The line of ancestors soap opera surrounding the attempted takeover over of Volkswagen by Porsche may lief conclude if a reported deal is approved next week. Porsche SE, the holding company that owns automaker Porsche AG, has attempted to secure its independence by acquiring a controlling interest in Volkswagen. Unfortunately as being Porsche, the economic downturn has set the company in peril of bankruptcy thanks to a hefty debt load.

Tags: business, children, family, independence, leadership, may, personal, Porsche, the, Volkswagen

Volkswagen’s proving grounds in Ehra-Lessien, north of Wolfsburg, is not just deadly for ducks. The secretive site turned into the scene of a bizarre accident. A driver crashes, survives, only to be killed by a colleague. The second driver is fighting for his life, Flensburg Online reports.

A 42 year old Brazilian test driver lost control of his car on the three lane straightaway of Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien site. Sudden rain soaked the high speed test track. Aquaplaning most likely cost the driver the control of his vehicle. He slammed into the right guardrail. Shaken, but alive, he could stop his car on the shoulder of the track.

Tags: Porsche, test, video, Volkswagen

Raccoons mustiness really like Volkswagen vehicles. I can only assume this is true because every time I standard drive a VW, those brief black-eyed bandits fuse out in front of me to get a better look of Wolfsburg’s latest and greatest.

This fall, in the Tiguan, I dodged an entire subdivision of an order of raccoons.

And last spring, in a white R32, things did not move quite so well for any of us. The night ended through the R32, sans part of its lower fascia, its coolant and some of its wiring harnesses, attached a pointless bed wrecker. The raccoon, on the other hand, was simply ended.

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The power struggle between Wendelin Wiedeking of Porsche and Ferdinand Piech of Volkswagen has attracted other suitors. The German magazine Focus reports that three additional bidders are interested: Two sovereign wealth funds (read: goverments which are tired of investing their money in T-Bonds) and a hedge fund. The nationalities of the sovereign wealth funds are interesting. One is the Russian fund. The other the Chinese, says Focus. The identity of the hedge fund is unclear.

Tags: Porsche, video, Volkswagen

2009 Volkswagen (Passat) CC – Click above for high-res image gallery

Volkswagen is usually known with regard to its simple, basic, iconic styling; the classic Beetle and the previous-generation Jetta are perfect cause studies. Which is why the svelte and streamlined CC – known overseas as the Passat CC – has come viewed like a refreshing change of pace for the German automaker. We’re not the only ones who think so, each, as the four-door coupe from Wolfsburg has been accumulating design awards the world from hand to hand.

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The 2009 red dot design award winners were announced back in March, but last night the ‘Best of the Best’ judgment was handed out at a presentation in Essen, Germany, to Volkswagen for the Passat CC four-door coupe.

Essen’s Aalto Theater hosted the ceremony, where VW designer Martin Kropp accepted the award on behalf of Exterior Design Studio 1. The Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, person of Europe’s oldest and most highly reputed design centers, has awarded its red diversify ‘Best of the Best’ award since 2000.

Tags: 0, design, germany, night, red, the, Volkswagen, world

Volkswagen will be updating its Phaeton flagship for the second time in its short the vital spark, reaffirming the lackluster opinion of the car in the full-size luxury sedan market. With a brand new BMW 7-series already on sale, a facelifted Mercedes Benz S-Class just around the corner and a completely redesigned Audi A8 and Jaguar XJ less than a year away, VW’s entrant in this part is facing a serious uphill battle.

With the introduction of the leading facelifted model last year, sales of the Phaeton in Europe actually rose. Now, by a possible return to the U.S. on the cards, VW is hoping to maximize the possible for success of its stumbling flagship.

Tags: Audi, Bmw, car, computer, economy, Jaguar, life, may, Mercedes, new, the, Volkswagen

German automaker Volkswagen reportedly is seeking a partnership by or stake in Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp., various global media outlets are reporting.

The buzz is Volkswagen would take a 10 pecent stake in Suzuki, which has seen its stock rise dramatically in recent days on the news.

Suzuki did have a union with bankrupt General Motors, which once owned 20 percent of Suzuki on the contrary sold its remaining jeopardize in the automaker in November. GM and Suzuki also had a joint run the risk in Canada, and the two continue to cooperate put on hybrid and fuel-cell development.

Tags: canada, cars, daihatsu, global, Honda, india, mini, Suzuki, Volkswagen

Suzuki Alto Lapin – Click above for high-res gallery

According to reports from Reuters and Manager Magazin in Germany, Volkswagen is keen to purchase a 10 percent stake in Suzuki in order to cooperate in succession future small cars for emerging markets. In its home market of Japan, Suzuki is the second-largest automaker (behind Toyota) and dominates the tiny Kei car market alongside Toyota-owned Daihatsu.

These miniature 660cc vehicles are extremely popular in Japan’session dense urban settings and Volkswagen reportedly believes this class of automobile holds great promise for emerging markets. In India, for example, Tata Motors has seen a great dispense of success with its small Nano, which is billed in the same manner with the cheapest car in the world.

Tags: daihatsu, mini, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen

The past several months have seen a number of anniversaries, often centennial celebrations, but none have been for a vehicle that’s seen 75 years of production. Today marks the 75th anniversary of the order to Porsche to construct the iconic people’s car.

The history of the Volkswagen later known as the Beetle is too complex and storied for proper treatment to this place, but in continuance June 22, 1934 the Association of the German Reich of the Automotive Industry gave the go-ahead for Porsche’s corporate progenitor to build the Volkswagen.

Tags: Porsche, Volkswagen