William Maley

Last year at the LA Auto Show, Volkswagen of America CEO Michael Horn let out that Volkswagen was planning to introduce the Golf Alltrack, a version of the new SportWagen with increased ride height and body cladding to take on the Subaru XV Crosstrek. Today, Volkswagen made it official with the announcement of the Golf SportWagen Alltrack arriving in the U.S. next year. The Golf SportWagen Alltrack takes your standard SportWagen and adds body cladding, revised front and rear bumpers; and a one-inch lift to help set it apart. Underneath the body is Volkswagen's 4Motion all-wheel drive system which can send up to 50 percent of power to the back if the system detects slip. Otherwise, the system stays in two-wheel drive to improve fuel economy. Volkswagen hasn't said what powers the Alltrack at this time. “We have heard from dealers and customers that they want to see a Golf SportWagen with the all-terrain capability that comes from all-wheel drive. We are delighted to introduce the SportWagen Alltrack in 2016 in the U.S," said Michael Horn, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. Source: Volkswagen Press Release is on Page 2 Golf SportWagen Alltrack Coinciding with the arrival of the all-new Golf SportWagen, currently available in dealer showrooms, Volkswagen is pleased to announce that the all-wheel-drive Alltrack model will go on sale in 2016 as a 2017 model. “We have heard from dealers and customers that they want to see a Golf SportWagen with the all-terrain capability that comes from all-wheel drive,” said Michael Horn, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “We are delighted to introduce the SportWagen Alltrack in 2016 in the U.S." Technical and visual differences between the Golf SportWagen and the Alltrack include a 4MOTION® all-wheel-drive system, nearly an inch higher ground clearance, wheelarch moldings and flared side sills that offer body protection, newly designed bumpers, and an even more upscale interior. The 4MOTION all-wheel drive system uses the latest generation Haldex-5 coupling, activated via an electro-hydraulic oil pump. In normal driving, the Alltrack acts like a front-wheel-drive car for better fuel economy, but as soon as the system detects wheel slip, up to 50 percent of the drive torque can be shipped to the rear wheels. In addition to the Haldex coupling that acts longitudinally, electronic differential locks (EDL) at the front and rear axles act laterally in concert with the electronic stability control system. The system briefly brakes a wheel that is slipping, enabling uninterrupted and stable transfer of drive power to the wheel on the opposite side. In combination with the higher ground clearance, this 4MOTION all-wheel drive system helps to give the newest Golf SportWagen the off-road capability and load-carrying capacity of a compact SUV along with the on-road manners and fuel economy of a compact wagon. View full article

Yeah. Its amazing to think the design done by Gordon Murray still holds up to this day.

If you had the chance to read our story on the Lincoln Continental yesterday, then you read this line: "The overall look of the Continental Concept oddly reminds us of the Bentley Continental Flying Spur." We're not the only one to take notice of this. Car Design News reports that Bentley isn't too keen on this similarity. Luc Donckerwolke, Bentley's chief designer went to Facebook to voice his complaints. "I would have called it Flying Spur concept and kept the four round lights," said Donckerwolke. Donckerwolke then went to Lincoln chief designer David Woodhouse's Facebook to say, "Do you want us to send the product tooling?" Since then, the comment was deleted, but Car Design News made sure to get a copy of it. "This behavior is not respectable. Building a copy like this is giving a bad name to the car design world," said Donckerwolke when asked by Car Design News. This was followed by a comment from by Bentley's exterior design chief, Sangyup Lee. "It is very disappointing, especially for an exclusive brand like Lincoln." So does Bentley have a point, or do they have sour grapes over the Continental? Have your say in the comments below. Source: Car Design News View full article