We're assuming it was in town for the Monterey Historics as it was tooling around with a quartet of Lamborghinis. Colter was quick with his phone and able to grab exterior shots from each angle, a pair of interior shots and even photos of the direct-injection, 200 HP, 2.0-liter TSI mill.

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220kW for $64,990. That’s $295 per kilowatt. On a bang-for-buck basis, Volkswagen’s new Passat R36 sedan is impressive for a premium European performance sedan.

While the performance version of VW’s large 4WD is the company’s most powerful vehicle (258kW) , the Passat R36 is the quickest Volkswagen in the world.

In our longest track stint of about 10 laps, the brakes provided excellent pedal feel as well as consistent stopping performance – the latter crucial for the kind of heavy braking required on parts of Phillip Island’s challenging track.

The R36’s 3.6-litre V6 plays its part, too, delivering an engaging exhaust note and an eagerness to rev smoothly. Acceleration is strong rather than spectacular, though, and the engine delivers a better punch in its mid range rather than top end, thanks to peak torque (350Nm) that is flat all the way from 2400-5300rpm.

The DSG transmission can be left in auto Sport mode, where downshifts will be accompanied automatically by throttle blipping.

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Lovers of both fuel mileage and torque can finally rest easy; Volkswagen of America is now officially selling its 50-State-approved, clean diesel engine in either the Jetta sedan for $21,990 or Jetta SportWagen wrappers for $23,590. Equipped with the six-speed DSG transmission, both Jetta gets an EPA rating of 29 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on the highway.

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The Gold Coast edition is distinguished by a body kit that'll be sold as a factory option on other CCs, 19-inch wheels that aren't currently in production but hopefully will be later in the 2009 MY or at least for 2010, and special paint and interior colors.

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The unmistakable Volkswagen front-end, with two cross-struts and a centrally placed Volkswagen logo between trapezoidal headlamps is highlighted by the ground effects on the CC Gold Coast. A high-end tri-coat paint, DuPont’s Pepe Pepper, features a rich mix of gold, brown and silver tones that compliment the cars design characteristics.

The rear end of the coupé is also marked by large-surface dual taillights that produce an unmistakable visual image day and night. A spoiler with additional rear-end ground effects helps further enhance the vehicle’s sporty nature. The CC Gold Coast sits on 19 inch propeller style wheels, which provide a combination of sharp style and improved curb appeal.

Volkswagen’s attention to detail is shown off in the interior of the CC Gold Coast with four ergonomically formed sport seats wrapped in luxurious leather, a combination of Latte Macchiatto, Cornsilk with Bronze Piping on the seats with matching accents on the dash and door trim.

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Labels: VW

The seats are good though – really grippy, and with adjustable side-bolsters – while the chunky, sculpted wheel is nice to hold and the backlit instruments with their blue needles look cool. It all feels pleasingly robust, too, though neither as posh nor as sporty as an RS Audi.

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It's been styled under Walter de' Silva and borrows from VW's vast parts bin to keep development costs low. The source tells Inside Line that this project is resurfacing for "the fifth time in [five] years" but expresses optimism that the project will reach fruition this time, possibly to be assembled in Germany by VW's longtime partner Karmann.

To keep weight down and performance strong, VW is said to have referred to Audi about aluminum space frame construction. This has fueled some two years' worth of rumors — and attendant denials from Ingolstadt — that there could be an Audi R4 version of the new model. The rumored car has been described as a cut-priced R8 and could use more powerful Audi engines like the new EA888-based 211-hp, 2.0-liter TFSI gasoline engine and an upcoming 204-hp, twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter TDI common-rail diesel instead of the more frugal VW power plants.

Another intriguing idea: VW majority shareholder Porsche is said to have shown interest in the new project, opening the way for a possible resurrection of the 914.

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On the upside, the Tiguan's handling is downright sporty, with appropriate levels of body roll and precise steering. As electric power steering goes, this one's pretty well calibrated, making parking maneuvers effortless without overassisting once you're in motion. The Tiguan begs to be driven quickly and tossed about, and thanks to its relatively low center of gravity, good roadholding and a standard electronic stability system, that's not the irresponsible act it would be in many SUVs.

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Volkswagen's Hydrogen Fuel Cell concept vehicle, the HyMotion Tiguan, will travel from Portland, Maine to Los Angeles, Calif. over the next 13 days as part of the National Hydrogen Road Tour, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Hydrogen Association. A dedicated Web blog, http://vwhydrogentour.com/ will provide daily updates and photos from the historic trip.

"Volkswagen is thrilled to join with our federal and state partners and other OEMs to be part of this historic event highlighting hydrogen's potential as a future energy source," said John Tillman program manager, U.S. Advanced Powertrain Research Program, Volkswagen Group of America. "Volkswagen has long been committed to fuel efficient vehicles and this is evident in the research and engineering behind the Tiguan HyMotion. With water as the only byproduct, this incredible vehicle has zero emissions and has a top speed of 93 miles per hour."

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The Volkswagen Tiguan seems like the perfect four-wheeled horse for our trek to the not-so-wild East. It offers a commanding view, a chassis tough enough to laugh at the few remaining Cold War potholes, a comfy leather-clad cabin, four-wheel drive (just in case), and a turbocharged, 200-hp engine that would surely be more than adequate to beat the pan-continental 130-km (81-mph) speed limit.

By and large, the Rabbit-based crossover does a competent job.

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There's a lot of talk about the American car market beginning to mirror the European one.

In a general sense, this is kind of true. We both share high gas prices, and we both like to complain about it .

But our reaction to paying more at the pump hasn't caused us to look at similar vehicles. Around Europe, wagons rock. Cool people own them. They offer lots of space, excellent mileage and a sporty ride. In America, we think they're uncool, remembering those behemoths of the '70s that shuttled families around town long before Chrysler rolled out the first minivan. Professors own them. The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportsWagen could change that American mindset.

It has as much cargo space as a compact sport utility vehicle and hits 29 miles per gallon on the highway. Cool is certainly changing its definition.

I recently tested a five-cylinder 2.5-liter Jetta SportsWagen SE and found myself enjoying this vehicle more with every mile. It can carry my dog, my wife and loads of our stuff for hundreds of miles on a single tank of a petrol -- that's "gas" in European lingo.

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Positioned between the New Beetle convertible and the Eos, the Golf cabrio will feature a cloth top borrowed from the Audi A3 convertible. The Edscha-supplied collapsible roof mechanism should help VW get the new cabriolet to market in a cost-effective and timely manner, and reportedly preclude the need for a roll bar. Expect to see the Golf/Rabbit convertible, which will be made exclusively at Volkswagen's plants in Wolfsburg and Mosel, popping up on the market by 2010.

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The Passat CC also boasts a host of new driver assistance systems, including the 'lane assist' lane-keeping system and new DCC adaptive chassis control. Other high-end technologies include 'park assist' and 'ACC automatic distance control' with 'front assist' for braking distance reduction.

There is also an electrically actuated panorama vent sunroof. The transparent roof is 750 millimeters long and 1,120 millimeters wide and covers the entire front section up to the B pillars.

There's even a list of small details with impact, such as the unique guide system for the side windows in the frameless coupé doors, which do not offer any surfaces for the wind to catch hold. The climate control feature for the car's seats (active climate seat) until now was only fitted on the Phaeton luxury sedan. Also new is the entire climate control system and visualisation is now integrated in the display of the radio and navigation systems. There is also a new layout and design of the instruments with chrome bezels. Similar to the Phaeton, instrument markings and numbers are not backlit in blue; rather they glow in a white light.

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Volkswagen will launch a new high-performance VW Golf GTI soon after its standard flagship hatchback, company sources have revealed.

It should arrive in showrooms in spring 2009, but we may get a sneak preview of the new GTI as soon as October, when a concept is tipped to be unveiled.

The new Volkswagen Golf GTI will keep the current car’s well-judged balance of ride, handling and refinement, although an extra edge will be added to improve steering and handling. This will help close the gap with the sporty new Scirocco, which makes today’s GTI feel a little soft.

Power will come from a 211bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre version of the group’s new global EA888 engine, equipped with the new valve-lift system developed by Audi.

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Upon startup and takeoff, I found a pleasing, butter-smooth clutch-shift-brake combination coupled with an especially quiet engine even while violently pushing the transmission. It's a simple, functional car, pleasant to drive, with a sleek, trimless exterior design similar in shape and size to a variety of other offerings from similarly styled rides. Its building materials vary widely. Soft-touch covers appear on the trim, dashboard and door, but the plastic cover to the rear windshield wiper snapped off in my hand when I tried to open the rear glass. The Tiguan comes in three trims; my tester S, the SE and SEL, each more elaborately outfitted and pricier.

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The new Volkswagen Tiguan and redesigned Nissan Murano achieved "Very Good" overall scores - and outpointed some of their competitors - in Consumer Reports' tests of compact and midsized, two-row sport-utility vehicles for the September issue.

The Tiguan and Murano were part of a group of six vehicles including the Infiniti EX, Land Rover LR2, Volkswagen Touareg 2, and Jeep Grand Cherokee that were tested. Prices-as-tested for the vehicles ranged from $35,479 for the Tiguan to $43,350 for the Touareg.

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So rather than mess with a good thing and take on huge costs of developing yet *another* all-new platform, VW decided to take the existing Golf V platform and improve it further. This means VW can get a new generation Golf VI to market faster and, more importantly, do it for far less development work which helps to keep overall costs down. Lest you think the Golf VI is a mere facelift, there is far more going on than it looks like. More than 1,000 different items were improved, lightened, strengthened or simplified. The chassis is even stiffer now. The suspension geometry has been tweaked to improve ride *and* handling again. Every piece of sheetmetal from the windows down has been changed. The interior is all-new with new HVAC systems, new infotainment systems, new gauges, new placements of controls and more. While dimensions are nearly identical, this is a pretty thorough rethink of an already fine component platform.

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