Vehicles

The latest Volkswagen 2021 Enthusiast Fleet showstopper: The Tiguan SE R-Line Black RiNo Concept

Volkswagen recently revealed its latest addition to the 2021 Enthusiast Fleet family — a sleek and sporty all-black Tiguan SE R-Line Black RiNo Concept, named for the Riverside North arts district in downtown Denver, Colorado. The concept was designed by Jamie Orr and incorporates a selection of partners from the automotive aftermarket to showcase the athletic mid-size SUV’s adventurous style, strength and spirit. Orr, a Volkswagen enthusiast and car collector, had a clear vision for the

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Owners

A professional BMX biker’s lifelong connection to Volkswagen

It’s hard to mistake Damon Dayton’s affection for Volkswagen: his garage is chock full of vintage Buses and Beetles, he has multiple Volkswagen tattoos, and his closet is packed with Volkswagen wares. “The Volkswagen love has been consistent throughout my entire life,” says the 48-year-old professional BMX rider and mechanic, who has owned some 150 Volkswagen vehicles through the years. “It’s a way of life for me.” Growing up in Antioch, California, Dayton was surrounded by cars. His p

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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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Company

Volkswagen marks milestone in electrification with the U.S. arrival of the ID.4 EV

This month marks a major milestone in Volkswagen’s story: the arrival of the ID.4, the company’s first long-range electric SUV in dealers across America. Just as electric vehicles will transform the way we drive, Volkswagen has refreshed the way it sells vehicles to embrace a more sustainable future. From before it leaves the factory to when a new ID.4 owner quietly drives away, Volkswagen has changed, updated or reinvented the steps to the typical vehicle purchase and delivery process. A

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Owners

A Volkswagen Golf enthusiast shares his rare Golf Rallye

When Steve Smith was growing up in 1980s England, the Mk1 Golf GTI was at the peak of its popularity. At age 17, his older brother purchased the family’s first Volkswagen — a 1983 drivers-edition MK1 Golf — igniting Smith’s lifelong love for the compact car. “It became a bit of an obsession,” he said. “My brother and I would save up to buy a GTI, drive it around, learn about the mechanics, and visit car shows.” Their collection slowly grew. Smith graduated college with an electrical an

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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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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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Enthusiast Event

The Volkswagen 2021 Enthusiast Fleet kicks off with the Blue Lagoon Jetta GLI concept

Volkswagen unveiled its first of several enthusiast concept vehicles for 2021 – a Jetta GLI that revives the spirit of the rare Mk4 Blue Lagoon GLI. The Jetta GLI has been a sportier iteration of the Jetta since 1984, offering performance that approached that of the Golf GTI with all the cargo-hauling benefits of a sedan. In 2002, Volkswagen released the GTI 337, a special edition vehicle with only 1,500 models produced. Outfitted with 18-inch BBS RC wheels, RECARO seats and a Votex body

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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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Owners

A Beetle’s unique journey – from the backyard to the driveway

Many kids play with toy cars, but few children get a real-life car that sparks a lifelong passion. Volkswagen super enthusiast Adam Simpson was able to transform his unique childhood escape – the shell of a 1959 Beetle – into a functioning daily driver. Simpson’s lifelong passion for the brand began with his aunt’s 1970 Volkswagen VW Beetle. His family loves to tell the story of him spotting the curvy little car parked in his family’s driveway at age 2 and squirming his way out of his gra

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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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Community

Volkswagen fans create new traditions amid COVID-19

Many classic car enthusiasts have turned to restoration projects to stave off boredom during the COVID-19 lockdown. Mike Hanyi, a former automotive mechanic from Towson, Maryland, is one of them. But while he has enjoyed the quality time with Bonny, his yellow 1984 Vanagon Westfalia, he felt that something was missing: a sense of community. Hanyi has been a Volkswagen fan for decades but is relatively new to van culture. On a trip to Arizona in 2017, he borrowed a friend’s Volkswagen West

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Company

From stone wheels to EV, bringing progress to life in a new Volkswagen ID.4 EV ad

Volkswagen has a history of groundbreaking, memorable advertising, and the new all-electric ID.4 coming this spring has inspired its next chapter with a visually stunning demonstration of transportation’s progress from the wheel to the EV future. The ad, created by Johannes Leonardo, was the result of months of planning and imagination using different types of zoetropes – forerunners of motion pictures that were the first examples of animation. All zoetropes in the ad were real machines i

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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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Vehicles

Visit these five museums to see rare and vintage Volkswagens

Automotive museums across the U.S. have helped preserve some of the world’s rarest Volkswagens and feature everything — from a never-been-titled 1974 Karmann Ghia to a 1966 Volkswagen Type 2 Bus that is a piece of civil rights history. With expansive collections available to the public, anyone can admire these classic cars. Whether these five museums are pit stops or your destination, their collections of vintage Volkswagens are not to be missed. 1. LeMay – America’s Car Museum | Tacom

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Community

#TBT: The Volkswagen ‘Beach Bomb,’ the world’s most valuable Hot Wheels

Bruce Pascal was seven years old when Hot Wheels first hit stores in 1968. “It’s hard to explain the craze today, but Hot Wheels was huge. All of my friends were saving up to buy all the Hot Wheels they could,” he said. Hot Wheels soon became the number one toy for boys, and Pascal spent his childhood racing and collecting the die-cast cars. When he grew up, Pascal put his Hot Wheels in a cigar box at his mother’s house, where they collected dust for almost 30 years. His passion for classi

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Community

For #GivingTuesday, Volkswagen gives back through U.S. Soccer

This year, #GivingTuesday seems more needed than ever. Youth athletics have felt the impact of the pandemic, from cancelled leagues and seasons to uncertain paths for college hopefuls. For those reasons and many others, Volkswagen of America is the presenting partner of U.S. Soccer’s #GivingTuesday Campaign this year and directing $115,000 of its U.S. Soccer sponsorship towards scholarships and non-profits that develop and nurture female soccer players and coaches across the nation. “V

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Awards

#TBT: Volkswagen’s Guinness World Record-breaking history

It’s not easy to make it into the Guinness World Records book. With over 50,000 applications from aspiring record-breakers each year, it can be a competitive field — especially in transportation, where records can come down to a millisecond.   At Volkswagen, we know a thing or two about breaking records. To celebrate Guinness World Records Day, we are looking back at nine times Volkswagen and its fans have advanced the auto industry and earned a place in Guinness World Records history.

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Community

Volkswagen teams with Taos Ski Valley, Inc. for snow adventures

The name of the all-new Volkswagen Taos was chosen as a homage to the wild and beautiful land around Taos, N.M. To build that relationship beyond the name, Volkswagen has teamed with one of the state’s largest resorts and one of North America’s premier ski and snowboard destinations — the Taos Ski Valley ski resort. A short drive from Colorado Springs and Denver, the top-rated, ski-in/ski-out mountain hotel and resort features 14 lifts, 110 trails and 1,294 acres of varied terrain, includ

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Community

Shopping small leads to big impact

The holiday shopping season is officially underway, and an easy way to celebrate the start of the holiday gift-giving season is investing in your community and shopping locally. Since 2009, holiday shoppers nationwide have been encouraged to forgo shopping at big-box stores and area malls and support local independent retailers and mom-and-pop shops the weekend after Thanksgiving. The annual shopping event is an opportune time for neighborhood merchants to attract new customers and highli

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Community

Virtual events are driving enthusiasm in the automotive industry

This year, major automotive events — which typically hold thousands of attendees and carmakers from around the world in large, crowded indoor venues — could not continue as they did in years’ past while following social distancing guidelines. But rather than facing cancellation or postponement, many are adapting by creating new ways for fans to engage with automotive brands and one another online. Hot Wheels Senior Design Manager Brian Benedict was working with his team to plan the third

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Magazine

Celebrate Halloween with a creatively carved Volkswagen pumpkin

Halloween is right around the corner, and whether you’re planning to celebrate indoors or outside, an easy way to get into the holiday spirit is to take on a pumpkin-carving challenge. So get some pumpkins, and grab your carving tools to bring these Volkswagen-themed pumpkin designs to life. One decal features the instantly recognizable Volkswagen Bus, while the other carries the look of Volkswagen’s new ID.4 electric SUV. Invite others to join in on the spooky fun and consider hosting a virt

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Community

Former teacher transforms her Volkswagen Transporter into a mobile bookshop

Melanie Moore had always wanted to open her own bookstore. After retiring from 25 years of teaching, she decided it was time to pursue her dream and get books into the hands of kids who need them most. She was about to sign a lease on a physical storefront when she got cold feet and decided to proceed in a new direction. “I realized that if I had a brick and mortar bookstore, I wouldn’t be able to do the fun part of the business, which is talking [about] books and putting books in people’s

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Owners

#TBT: Volkswagens tie grandkids to their family legacies

Eric Shoemaker had no real interest in cars. As a designer and entrepreneur, he primarily took an interest in hobbies like woodworking, furniture restoration, and photography. Today, however, he not only owns a business with his wife Amanda that restores air-cooled German engine components, but his website (1967beetle.com) is a go-to resource for tech tips, classifieds, and Volkswagen stories from around the globe. And what he attributes as the catalyst for his newfound passion is a 1967 Bee

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Community

#TBT: One owner, 42 Volkswagen vehicles, endless memories

You always remember your first car. For Taylor Bryant, that first car – an old Beetle – drew the template of a life-long connection to Volkswagen that has grown to more than 40 vehicles over the years. “I’ve always liked European cars and had a soft spot for Volkswagens,” Bryant said. His affection for VW began as a kid in Charleston, South Carolina. Bryant would ride his bike to the local Volkswagen dealership and admire the latest models while chatting with technicians. Six years lat

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Community

How to give your vehicle the detailing TLC it needs at home

When shelter-in-place orders took effect in cities across the U.S. this spring, a hobby renaissance began. Images of people comfort baking, knitting and puzzling flooded social media, along with car enthusiasts showing off their new DIY car detailing projects. “Our business was doing some doomsday planning as most small businesses were at the start of the pandemic, waiting for the wall to close in and it just never did,” said Jared Toops, General Manager and Director of E-Commerce at Car

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