1974 Volkswagen Bus/vanagon on 2040-cars

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Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically "retired" earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.
In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the "Spirit of Le Mans" for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.

VW Jetta TDI Value Edition drops price of diesel ownership to $21,295*

Getting a new diesel-powered car just got a bit easier. Volkswagen has announced a new Jetta TDI Value Edition for 2014 that trims over $2,000 off the starting price of a Jetta TDI, making the most affordable diesel-powered car in America even more so. Prices start at $21,295 (*plus $820 for destination) for a Value Edition with a six-speed manual transmission, while a six-speed dual-clutch automatic adds $1,100 to the price. For that money, owners will get 140 horsepower, 236 pound-feet of torque and 42 miles per gallon on the freeway.
Despite the lower price and being down on content versus the previous base Jetta TDI, the Value Edition does come quite well equipped, with standard heated cloth seats, a six-speaker stereo with a Media Device Interface, satellite radio, and one-touch, up-down power windows on all four doors. Customers will be giving up some notable stuff though, including tilt/telescopic steering, Bluetooth streaming audio, power seats and a multi-function steering wheel.
Still, if you're aching to get your hands on a new TDI, this is now the most affordable way to do it. We suspect having the lower MSRP will help the German manufacturer make even further diesel-powered inroads here in the States, a land where they cleared their decks of over 100,000 TDI models in 2013.

VW previews retouched 2014 Touareg for Beijing

Volkswagen is in New York this week showing off its new Jetta and Golf TDI SportWagen concept. But in less than a week, the German automaker will be off to China for the Beijing Motor Show, where it will showcase the revised Touareg you see here.
A subtle update on the Touareg that's been on the market in its current form for four years now, the facelifted model features reworked styling front and rear, an updated interior and a host of new technologies to keep it current in the highly competitive SUV market. Among those new features are larger bi-xenon headlights, coasting function, Google Maps integration and a post-collision braking system designed to prevent a second crash.
VW will offer the new Touareg with a variety of engines around the world, but in North America it'll carry over the same six-cylinder powertrain options as the outgoing model: a 3.6-liter V6 with 280 horsepower, a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 with 240 hp (though torque isn't listed, we'd expect around 406 pound-feet, same as last year) and a hybrid that marries a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 to an electric motor that combine to deliver 380 hp.