Tag: VW

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Cars

VW Golf Plus the ideal reasonable family car

VW Golf Plus is in my favourite pointless, senseless car category. It is not the first one but it has a very high potential! When it was first revealed I could not find a target consumer group to buy this higher Golf. It was not offering something special except being taller. And the sales figures supported my hypothesis and it did not receive a huge demand, actually it is not sold in Turkey anymore!
It has an identity problem, why I should buy one? There was no a clear question for this. Therefore people hesitate to buy one. Identity crisis is the worst thing a car can have, people will hesitate to buy one, nobody will bother to see one, it will turn into a ghost car.
However a few days ago I was chatting with blogger friend FashionBySiu (I don’t know her real name) and she told me that she is looking for a new car to replace her Honda HRV. HRV is one of the most confusing SUVs ever seen, it has a ridiculously high ground clearance for a car which is not able to attempt any off roading! Actually Honda engineers decided to raise the vehicle by increasing the gap between ground and the vehicle instead of increasing the height of the roof and we have something very interesting!

Anyway, she is looking for a car which should be automatic, diesel, tall and reasonable priced! Unfortunately this is impossible in Turkey, thanks to our taxation system which we pay exactly twice the price of EU, there is not car which could satisfy these needs. Especially the reasonably priced facts! Dacia Duster is fulfilling this fact but it does not offer any automatic. So this combination ends up with Golf Plus.

Finally I met with someone who needs a car which is exactly a Golf Plus! As long as you don’t need four wheel drive, Golf Plus is a very “family” car with normal price!
I have never imagined that one day I will be writing about the Golf Plus :)
Pictures’ Copyrights
Honda, Dacia, VW
Categories
Cars

Have fun with Porsche Design

Recently Volkswagen Financial Services AG started to follow my blog. Thanks to Google Analytics, I can see which companies are following me. Therefore I have to post article for my audience. And I decided to offer something interesting for VW Financial Services.
As I read from their web site, it is the best place to work in Germany. And from the pictures, I can agree on this. But financial services are not something very entertaining for everyone. I am sure that some of the stuff is dealing with credit check for customers, analysing a potential VW Passat Estate Diesel’s future owner’s last ten years credit history. I don’t think, they are having fun like in research and development department.
Now it is time to have a break. From the sibling company Porsche Design, there is a very funny iPhone application. Actually fun and Porsche Design are not very close words but they manage to combine it with this very interesting application.
In this application you choose the worst sun glasses of Porsche Design, not the best one the worst ones, and you take a picture of your face and then application is adding the desired sun glass with your face. Sound very creative but practically very funny. While looking for credit history check, you can have fun :)
Categories
Cars

Alessandra Ambrosio and VW Brazil, very senseless conversation

Brazil reminds me three things. Ayrton Senna, Alessandra Ambrosio and Volkswagen Truck! I am using word “truck” with Alessandra in the same sentence. I do know that Alessandra and trucks are totally different things. And I should be crazy to use them together. However their common part is the uniqueness.
In Victoria’s Secret there are other Brazilian super models besides Alessandra, but this did not help us to know other girls’ names. Many people know Alessandra and recognize other girls. There is something very special with Alessandra, it is hard to mention with words. May be she is on the cover of many magazines, maybe she is very tall, maybe she is very charming and this can go forever. However the result is everyone knows Alessandra! Most probably in next couple of decades her popularity will increase dramatically and I am sure on this. During last six years, she became more popular than Starbucks. Sorry for the bad comparison but Starbucks is a very good icon for popularity.
Unfortunately VW Trucks are not that popular. Actually nobody knows them. In terms of Europe, we have never heard of VW Truck. The only vehicle which is close to a truck is the Touareg and it does not offer enough space for heavy loads. Without any significant reason, VW is manufacturing trucks in Brazil for American market excluding US and Canada. Anyone who visit Brazil says “girls are great and I saw VW truck”. This only happens in Brazil! Anywhere else on earth, nobody pays attention to trucks at the same time pays attention to girls.
I don’t think that people are losing their minds in Brazil and start to talk about trucks. The core of this conversation is the uniqueness of VW trucks. You cannot see them in everywhere and when you spot one, you want to share your experience. At the same time, you spot lots of Brazilian girls and the brain starts to malfunction and joins to different subjects at the same conversation and ends up totally senseless.
I can only say one thing, there is something very special with Brazil :) And Alessandro can be a good brand ambassador for VW Brazil. Not for trucks !
Portuguese translation from Google Translate.
Brasil faz-me lembrar de três coisas. Ayrton Senna, Alessandra Ambrosio e Volkswagen Caminhões! Estou usando o caminhão “palavra” com Alessandra na mesma frase. Eu sei que os caminhões Alessandra e são coisas totalmente diferentes. E eu devia estar louco para usá-los juntos. Entretanto, sua parte é comum a exclusividade.

Em Victoria’s Secret, existem outros modelos brasileiras Alessandra além de super, mas isso não nos ajudam a conhecer os nomes das outras garotas. Muitas pessoas sabem Alessandra e reconhecer outras meninas. Há algo muito especial com Alessandra, é difícil falar com as palavras. Pode ser que ela está na capa de muitas revistas, talvez ela é muito alto, talvez ela é muito charmoso e isso pode ir para sempre. No entanto, o resultado é que todo mundo sabe que Alessandra! Muito provavelmente no próximo par de décadas, sua popularidade vai aumentar drasticamente e tenho certeza sobre isso. Durante os últimos seis anos, ela se tornou mais popular do Starbucks. Desculpem a comparação ruim, mas a Starbucks é um ícone muito bom para a popularidade.
Infelizmente VW Caminhões que não são populares. Na verdade ninguém sabe deles. Em termos de Europa, nunca ouviu falar de VW Truck. O único veículo que está perto de um caminhão é o Touareg e não oferece espaço suficiente para cargas pesadas. Sem qualquer razão significativa, a VW está a fabricar caminhões no Brasil para o mercado americano, excluindo E.U. e Canadá. Qualquer pessoa que visitar o Brasil diz que “as meninas são ótimas e eu vi o caminhão VW”. Isso só acontece no Brasil! Em qualquer outro lugar na terra, ninguém presta atenção aos caminhões ao mesmo tempo, presta atenção às meninas.
Eu não acho que as pessoas estão perdendo suas mentes no Brasil e começar a falar sobre caminhões. O núcleo desta conversa é a singularidade de caminhões VW. Você não pode vê-los em qualquer lugar e quando você encontrar uma, que você deseja compartilhar sua experiência. Ao mesmo tempo, os lotes que você mancha de meninas brasileiras eo cérebro começa a avaria e junta-se a indivíduos diferentes na mesma conversa e acaba totalmente sem sentido.
Só posso dizer uma coisa, há algo muito especial com o Brasil:) E Alessandro pode ser uma boa embaixadora da marca VW para o Brasil. Não é para caminhões!
Pictures’ Copyright
Alessandra Ambrosio , VW
Categories
Cars

VW Touareg’s unusable iPhone game

VW Touareg has never been an adorable car for me. It was the break-even point for VW. It was the movement from peoples’ car to wealthy peoples’ car. And they achieved very successfully. Now VW is an expensive people car. Also it is very well made!
However Touareg was a disaster for me. I drove it once but it was not something special. Just a new VW. And many people shared similar feelings with me and VW introduced the new Touareg. It looks much much better than the older model. At least you won’t be scared when you see on street. I saw one last week, it was looking nice.
In addition to its new style, it is built much better than former model and offers very sophisticated technologies. Intelligent light system, 8 speed automatic, clever radar guided cruise control, accident prevent system which breaks by itself. Basically you cannot have an accident with new Touareg. But still it is senseless! I know Range Rover, BMW X5 and Mercedes M Class are not perfect but they offer something different. Range Rover is the castle with wheels, X5 is the sporty lorry, M Class is Mercedes.
In spite senseless character of Touareg, I am very optimistic for sales performance. It looks different, well built, I am sure that it is riding better than previous model. Customers do not care too much of details nowadays, they just own something special, unique and look expensive. VW knows the game.
Why I wrote this thing now? Last two weeks I am trying to finish VW Touareg iPhone game. But I cannot! I am using computer for nineteen years and I am terrible on games. However iPhone games supposed to be easy! But it is bloody hard! Actually the Touareg’s reactions on game are very similar to real life. Because SUV are not designed to be nimble expect BMW X5 and X6. And game is pushing you to be fast with Touareg in a circuit which was replicated from a carpet patterns. I am sure that you tried to play with your car on carpet with its ridiculous corners. This game is the same :) And if you are older than fifteen, just forget to finish it!

Pictures’ Copyrights
VW, Land Rover

Categories
Cars

New Bentley Chateaux GT, No Continental GT

It is quite hard to start writing about Bentley Continental. Usually, I start writing my blog and finish in couple of minutes. But this time I couldn’t start like that. May be I was excited the by the press release today.

Bentley’s “cheaper” model Continental GT model will be face-lifted soon. Honestly, this car is my favourite. It has everything which you can expect from a car. Exquisite in every detail despite it is based on a VW Phaëton. I think I am attracted by this huge amount of power and daily usability.

It is offering 610 horsepower in a seven star hotel comfort. It is a bit interesting combination. I would like to explain this to people who has no idea how hard to combine these two things. I think the best basic explanation is a chateaux attached with four wheel and capable of flying. Sounds ridiculous but Bentley offers something like that.

Even though it is not as fast as a Ferrari or agile like Porsche 911, I still love Continental GT! And hopefully there is new one, actually face-lifted model. As the Continental family based on VW Phaëton and it is recently face-lifted, so this is not something sudden to happen. I am not expecting Continental to become totally different but it makes me excited!

Unfortunately press release and its dedicated web site do not provide enough images but I am hoping that, they won’t be too much common interior parts with VW. The current model unfortunately has too much similarity. Even though, Continental GT is an amazing car. But it is quite hard to drive one so easy!

I think I can define Continental family as the combination of British aristocracy with German engineering. And please Volkswagen, don’t make Bentley into a “people” wagen by sharing every kind of detail !







Pictures’ Copyright
Bentley

Categories
Cars

Forgotten beauty, VW Phaëton

Phaëton; for many of you this word does not mean anything, or you just remember something but that’s not clear! Phaëton is coming Greek Mythology, however VW decide to honour this mythological value with a car which cannot be remembered by many people. VW Phaëton is similar to brands which were forgotten in department stores. Places like Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Saks Fifth Avenue or Selfridges there are millions of brands and we cannot even remember many of them after we left the store. Sometimes those brands which cannot be remembered might be the best designed one. Like in automotive business, fashion business has its emperors and anything new to this jungle has to do much to gain a place!
In Phaëton case things are bit different! It was not the fault of Phaëton, it was being badged as VW. Unlike contemporary fashion brands, VW is very well known but its product is suffering to be forgotten. Unfortunately, VW brand is not perceived like Mercedes for luxury segment, therefore people don’t consider this as an option to buy. However this forgotten car had always very remarkable design, now with the face lift it became one of the best designed car on its segment. Actually, it is much better looking that Audi A8, sorry!
F Segment cars; Mercedes S Class, BMW 7 Series, Maserati Quattroporte, Jaguar XJ and Audi A8 are the players in this segment. As you can imagine, competition is really tough! Similar to haute coutre business! As you expected the king of this market is Mercedes S Class, despite it looks too traditional many people still adore this car. Maserati Quattroporte is the playboy car of this segment, actually this is the only car which has a proper soul in it. But it does not offer the sophisticated toys like in Mercedes. And we know the Jaguar, it is Jaguar :) Audi A8 is trying everything to compete with BMW and Mercedes but it does not have so much competitive power but there are many people who loves it. And honestly, A8 is very good car.
The Phaëton, I don’t know why since it was first revealed I liked this car. There was something different in this car, may be it was the new car in this segment, may be its unique technologies like human friendly climate control. But it could not compete with its rivals and became a icon for VW.
However the new facelifted model is totally something different. Actually it is more than face lift, this Phaëton look gorgeous! Especially the production quality inside is superb and the front grille is exquisite. Also it has many technologies put inside.
I think if you wish to buy something different and reliable, you should check Phaëton! It is really worth every word. Like the brand which we forgot in department store :)
Audi A8
BMW 7 Series
Mercedes S Class
Maserati Quattrporte
Jaguar XJ
Pictures are taken from;
Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, Jaguar and Maserati Websites
Categories
Cars

Scientific show off by VW Passat

Four years ago on Fifth Gear Jon Bentley drove something very extra ordinary! Actually the car was not that extra ordinary but its ability was extra ordinary. It was a normal VW Golf GTi. I know, that’s not something very special. You can see Golf GTi anytime on street!
However, there was something different underneath this Golf! It was cleaver :) Thanks to its laser radar, Golf is able to learn what the obstacles are around! And Golf was not doing this just to show off. It was doing this to learn its path which will be driven by its own. This Golf had an auto pilot, like an air plane and unlike air plane you don’t have to take off by yourself. You just need to start the engine. Anyway, this prototype model was designed to go around cones!
Now it is 2010 and VW did not go on wintersleep for four years. They really worked hard with Stanford University. And the result is; a VW Passat Estate which is able to make a J turn and park itself. Yes, the cleaver boys from Standford spend their hours to calculate how to make a J turn with computer. Actually, they could have asked many people it is not that complicated. Anyway, they formulated as F = m a. Honestly, I don’t know how they manage to shortened this manoeuvre with only three letter :)

In the end, they manage to make this complicated maneuver with the help of silicone chips :) What we learn from these experiences? Silicons are not only used for making boobs bigger; VW never sleeps for long time and in future if Microsoft makes a car, we would probably hitting to each other in every second :)

Honestly, VW and Stanford University made a remarkable excellent job :) Even if we trained to do that turn, we cannot learn that quickly!
Pictures are taken from;
VW Website

Categories
Cars

VW China, hybrid bicycle !

Nowadays bicycles became very popular to car companies! May be focusing on China market and involving with their culture influence the manufacturers and they decided to manufacture bicycles besides cars. Yesterday I mentioned about the pointless and good looking Lexus hybrid bicycle and today VW announced their hybrid bicycle!
However, VW’s bicycle looks quite descent. It worth to be tried at least once. But I would not planning to buy it! VW’s bicycle might be good for riding for once but if I wish to own a bicycle I would be buying from bike company! I guess, VW and Lexus are focusing on how to increase our market share in China with whatever product we can make :)
Picture is taken from;
Worldcarfans Website
Categories
Fashion

Interpretation of VW CrossGolf by Paris Fashion Week

Geneva Motor Show and Paris Fashion Week are very important events for their industry. Yes, fashion is an industry also ;) In both these events, companies are introducing their new designs, new products. These events are exciting for people who are interesting to see new designs and new products. It is the same for fashion and automotive.
However, every new product or design is not the smart! In Geneva Motor Show, VW announced its new Golf! That’s a product line extension, CrossGolf. That’s something between Tiguan (Small SUV) and Golf Plus (Taller Golf). Actually, it is something totally pointless! VW already had a pointless car CrossPolo and its sales performance is similar to Britney Spears’s album sales when she was crazy! Anyway, CrossGolf is defined as “Cleverly designed CrossGolf closes the gap between MPV and SUV”. Very very very interesting!
VW, why do you search for vehicles which have no future! I know that, PowerPoint slides and statistics show revelant data for this segment but it is just a waste of energy and resource. I am pretty sure that, there are some people will buy CrossGolf. However their percentage will less than people who are going to buy this dress for summer from Viktor&Rolf :)

Pictures are from;
VW and Viktor&Rolf Websites

Categories
Cars

Hon.-Prof. Dr. techn. h.c. Dipl.-lng. ETH Ferdinand K. Piëch (VW)

If you never heard of him, please don’t say “I know car business”. Unfortunately, you don’t. It is like, saying who is Bill Gates during an interview in Microsoft! No difference.
Mr.Piëch is grandson of Ferdinan Porsche, so he has the car DNAs in his blood. And his talent to turn VW from peoples’ boring car into automotive giant. Bentley and Bugatti missions were Piëch’s ideas. And if you love Veyron, you should thank him. Also he is very good at business game, his cousin Wolfgang Porsche started to buy VW bit by bit for quite long time and Piëch made the right movement at the right time and Porsche is a brand of VW. Now VW has these; VW, Audi, Porsche, Bugatti, Bentley, Skoda, Seat, MAN and Scania. VW has only have stakes in MAN and Scania. Also he has shaped the design of Porsche Panamera.
So he is the Bill Gates or Alexander the Great of automotive industry :) With this interesting pictures attached to his jacket. I found this on Top Gear Magazine’s December 2009 issue at page 112.