- 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco Images Leak on the Internet

A pair of official images featuring the 2009 VW Scirocco where leaked into the internet today, prior to the car’s Geneva Motor Show debut next week. Compared to the original IROC concept, the Scirocco’s appearance has been toned down. To be honest though, if someone had patched a Golf VI insignia on the car’s butt, we would have probably believed it as the Scirocco is no more sportier or special than lets say, a Volvo C30.

But anyway, the Scirocco will go on sale in Europe this autumn and it will be available with a variety of diesel and petrol engines delivering between 122 and 200 Hp. There’s still no word on whether VW will bring the Scirocco to the States.

- Volkswagen Passat TSI EcoFuel

The Passat TSI EcoFuel being premiered at the Geneva Motor Show next week, features a 150 Hp TSI direct-injection turbo engine which has been specifically designed to run on natural gas, and consumes no more than 5.2 kilogrammes of gas per 100 kilometres. Volkswagen has yet to release more specific details, but the German carmaker did announce that the Passat and the Passat Estate TSI EcoFuel are due to be launched on the market towards the end of the year.

- VW New Beetle Celebrates 10th Birthday – One Million Sold So Far

The folks down at VW’s Mexican plant at Puebla have several reasons to celebrate as the 10th birthday of the New Beetle coincided with the production of the seven millionth Volkswagen in Mexico, which is at the same time the world’s one millionth New Beetle. The New Beetle was launched on the market ten years ago in January 1998. The vehicle is still exclusively built in Mexico for markets all over the world.

In his speech at the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, underscored his confidence in the Mexican location. He confirmed that Volkswagen would be investing approximately one billion US$ in Mexico over the next three years for Jetta production and capacity optimization at the Puebla plant. -Continued

“As our only production location in North America to date, Puebla plays a key role in our growth strategy for North America. Volkswagen de México and the Mexican supplier industry are certain to benefit from this.”

In concern of the New Beetle, Prof. Dr. Winterkorn noted: “The New Beetle has done a good job. 10 years and one million cars after production start-up it is still an important member of the Volkswagen family. We will be continuing this success story with the next generation of the New Beetle.”