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VW to unveil diesel-electric Twin-Up! in Tokyo

We've received multiple reports that Volkswagen will be bringing a diesel-electric concept to the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, set to take place later this month. The car, called the Twin-Up!, is based on the Up! city car, with some sources claiming this is a thinly veiled concept that will eventually enter production.
According to Automotive News Europe, the Twin-Up! will reportedly return 214 miles per gallon on the US cycle by combining an 800-cc, two-cylinder diesel and an electric motor. It will also boast plug-in capabilities, and will be able to cover 30 miles on electric power alone.
Autocar has a more complete picture of the Twin-Up!'s powertrain, though, claiming it's a modified version of the hybrid system found in the Volkswagen XL1. The Twin-Up! will get a more potent, 47-horsepower electric motor to the XL1's 27-hp unit, but will retain that car's 47-hp turbodiesel. The battery pack will also grow, from 5.5 kilowatt hours to 8.6 kWh. Both of these increases are necessary due to the increased weight of the Twin-Up! - it's some 900 pounds heavier than an XL1.

VW Super Bowl teaser with Jimmy Cliff is like a less-mean Tosh.0 Web Redemption

Reggae super-duper-star and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jimmy Cliff has been using music to send positive vibes out into the universe for decades now, so its no surprise that his message on behalf of Volkswagen is one of redemption.
Dubbed Sunny Side, this web-spot is VW's warmup of sorts for what promises to be another blockbuster year in the world of Super Bowl commercials. Without giving away the game, the euphonious commercial sees Cliff opening his arms and his heart to some YouTube 'celebrities' that might see courser treatment from the likes of Tosh.0, for instance. We can't help but be reminded of Coca-Cola's legendary 1971 Hilltop spot with the "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" lyric, too.
Enjoy the pre-Super Bowl VW spot below, and don't forget to pay it forward... your karma will thank you. For those of you that just can't get enough of commercial-making magic, we've included a "making-of" video, as well.

VW confirms Golf GTD diesel coming to US for 2016

Part of the Volkswagen Golf recipe that has helped the car sell more than 30 million units in just under 40 years is the number of variants in which the hatchback is offered. Building on that range here in the US, Automotive News is reporting that we will finally be getting the sporty Golf GTD, likely as a 2016 model. It's the GTD, you'll recall, that crosses the performance abilities of the venerable GTI with a powerful and fuel-efficient diesel engine.
After speaking with Andreas Valbuena, Volkswagen product manager for the Golf, AN not only says that the GTD will for sale in the US in a couple years, it also estimates a baseline price of around $27,000, which would place it between the current pricing for the GTI and the Golf R. The GTD is launching in Europe this summer, but we won't be getting the seventh-generation Golf in the US for another year. The news about the performance diesel model isn't entirely unexpected - VW officials have been hinting at it for at least a year now, going so far as to import a sixth-generation model for media test drives on US soil, a task we happily took them up on last year.
The Mk VII GTD uses VW's 2.0-liter TDI engine with output increased to 184 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, allowing the car to sprint to 60 miles per hour in about seven seconds while returning more than 40 mpg in highway driving. We can't wait.