Posts Tagged ‘ABS Controller’

Auto News: Volkswagen teases the world with a sketch of their future four door sedan

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

With rumors flying around that the Volkswagen, the people’s car maker, is going to cease the production of their B segment Passat very soon, the doors for future design studies from the forward thinking group of German engineers have been opened.

The official sketch revealed, represents Volkswagen’s new mid size sedan that is planned to be built at their all new production facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee; right here in the good old U.S of A.

The design continues what the automaker started with their
Passat CC
, considered to be their comfort coupe; the four door sedan gave the impression of a large sporty coupe with its sleek lines and swept back roofline. This new design study continues the theme with a very long and slender sedan.

Yet the complete details are not announced. We do not know what the future four doors VW will have hiding underneath the sheet metal. It is almost a given that there will be an
Audi Quattro
derived all wheel drive versions as well as Volkswagen’s DSG gearbox.

What is still left to be speculated upon is exactly which power plant VW will choose for their new flagship sedan. As long as VW doesn’t get overwhelmed and try to recreate the Phaeton, no one can see where they could possibly go wrong.

Auto Release: FT-86 shakes up Toyota’s styling blahs

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

When your most exciting car is a compact SUV, you’ve got a problem.

And when your own CEO complains that your cars lack soul, that problem is likely to be addressed or else. The carmaker in question is no surprise, Toyota, whose lineup can be summed up as Thrilla in Vanilla.

The cars are (usually) impeccably built, with faultless ergonomics and refined engines and transmissions. But they’re often as bland as diet tofu, with suspensions roughly as soft. The brand hasn’t sold a sports car since the Toyota MR2 was killed in 2005. Celicas and Supras are long gone. The result is that the Toyota RAV4, surprisingly feisty when equipped with a V6 engine, is the most entertaining car to wear the Toyota badge.

But that could all change if Toyota gets around to building the FT-86, the slinky, 2-plus-2 coupe it recently showed in Tokyo. Developed with Subaru, and fondly dubbed the “Toyobaru” by the media, the FT-86 concept houses a 2.0-liter Subaru boxer engine in a rear-wheel-drive package, with a target price below $25,000.

The car may spark a Subaru version as well, from a brand that has more recent experience with making fun, affordable transportation. Toyota could bring the car to showrooms in 2011. The car could also end up wearing a Scion badge, with the FT-86 stepping in for the tC coupe.

The FT-86 could inject some of that passion, for a fraction of the price of the ridiculous $375,000 Lexus LF-A supercar.