NAIAS 2013: VW's New Passat Performance Concept is Anything But That...

When you hear the words "Performance Concept", you expect to see a high-powered model with looks to match its name, yet Volkswagen's U.S.-market Passat-based study doesn't satisfy in any of these aspects.

Sure, the German brand's new EA888 1.8-liter turbocharged produces an impressive output of 247-horses (250PS) for its displacement, but these days you can get a Honda Accord V6 with 278-horsepower – and the Japanese carmaker doesn't place a performance badge on it…

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NAIAS 2013: New VW CrossBlue Crossover Concept Aims at Ford Explorer

If you want to raise your sales in any market, one of the first things to do is the cover the most important segments, and in the North American auto industry, this means you need to have products in all key SUV categories.

Volkswagen already offers the Tiguan in the compact and the Touareg in the premium segments, so it's now looking to cover the price gap between the two models as well as to replace the Chrysler-built Routan minivan that ended production earlier this year.

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New Volkswagen CrossBlue 6/7-Seater SUV Concept in More Detail [Updated]

A fresh set of images and additional details, including the name of VW's new Detroit motor show-bound CrossBlue SUV Concept, surfaced on the internet today.

Volkswagen developed the CrossBlue specifically for the U.S. and Canada to preview an upcoming model designed to slot between the smaller Tiguan and the more luxurious and pricier Touareg SUVs.

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NAIAS 2013: VW's New Seven-Seat SUV Concept Slots Between Tiguan and Touareg

Volkswagen's star attraction at the 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit will be a new conceptual study for a seven-seat SUV that will likely lead to a production model within the next couple of years. Read more »

This is Volkswagen's Detroit Show Passat Performance Concept with 247hp

Volkswagen is injecting some sportiness to its North American market Passat with the world premiere of a performance concept at next week's Detroit auto show.

Dubbed the "Passat Performance Concept", the German carmaker says the study gives us a sneak-peek at an upcoming sport variant of its mid-size model, which in 2012, recorded its best sales year ever in the States with 117,023 units.

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Volkswagen Goes Beetles for 2012 SEMA Aftermarket Show

On the eve of the 2012 SEMA Show, Volkswagen presented its range of customized cars that include six Beetles and one Golf Mk6 tune.

The lineup kicks off with the "Ultimate Super Beetle" show car built in collaboration with performance specialist APR and the VWvortex team. The concept is based on the 2013 Beetle Turbo with the 2.0-liter TFSI, which in factory trim, produces 200-horses.

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New Volkswagen Taigun is a Concept for an Up!-Based Small SUV [Updated]

At this week's 2012 São Paulo International Motor Show in Brazil, Volkswagen introduced a new study for a small SUV that looks far more production ready than what the automaker would like us to believe.

The concept's name in Taigun, which as you have probably already guessed, is an anagram of "Tiguan", VW's SUV proposal in the compact segment.

The German company makes no effort to hide the fact that the Taigun not only resembles the styling but is also technically based on its New Small Family models represented by the Up! city cars, adding that if it were to be produced, it would round out the range "in an upward direction".

The Taigun is 3,859 mm (151.9in.) long, 1,728 mm (43.9 in.) wide and 1,570 mm (39.9 in) tall, which makes it significantly smaller not only from the Tiguan (4,432 mm or 174.5 in. long), but even the Nissan Juke (4,125mm or 162.4 in. long).

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Spied: Volkswagen Filmed Trying Out XL1 Diesel-Electric Hybrid

The XL1 is Volkswagen's vision of a plug-in hybrid car that returns an amazingly low combined fuel consumption of 0.9lt/100km, equal to 261 mpg US and 313 mpg UK, or to be precise, MPGe (Miles per gallon gasoline equivalent) since this figure includes the use of both the internal combustion engine and the battery.

The two-seater model was presented as a concept last year and is now heading for very limited run production starting from next year - if all goes according to plan. VW's engineers were filmed in Spain completing new tests with the car as they prepare for its introduction.

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