It is a sad, sad day when you get news like this. *sniff* After 63 years of production, the original Volkswagen Type 2 van and camper will finally cease production. *sob*Of course, European production of the dear old bay-window Type 2 ended decades ago when the square-rigged Type 3 was introduced, but production has continued, unabated, in Brazil ever since, and you can still get proper, brand-new, right-hand-drive versions through specialist importers like Danbury Caravans in the UK.But now, thanks to a change in Brazilian law which states that all vehicles sold there must be equipped with anti-lock brakes and driver and passenger airbags from 2014, the original VW bus will end production on December 31st, 2013.Awwwwww...Although the car meets all emissions regulations for Brazil, modifying it to take airbags and ABS would just push the price up way too high, and with Brazil being the biggest market for the car, that's just a no-no.According to Autocar magazine, VW reckons that you could buy two Type 2s for the price of just one 'normal' car. Farewell old friend...
Volkswagen adds Taigun but drops profit. Has the financapocalypse finally gotten its dirty fingers into VW?
This is the new Taigun, a concept compact crossover that Volkswagen has just shown at the Sao Paulo motor show in Brazil. Why there? Simply because Brazil's burgeoning economy is one of the boom markets for new cars at the moment, and VW is keen to capitalise on its already strong market position there.
We've been told in recent weeks that VW is working on a new range of crossovers and SUVs, but this is a bit smaller than we expected. Instead of being a Polo-based rival to the likes of the Nissan Juke and Mini Countryman, it's actually built on the same platform as the VW Up, and is smaller again than the Juke.
It is a big bigger than the Up mind, with a 50mm longer wheelbase and a much bigger boot.
It gets a turbocharged version of the Up's 1.0-litre 75bhp petrol engine, boosting power to 100bhp. And will it make production? Almost certainly, in spite of VW saying that it's just a concept for now, and you can expect Skoda, Seat and Audi versions too.
It't not all good news for VW though. The German car giant is due to announce third quarter earnings of around €2.3-billion this week, which sounds great, but is actually a whopping 21% down on the same period last year.
Of course, some of that can be attributed to the fact that the ever-popular Golf is on a run-out now while we await the start of sales for the new MkVII version, but there's no doubt that the European car sales crisis has finally reached the door of VW Towers.
