Volkswagen of America Inc., one of the most successful arms of the makers of high-quality VW parts, will now be known as Volkswagen Group of America Inc. The change of the name will be effective on the first day of January for the year 2008. Hm…will there be more changes to expect? It seems like Volkswagen is planning on a head start as 2008 slowly unfolds itself to the automotive industry.

The change in name is to emphasize the growing family of Volkswagen, extending its services to car names such as Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Volkswagen. It also serves as the umbrella company for related financial services like the Audi Financial Services, Bentley Financial Services, and Volkswagen Credit.

“Our company, like the entire Volkswagen Group, has grown dramatically since our formation in the United States in 1955. Our new corporate name allows our individual brands to flourish, while recognizing that we have a common support structure that gives us great strength as we face our competitors,” Stefan Jacoby, President and Chief Executive Officer said in a statement released by Volkswagen of America. “The new name Volkswagen Group of America reflects the much wider array of goods and services we now offer, and prepares us for even more activities in the future.”

Despite such change, the Volkswagen and Audi marques will still carry on their business under their names, Volkswagen of America, and Audi of America. Aside from the change of the company’s name, improvements are to be expected as they will still continue to live up as the world’s fourth largest car company, providing excellent VW parts worldwide.

People are all about making the engine all good and ready to run. They always think that showing their care for the car is always through hyping up the engine and its horses. Or by equipping some performance parts that promise an improvement in the car’s aerodynamics. As a result, Beetle owners purchase many high-quality VW parts that are focused on a faster and smoother run. But for the keen eyes of the real car enthusiast, they know that a good reaction from the gas pedal is not enough. They also know that it is important to achieve a very smooth stop. After all, the very thing that makes the Beetle a safe mode of transportation is its brake system.

Having the assurance that the driver can stop the car at any given need means power. For what will happen if there is a blind person attempting to cross the street? The driver of the fast car must have the power to smoothly stop the car to save both the life of the blind pedestrian and his own. Hence, every car owner must also pay loads of attention to the efficiency of the brake system. Complete with highly effective VW parts, the brake system of a Beetle is definitely not one to worry about—just keep up with the maintenance and it is good to go.

The brake system is indeed a wonder. It makes something as big as a Beetle stop despite speed, through just the use of one foot. But there is one main part that is important. That is the Volkswagen brake pads. This is the main friction player, acting as a catalyst to the car’s stoppage. So here is a genuine tip to make drivers enjoy their Beetle more: change brake pads when needed. After all, we’ll never know when we have to stop.

Beetle enthusiasts can now enjoy the lovable bug in the form of a wooden toy car. They no longer have to spend thousands of dollars to afford its VW parts, because Terry Purrington will make sure that the Beetle will be able to bring a cheer to the children. Purrington is a toymaker who crafts different things out of a simple block of wood. Among his famed works, his version of the Volkswagen Beetle is very popular among the kids. But what is best about his talent, is that he also knows how to share. As a matter of fact, the toys that he makes are being given to the kids of the Bakersfield Homeless Center. While this is his second year of being a good-doer, his passion is enough to make people believe that he will not be stopping this act of kindness anytime soon.

Kids aged between two and six years old can enjoy the 150 toy trucks and cars that Purrington has shared to Bakersfield. According to a report by The Bakersfield Californian, Purrington will continue making these toys for the center until “he can’t physically do so”.

“From what I understand, these (homeless) kids have nothing,” Purrington says in an interview by The Bakersfield Californian. “Maybe it’s the fact these are handmade. They get a better feeling that somebody cares about them.”

Although the wooden Beetles are devoid of having authentic VW parts, the kids’ faces still light up when the toys are being given to them. Louis Gill, the executive director f the homeless center only have praises for Purrington’s dedication to bring joy to the kids. “Most of the kids, they have absolutely nothing here at the shelter, except for very few clothes. To get this individual, unique toy, it’s a special Christmas,” he says in the same interview.

Now this, is the real way to enjoy the Beetle this Christmas season.

Source: The Bakersfield Californian

What is the common denominator that binds the Beetle and gold? Nope, not this car. Rather, the word is timelessness. Gold will never run out of anybody’s style. From accessories, to clothing, and even in other forms of ornament, gold is definitely one solid element that will never fade. The Beetle may be one car that can concretize the concept of timelessness too. This is probably what the owner of this 18-karat gold Beetle thought. It is not just some nice body finish, but it really is gold.

The golden Beetle in itself is really timeless, what with its 1968 badge and supremely-conditioned VW parts, it is in itself worthy of posing for a car show. But since it has been caramelized with gold, it all the more became controversial. The golden bug was unveiled at the annual Luxury Show in Bucharest, Romania. See the intricate pattern of this gold-laden car. It is covered with tonsssa tiles that were made of glass together with 18-karat gold. No wonder this thing sparkles at any given angle, and it can strike anybody even from afar. Of course gold things also come with a golden tag price. If you are wondering about this Beetle’s worth, it is safe to say that you could have bought a pretty good supercar with its $88,000 value.

While many people are criticizing this Beetle—apparently, it is senseless and too expensive—the owner probably finds too much value that even the gold cannot justify. After all, it is the Beetle. Whether embedded with gold or not, its VW parts will always make it a show stopper.

Beetle Lovers, Christmas is just around the corner! Aside from swapping VW parts with each other, have you any idea what else to give a Beetle lover this season? Well, the usual Herbie DVDs are probably old news…some cute Beetle accessories will probably do, but then they are quite hard to find nowadays. Accessories will work for the New Beetle, but for the Classic Type 1, you will have to scout more than the typical shops to find good stuff. Vintage Volkswagen shirts will do too, especially when it bears a timeless illustration of the Beetle. But then, there is also that cutesy Beetle Levitron.

The Levitron is a very interesting piece. This invention is genius as it draws both fancy and curiosity among the people. Now, the Levitron also comes with a Beetle. Although it may not be geared up with real VW parts, the Beetle Levitron is still a screaming gift for Beetle lovers out there. Just imagine the look on their face once they see this cutesy piece. They will show a huge grin of course, and then probably wonder, if they should put the Levitron on their office desk, or on their Beetle dashboard. Either way, the Levitron says that they are real Beetle lovers, so this is really a perfect gift for this season.

We have seen our beloved Beetle take on different forms. It is pretty easy to dress up the Love Bug as we have all seen the many roles that it has played. Its VW parts are pretty easy to tweak to make a whole new thing from it, but we love it even in its plain and usual self. From cartoon characters, animals, to super cars—the Beetle has been it all. While many people appreciate the Beetle in its inherent image and quality VW parts, many still find the bug as a piece of blank canvass, waiting to be painted on.

This is probably what William Burge thought. This Texan artist morphed a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle into his very own “art car”. The picture above is Burge, sitting proudly behind the wheels of his Beetle art car. Onlookers perhaps will not immediately get Burge’s idea, compared to a Beetle that is turned into a Pokemon. But his artistic views greatly fused with the contours of the Beetle, and that is reason enough to showcase this art car at the Essen Motor Show in Germany next month.

Source: BBC.com 

The makers of the high-quality VW parts announced that there will be a notable change in how they will be making their future cars. According to the company, they will be developing four new architectures which shall be made available to all the marques of the company’s portfolio. This echoes the company’s aims to cut expenses, increase in sales, and eventually overtake Toyota as the global leader in automaking.

This new mind set as a manufacturer allows the makers of the VW parts to build their cars faster (about a year off the times spent on development), while also reducing expenses by at least 25 and 40 percent. The target for the group sales is to reach 10 million by 2018 from the 5.7 million it earned since 2006. Six million units will be taken care of by the company’s transverse-engine architecture or MQB, for both their small-lower-medium and upper-medium models.

According to a company spokesman, MQB is geared for a broad application, from small cars up to their upper-medium. In fact, they were pretty confident in saying that their first model can be expected already come 2010. The company was not too keen on specifying the number of models that are to be based on the MQB architecture. However, other sources said that MQB will serve as a replacement for at least 20 small, lower-medium and upper-medium models. They will also be creating some addition to the old family line-up like: Polo, Golf, Jetta, Beetle, Touran, Caddy, Eos and Passat; Audi’s A3 and TT; Skoda’s Fabia, Roomster, Octavia and Superb; and Seat’s Ibiza, Cordoba, Leon, Altea and Toledo.

A second plan of architecture is in the works too, and it is dubbed as the MHB. This plan encompasses Volkswagen’s new fleet of rear-engine in the company’s minicar range. Witnessing their roster of the Up! concept vehicles is said to be like a preview for their upcoming new models.

Source: Cartoday.com

News from the Baja Race? We have it. The most recent is how an Alaskan team was able to reach 147 miles…until their their clutch dulled.

Patric, Kolt, and Kash Bell were three Alaskan brothers who participated at the 40^th Tecate Score Baja 1,000. Around 32 years ago, it was their father who went out with the VW parts of a stock Volkswagen Beetle, wanting to win as well and bring pride in their hometown. While the trio did not make it through the entire race, they were very grateful to their supporters and were even eager to share their experiences through the race. “This was a crazy experience,” Kash Bell commented in an article.

This event is expected to be aired by late December. The Alaskan trio, however, is preparing for their next race: The Baja’s Desert Series. Will they trust the same VW parts? This we shall see.

Who would have thought that a Beetle could feed a Porsche with dust?

Certainly not the driver. In an E.T. which was held in Santa Pod, many people were shocked to witness a 42-year-old Beetle complete with VW parts, as it went in 10.88 seconds at 128 mph. The Beetle swiftly delivered this E.T. result, completing one fourth of the mile in Santa Pod, where the E.T. was being held.

Its golden body paint is probably made for the win. But the highlight of this win became more controversial since the Beetle raised its VW parts to glory as it trashed a Porsche 997 Carrera S! Imagine that, it may sound like a movie plot about good guys winning over the flamboyant mean ones, but only this time, it happened for real! Proud as he was for this win, owner Martin Greaves could not believe it himself.

“I am delighted. After achieving the 10.88 seconds in the morning, I told the owner of the Porsche that he should race me. I said I thought it would be close, but that he was going to win because my car’s only a Beetle!” Greaves said in an interview by Carpages UK. The showdown began and ended when the Beetle cut through the track with an E.T. of 11.04 seconds with a terminal speed of 129.77 mph, leaving the porsche’s 13.18 seconds in E.T., and a terminal speed of 113.03 mph.

The Beetle is tricked out with a 2276cc engine which is geared with a 650cfm Holley and Turbo Dynamics. Turbo Dynamics became the fairy godmother for this enchanting win. They “modified and blueprinted” the Beetle’s TO4B turbo, helping it to achieve a spot in the magical 10-second bracket. With this, winning pilot Greaves only have good praises for his fairy godmothers. “Turbo Dynamics have been professional with friendly help,” he said in the Carpages UK article.

Amazingly, this testifies the real power that the People’s car has over those supercars.

Source: Carpages.com

In the remake version of Herbie, it was kind of cute to see the Love Bug all decked-out with a spoiler on its rear. Since Beetles have a unique, peculiar shape, it is not likely for people to spot a spoiler or other performance parts attached to it. But aside from performance parts, Beetle lovers must be keen when it comes to installing some Volkswagen bumpers. These VW parts act as the main safety device in case force is impacted onto the Beetle. Interestingly, while the Beetle’s engine is located in its rear, one still should not be complacent that nothing valuable will be destroyed in the Beetle’s front fascia.

Bumpers are VW parts that are basically geared towards protection. They aim to protect important car parts such as the grille, the headlights, and the engine bay and its contents. In a Beetle, the trunk is located in front. So its bumpers will be able to protect the contents of the trunk. Bumpers are not sturdy enough to protect the whole car—one must not expect the bumpers to protect the car’s passengers too. After all, bumpers are generally only a few inches thick so it really cannot act as a shield. But, despite that, it is still good to have a damper in case of external forces. The effect of the force which is impacted onto the car will not be grave when it reaches the car occupants. That is all because the bumpers caught the immediate force.

At the same time, bumpers are easy ways to add a little jazz to the Beetle. (They have to fit perfectly though.) So there it goes, install some Volkswagen bumpers today and the Beetle will be better-looking, and better-protected.