Magazine

Holiday gift ideas for the VW fans in your life

If you're a part of the Volkswagen family of owners and enthusiasts, you probably know someone who's so passionate about their Volkswagen vehicle that they're always talking about it, always offering rides, and always keeping up with the latest in the world of VW. (Okay, maybe that person is you.) For the holidays this year, indulge their VW fandom. Browse this list of unique gift ideas, from stylish Volkswagen-branded items to distinctive products and experiences that cover the broad range o

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Magazine

New Golf GTI and Golf R lead a performance celebration

Volkswagen will soon launch the highly anticipated eighth-generation (Mk8) versions of the Golf GTI and the Golf R, both widely known as the "hot hatches" of choice for enthusiasts. What better way for enthusiasts to get a sneak peek at these athletic siblings than at Fastivus, a grassroots celebration of Volkswagen performance. According to Megan Closset, Volkswagen of America product manager for the Golf family, the annual Fastivus event is built around driving, “because fun-to-drive is at

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Company

How sheep and solar power work together at the Volkswagen Chattanooga factory

Volkswagen Chattanooga has been creating jobs in the region for over a decade, with more than 4,000 workers there today. Recently, that workforce has also grown to include some non-human coworkers – a herd of about 50 sheep – who are essential to Chattanooga’s solar operations. Volkswagen’s solar park, built in 2013, at the Chattanooga facility is one of the largest such facilities at a U.S. auto plant. The 9.5-megawatt solar system provides up to 12.5 percent of the plant’s electric need

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Company

Meet the people making an EV revolution happen in America

Building electric vehicles for the future of transportation and the planet doesn’t just require new technologies, but new people behind “the people’s car.” At Volkswagen of America, the G4 e-mobility unit and Engineering and Planning Center (EPC) in Chattanooga help deliver and support the sales of EVs like the ID.4 all-electric SUV. Bringing these vehicles to life requires a set of talents that’s relatively new to the automotive industry – from electrical charging experts to high voltage

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Community

A father-daughter duo’s journey to restore a 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit

In Bristol, Tennessee, a car-loving father-daughter duo are working on a special project. George Linke grew up around car racing and tinkering on vehicles with his family. During the pandemic, Juliana, 7, expressed interest in helping her dad with home projects from painting to building a backyard deck. Keen on feeding her curiosity, Linke allowed her to watch, learn and participate where she could. Eager to give her more hands-on experience, Linke got an idea to start a new project together

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Vehicles

From metal to mobile: the evolution of the car key

A staple of American car culture for the past hundred years, the classic car key has evolved drastically over time and may one day become obsolete as drivers look to more convenient solutions to operate their vehicles. Although car keys can be traced back to the early 20th century, the traditional metal key we’ve come to know and associate with cars was first introduced in the late 1940’s. Unlike their early predecessors, these keys could be used to turn on the ignition and start the car. Pr

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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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Community

Onion Creek Volkswagen teams up with Tankproof to provide community swim lessons and meals

Motivation to support a cause or help others in need can come in different forms. For some, a pivotal moment can incite action. Others may just find themselves in the right place at the right time to do a good deed. Sometimes, it’s both. For twin brothers Thurman and Torrence Thomas, it was a near-drowning experience at the age of 9 that inspired them to launch an organization that offers no-cost swim lessons and water safety classes to underserved communities. For Austin, Texas-based dea

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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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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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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

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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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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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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