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VW on Course To Be The Biggest

admin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:03:28 +0000

the Volkswagen group has made no secret in its determination to be the biggest car manufacturer in the world, with its recent announcement to use more of its Volkswagen car parts throughout all of its VAG vehicles, to keep costs down at the same time standards high, now it is its employment figures that has stirred interest. At a time when most manufacturing companies are looking to reduce their workforce, Volkswagen group has increased its workforce by 100,00 up to 500,000 world wide, according to an article in auto news.

VW have managed to deliver excellent sales probably dies to its reputation of reliability as well as other marques such as Audi and brands that were not on the shopping list so much as say Seat and Skoda, are now seen as credible if not excellent makes of cars to own. Gone are the days where Skoda’s were described as skips on wheels, so much so there are very few towns in the UK, where you will not see fleets of them being used by taxi firms.

This combination of brands that can extend to different price brackets and countries, but still using shared technology and resources means that the VW group has a very good chance of attaining its objectives.

What About A Golf

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:44:40 +0000

Its pretty hard to conceive now but the Volkswagen Golf was the successor to the Beetle which had until the mid 70’s been around since Hitler was in power and the the vehicle where most have ever been made. Compared to the rounded Beetle the Golf went to the opposite of flat and square shaped body that suited the 70’s at the time. At the time there must have been many sitting in Germany worried about this new successor replacing the most popular car ever, but we now know well into the 21st century, what a success the Golf has been over these 35 plus years.

Although radically different in shape, handling and comfort to the Beetle, the VW Golf did keep an important ingredient to German design and manufacturing and that was its quality of build. This is something still associated with the modern day VW Golf, now made will many models, from petrol to diesel to eco engines as well as the very popular GTi. Volkswagen as so proud of their reputation to quality they even insist on their TV ads that people are buying cars because they are like the Golf, so now buy a real one, so goes the message. Retention of value also keeps the Golf near the top of the favourite list of medium sized hatchbacks, as the higher asking price is often a good investment as used prices hold well compared to certain other manufacturers

The latest generation of the VW is in everyway different to the original, except you still know what it is. Surprisingly though there are older models that many people love and so are well on demand, especially certain GTi hatchbacks from the early 80s. Parts for the Golf are readily available and are shared with many other VAG vehicles, within the group including Seat, Audi and Skoda.

Used VW Audi engines

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:18:18 +0000

The VW Audi group, which includes Skoda and Seat as well, have a specific technological design approach to diesel engines called TDI engines or VW Audi Group Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) technology.

The latest range of VW Audi TDIs are forced induction engines which the VW Audi Group claims delivers greater performance and economy AND generating lower co2 emissions. The petrol engine technology range are TSIs.

The current VW Audi petrol TSIs are 1.2 and 1.4 petrol engines.
The current VW Audi diesel TDIs are two engines sizes and four outputs.
1.6-litre 1 x 90 and 1 x 105 PS outputs
2.0-litre TDI engine 1 x 140 and 1 x 170 PS.

There is also BlueMotion Technology petrol and diesel engines.
VW Audi claim their new 1.6-litre 105 PS Blue Motion diesel engine can achieve 61.4 mpg on a combined cycle.

However the older TDIs and TSIs are on the whole outstandingly good engines, and have been used across the who VW AUdi range especially popular models have been the Skoda Fabia, Skoda Octavia, Seat Alhambra, VW Sharan, Toreg and Touran as well as the Golf and Polo ranges. Finding the right used car engines for VW Audi models is never easy but the burdensome task can be greatly lessened by using one of the excellent online car part locators such as Car Engine Finder, 4x4sparefinder and others searching for any of the following:

audi engines

VW engines
Seat engines
Skoda engines

. The savings are legendary, and the best tip is to source a newer version for your model and get some extra miles into the bargain. Happy engine hunting!

Audi car finance – What is the Difference between Leasing and Financing?

admin — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:09:25 +0000

The difference between leasing and financing is with financing, you own the car with the car dealer having a lien on the car until it is paid in full. When you lease a car, you do not have ownership of the car. If you were in the market for an Audi, their dealerships offer two different financing plans. One is the regular Audi finance plan and the other is the College Graduate financing plan.
With either plan, you need to decide if you want a new or pre-owned certified car. Once that decision is made, the Audi dealership will work up a Audi car finance plan that will meet your needs. Two of the reasons you might consider purchasing a pre-owned certified Audi, besides the price of the car, is if the years you intend to own the car exceeds four years, and if you want a typical loan of 12-48 months.
The College Graduate financing plan requires less credit history than regular Audi car finance. The other stipulations for qualifying for this financing plan is that you must be within four months of graduating from an accredited program or you have completed your schooling from an accredited university within the last two years. If you have graduated, you must have full time employment. The typical loan period is 12-60 months.
If you do not want to own the car, there is also the option of Audi leasing, which includes a College Graduate lease. When you decide to lease, you can custom-tailor the amount of mileage allotment you will have. Most Audi dealers figure 15,000 miles a year, so any miles over that you will pay a standard mileage fee. You can also buy miles upfront for a discount. At the end of your Audi car lease, you can purchase the Audi, or turn in your current Audi and get a newer Audi.
You can qualify for a College Graduate lease is the same as the requirements to purchase an Audi using the College Graduate financing program. With either program, your payment cannot be more than 25% of your gross monthly income. As with the regular Audi car finance leasing plan, you have the same options.

Looking At The Audi A3 Including CarBuyer

admin — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:45:32 +0000

The question normally asked is why the Audi A3 when so much of the car is found on the cheaper VW Golf?The reality is the cheaper A3’s are a bit too similar, in terms of engine performance and even size of the car. As soon as you start looking at the larger engines especially diesels, you start to see similarities with the larger Audis.

Design is a matter of taste, although even though the VW does state quality, the Audi brand is still one step if not more higher.

Below is a video from carbuyer, with their opinions of the Audi A3. It claims the Audi A3 is one of the best premium hatchbacks on the market, stating it is desirable. It goes on to show the quality within the cockpit including its dash, but continues to compare to VW certain switches and more throughout.

As far as leasing an Audi A3 goes, even though it is expensive for a car of this size, it will hold its value and that is a main factor in cheaper leasing monthly premiums and why Audi always have a strong presence within the lease market. Audi offers its own finance for the Audi A3 and contract hire options for fleet hire and private individuals. But is you are looking for Audi A3 car lease then you consider the broker network also, to see what is available.

Here is the video of carbuyers opinion of the Audi A3

Audi Leads The Way in Winter 4×4 Leasing

admin — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:24:44 +0000

The snow has hit the UK bad, but for those companies selling car leasing, they have seen a boom in applications for 4×4 vehicles and according to some, Audi is leading the way. We are talking about models like the Audi Q7 that not only looks good, but will get you through the snow better than most and in a bit of luxury too. But lets not forget the Audi Q5 and those Quattro models that pretty much won all those rallies 20 years ago or so.

The bottom line is Audi offers more than just an alternative to BMW and Mercedes, they regularly deliver better cars and if you measure the car leasing figures as a whole using brokers as a guide, very often we see Audi at the top. As far as leasing goes, Audi offers its own contract hire finance solutions, but sometimes it is worth looking through brokers for Audi car lease, because sometimes they can get better interest rates against the dealers, who have higher overheads to cover (not always though).

So if the snow is falling heavy in your area of the UK and you are sick of watching these Audi Q7’s sail past you, then may it is time for you to lease an Audi Q7, Q5 or Quattro car too.

Volkswagen Group Close In On Acquisition Of Italdesign

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:53:56 +0000

Volkswagen today completed its takeover of Italian design consultants Italdesign with an overall majority share of 90.1%.

The acquisition now officially makes the VW group the largest car manufacturers in Europe and Italdesign seem happy to be under this umbrella commenting:

“Italdesign has now become a permanent member of the Volkswagen Group. Given the full order books and numerous interesting projects, the perspectives are better than ever.”

The Italian company have been in business for over 50 years and pride themselves on having designed some of Italy’s iconic exports such as the Fiat Punto and the Alfa Romeo 156. Other clients of the company include Volkswagen where Italdesign were responsible for the Passat and Sicrocco.

The remaining 9.9% of shares have stayed with the founding family the Giugiaro’s who will stay on as directors of the company.

No details have been released yet as to whether the IDG would work exclusively for VW or carry on in its contracting business.

Damien Hirst Painted Audi A1 Fetches £350,000

admin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:16:28 +0000

A unique Audi A1 painted by Britain’s number one contemporary artist Damien Hirst fetched around £350,000 at auction last month.

The car which was the centre piece at Sir Elton John’s White Tie & Tiara Ball was sold to raise money for John’s AIDS Foundation and close to 700 VIP guests were there when the car was out to auction.

The A1 which Hirst painted in a spin technique will not actually be available to UK customers until November 2010 and is being billed by the German firm as a premium compact hatchback. Hirst was specifically commissioned by the car company to paint this one-off model.

Sir Elton John commented on the vehicle saying:

“That’s the most exciting object we’ve ever had on auction at the White Tie.”

Audi have built up the latest addition to their fleet in a big way, many early reviewers have already described the car as being competition to the Fiat 500 and Mini and will enter the market at around £15,000.

Beetle Powered By Methane Gas Heading For The UK

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:24:28 +0000

The ‘Bio-Bug’ is a custom adapted Volkswagen Beetle that runs on biogas created from human waste.

The concept isn’t brand new but this will be the first of its kind in the UK to run fully on the electric alternative.

Experts believe that the power produced by biogas is enough to outdo electric second to none, and users of the Beetle have the choice between bio material and standard petrol or once one runs out the driver can convert to the other.

The vehicle itself is a standard 2.0 litre Beetle and experts are reckoning that one sewage plant could run a fleet of the vehicles over 95,000,000 miles a year and that consumer’s will not even notice the difference between a regular Beetle and the modified edition.

Developed by GENeco, a UK based sustainable energy and a subsidy of Wessex Water for its company car fleet it plans on trailing the vehicles for a set period of time before converting all of its cars if successful.

Mohammed Saddiq of the sustainable energy firm said:

“Previously the gas hasn’t been clean enough to fuel motor vehicles without it affecting performance,”

Adding:

“Using the latest technology our Bio-Bug drives like any conventional car and what’s more it uses sustainable fuel.”

The fuel conversion rates for the vehicle are impressive averaging 5.3 miles per cubic metre of biogas and around 18 million cubic metres of the materials needed are refined at Wessex Water’s treatment plant in Bristol.

Lord Rupert Redesdale, Chairman of the Biogas Association said:

“This is a very exciting and forward-thinking project demonstrating the myriad benefits of anaerobic digestion.”

Volkswagen Win Contract For Dishwasher Firm

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:26:43 +0000

Volkswagen today confirmed that they would be taking over the leasing contract for dishwasher suppliers Winterhalter.

The German company announced they would be supplying 47 vehicles to the company including Caddy Maxi, Transporter and Crafter vans.

Winterhalter designs and manufactures commercial dishwashing systems for catering and hospitality businesses, it will use the vans as part of its national service operation network.

Jason Mackay, Operations Director for Winterhalter said:

We operate a 96% first time fix service for our customers so vehicle reliability was very important in out purchasing decision.”

Adding:

“As a UK based German manufacturer we were pleased to find a German van brand that could meet our standards.”

Interested in leasing cars or vans for your business? Take a look at Leasebam who will search all local dealers to find the best prices for you. Saving time and money.

Golf BlueMotion named What Car? Green Car of the Year

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:19:31 +0000

Volkswagen has added a further three award to its BlueMotion range at the What? Car Green Awards this week.

The Golf BlueMotion was named best Green Small Family Car and also beat eight other winners to win the night’s biggest prize of Green Car of the Year.

Steve Fowler, Editor of What? Car said:

“The Golf is a well deserved award winner: carbon dioxide emissions are a paltry 99 g/km making it exempt from road tax and its average fuel economy is 74.3 mpg. So, as well as being impressively green, the Golf is classy, well made, practical, safe, brilliant to drive and an affordable long-term investment. There surely aren’t many other virtues you need?”

Head of Chassis development Dr Stefan Gies collected the award for Volkswagen and said:

“Ever since the first BlueMotion model was launched in 2007 our strategy for this environmental sub-brand has been to produce class-leading vehicles which are efficient, sustainable, practical, comfortable and competitively priced. This is what our customers want and all these values are encapsulated in the Golf.”

The Golf BlueMotion runs a 1.6 TDI common rail engine and gives its environmental and economic savings through new innovations such as Start/Stop and a configuration that accounts for battery regeneration.

The awards come on the back of the car winning Green Car of the Year award at the 2010 World Car of the Year awards.

The vehicle is a fantastic option for business owners or people wanting to lease a car for business purposes as its low running costs and trademark Volkswagen reliability mean less money spent on your side.

Interested in the Volkswagen BlueMotion range, take a look at Leasebam who will search local dealers for you to find the best price possible all without you leaving your computer screen.

Audi A7 Revealed

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:44:33 +0000

Audi have revealed the latest addition to their range and they hope it will be able to take sales from Mercedes new CLS.

The Audi A7 Sportback has been designed to fill the gap between the A6 and A8 offering big car interior with a luxury saloon look in what the German manufacturers have called “a four door coupe shape.”

The A7 was previewed as a concept model at the Detroit motorshow last year and the production model has stuck very closely to the prototype, as the video above shows.

Stefan Sielaff, Audi Chief of Design said:

“We wanted to generate a high-end, premium feeling in the A7 that relates very strongly to the A8 in the design,” said Sielaff, “but we also wanted to make it a gran turismo. They are very different types of cars.”

The latest addition to the Audi range does away with the A8’s aluminium space frame but it is made up heavily of metal but still retains a weight of 1695kg, well over 100kg less than its Mercedes rival.

The A7 will be available with a choice of four engines, all V6 with the latest development by Audi in thermal management, ‘Direct Injection’.

Audi are also for the first time offering a head-up display, which projects the cars stats on the windscreen like a fighter jet. The system is already prominent in the latest BMM X5 models and Audi are anticipating a 10-15% take up rate for the extra.

This model will be available in the UK from 16th August 2010 and price is expected to a bit more than £40,000.

Audi Launch Magazine As iPad App

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:18:24 +0000

Audi have kept to their motto by being the first manufacturer to launch its customer magazine as an iPad application.

The firm hopes the release of the app will allow them to take the award winning magazine title to a whole new level.

The app is specifically designed to expand on the content already available in the printed edition, allowing users to see floating text over high definition images, animated boxes, picture galleries, videos and a full screen rotating view.

The app also allows users to check out the latest models for leasing or buying.

Peter Duffy, Head of Marketing for Audi UK said:

"Audi has always been an early adopter, whether it be of mechanical or digital technology, the Audi Magazine app is the latest example of our commitment to Vorsprung durch technik. This product will genuinely enhance Audi Magazine’s already rich content, bringing the excitement of Audi further to life."

Since its release into the Apple Store two weeks ago the app, which is free has received 15,000 downloads and found a place in the Top 50 chart.

Audi Magazine has a circulation of more than 350,000 per issue, but even none Audi owners could be tempted by the app as the technology used by the German manufacturers to animate the magazine is unique and the features revolutionary.

Audi TT Top Leased Car

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:59:45 +0000

It has been announced by a leading car leasing site that the Audi TT is the number one leased car of the moment.

It is a unique achievement in many way for Audi as it also spells the first a time a coupe has been top of the most leased list, which could also indicate a change in clientele of leasing as the top spot is usually reserved for the bigger vehicles such as Range Rover Sports, Mercedes C Classes and Audi’s own A4.

What is the cause of the TT’s rise to the top? well it can’t even be described as lust for the new model as the TT has been around in one conception or the other since 1999. One reason could be the range of varieties in the Audi range, which has made it a firm favourite within the leasing market.

A leading expert in the leasing industry said:

“The Audi TT Coupe has mass appeal; iconic design, excellent build quality and sporty performance combined with strong residuals to make this a very desirable car.”

Leasebam can search dealers for you to find the best deal on an Audi TT, for more information on the TT range take a look at our reviews on other Audi models:

Audi A4 Review – Refined and Desirable.

Audi A3 Review – 74mpg.

Audi A6 Review – Firm favourite with executives and business owners.

Interested in taking an Audi TT on a lease deal? Take a look over at Leasbam who will help find you the best price without you having to leave you computer screen.

Audi Launch Wireless Enabled Vehicle

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:36:57 +0000

The 2011 Audi A8 will be the first car in the world to offer a wireless network to owners, giving users an internet connection whilst they travel.

The system which comes as an optional extra has not been given a price by Audi as of yet but if rivals Citroen’s wifi offering is anything to go buy it should be around £500.

Passengers in both the front and rear of the car can access the service which works in two ways. The first has the driver insert a data capable sim card into the Bluetooth online car phone to activate the network or a connection can be created via Bluetooth with a mobile which also contains a valid data sim.

Audi have said the users can expect speeds of around 7.2Mbit/s and that it is highly capable to use for checking emails, browsing the internet and downloading the latest applications.

Critics have said that the system is just redistributing a 3g signal wirelessly so if all the passengers have 3G phones or connections then the wireless would not be ant improvement, if anything it would make it worse.

But the connection is not just limited to passengers, the A8 uses the connection to get real time traffic updates and implements them into its satellite navigation system. Audi are also looking at trying to integrate Google Maps into the system allowing for detailed street views of locations and destinations.

Another feature, which is already preset is an information point integration. For example if you drive past a landmark that could be of some interest the system will alert you and pull up information about the location from info services such as Wikipedia, the information can also be broadcast on the entertainment screens in the rear of the vehicle for passengers to see.

Interested in Leasing an Audi A8? Take a look at Leasebam who will try find you the model you want and at the best price.