A Passat used to be a Passat, and that was that. But these days, things have gotten more complicated. Like Honda does with the Accord, the Passat that Volkswagen builds and offers in the United States is an entirely different vehicle from the one it offers overseas. And while we used to have a Passat wagon at our disposal in American showrooms, that one stayed on the opposite shore when the model was split.
And then there’s the Alltrack. Taking a similar approaching to what Volvo took to make its V70 into the XC70, what Subaru does to its Legacy to turn it into an Outback and what (perhaps most pertinently) sister-brand Audi does to its A6 to make it the Allroad, the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack production model was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show back in November with a higher suspension and some rugged-looking lower body cladding.
Although the Alltrack – or for that matter, the Passat wagon altogether – is not currently useable in the United States, Volkswagen has brought the overseas model to the New York Auto Show (as a “concept”, mind you) in an effort to gauge reaction. If it drums up enough support – and over 80 percent of you have supported in our informal poll so far – VW could opt to offer it to American customers as a more cost-effective option to the Audi Allroad range. The showcar seen here is fitted with a TDI diesel engine, but presumably if it came to the States, it would be offered with a gasoline engine as its main powerplant. Take a closer look in our gallery of high-resolution live images from the show floor and the official release under and decide for yourself.
Arguably more than whatever other mainstream automaker, Volkswagen is serious around its heritage. So much so that it appointed Franz-Josef Paefgen – former chief executive of Audi, Bentley and Bugatti – to head up its classics program. In this capacity, Paefgen oversees the heritage departments of each of the group’s brands, but while its commercial vehicles operation may seem the least likely to preserve its past, today’s annunciation proves that premise wrong.
The Oldtimers department of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles just recently moved into a new 7,000 square-meter facility in Hannover, Germany, where its staff of 13 dedicates itself to the restoration and preservation of old VW Buses. Although the garage has been active for several years, working on the company’s own vehicles, the Oldtimer department has now opened its doors for private owners to take in their vehicles for whatever degree of service.
Have an old Bus in need of some TLC? Click through the jump for the press release for further details and check out the gallery of high-resolution images for a closer look inside the workshop.
Turns out the Volkswagen Cross Coupé concept shown off at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show may be a smoke signal for an impending new product. And obviously the reaction was positive enough to the integrated grille and sloping hindquarters that the picaresque four-door crossover could inspire a production version within three years.
VW execs trust CUVs will continue to grow in popularity, and that as they do, customers will want perhaps more car-ish variety in their styling, with more muscle and sportiness. According to Autocar, this vehicle wouldn’t come alone, either, with “several variants” being pledged if this one does see the light.
The concept itself was done with that in mind, seeing as it sits on the transverse matrix architecture that will support the next Golf and Audi A3. When we saw the concept in person, we couldn’t help but notice the production touches like partsbin window switches and seat rails, so we had a strong feeling that we were looking at a thinly disguised new model (though the hybrid powertrain will likely be a thing of the distant future).
