los Angeles-based self-conducted chamber orchestra, where Kim is also a core member.  The couple had plans to spend their summer recording Delirium Musicum’s debut album and touring internationally w

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Community

How one start-up baker uses his Volkswagen Golf to deliver 900 cookies a week – and a bit of joy

Alex Reponen has always had a passion for baking. After resigning from his work in federal government service in 2015, he was open to exploring a new career. “I knew I wanted to do something different and I always enjoyed baking and pastry work,” he said. “I had done it as a hobby, but I decided to totally switch gears and try baking professionally to see what it was like” To get his start, Reponen worked at a small, crowdfunded bakery in Washington D.C., where he learned the art of cr

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Vehicles

How owning an electric vehicle can save money over the long haul

Electric vehicles like the Volkswagen ID.4 offer a lot of benefits to their owners, such as zero tailpipe-emission driving and home charging. But there’s often been questions about the cost of EVs, as battery technology remains slightly more expensive than combustion engines. The truth is that while some of those differences exist, the cost of owning an EV has fallen in recent years. With Volkswagen building a global platform to support dozens of EV models worldwide, the ID.4 can offer all th

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Vehicles

#TBT: The Volkswagen Cabriolet, the ‘80s definition of fun in the sun

Once upon a time on American roads, convertibles were an everyday sight. From the ‘50s through the late ‘70s, convertible models were often the fun, stylish choice, even if life with a fabric-topped vehicle was sometimes a bit louder and less rain-proof than having a steel roof over your head. The original Beetle Convertible was a huge part of that trend, with 332,000 sold worldwide. As a result, when the Beetle was replaced by the first-generation Golf — known as the Rabbit in the United Sta

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