Volkswagen Stouffville

Experience Mind Blowing Volkswagen Cars: New Beetle and Jetta

Welcome to the luxurious journey of Volkswagen. Volkswagen Cars are known for ultimate style and comfort. The interiors and the exteriors features are unmatched in its range. Rare people in India found who have the Volkswagen Cars. Only the affluent class of people will afford it other will only take a dream to drive once in a life. Some models from Volkswagen are Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen New Beetle, Volkswagen New Polo, Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Phaeton, Volkswagen Vento and Volkswagen Touareg. These elegant models of Volkswagen Car are available in the range of Rs 4, 34,000 to Rs 76, 29,128.

Let's talk about the two most favorable and superb brands such as Volkswagen Jetta and Volkswagen New Beetle. The people who want to maintain their status in the society will buy these Volkswagen Cars like rich class people. As the prices of these cars are so high then of course they are embedded with the mind blowing features.

New Beetle car is designed so well and its outer appearance will surely amazed you. The materials used in this car are carefully tested and have outstanding quality. It's true that New Beetle is the small car but when the safety comes, it gives you the feeling of security at the time of driving. New Beetle car is equipped with all safety features like ESP, ABS, four airbags, 3-point inertia reel seat belt system at front and rear. Without taking much tension enjoy your drive with enthusiasm.

When it comes to comfort and convenience the car is loaded with all specifications that will surely gives you the drastic and thrilling drive. New Beetle car included the features like electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, power steering, color-keyed door mirror housings, door handles and bumpers and, of course, the legendary flower vase.

The Jetta was introduced in the year of 2008 in India. This Volkswagen Jetta car design, looks and the feel of this car would leave you astonished. The interior features of the car is embedded with Power windows with pinch protection, 60/40-split folding rear seats, Audio Sound system with MP3, 15.5 cubic feet of trunk space, air conditioning (climatic), central locking with RF remote.

The exterior of the car includes Carefree Maintenance Program, Electronic Stability Control 6 airbags, Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Volkswagen Jetta car is powered by powerful engine and gives excellent fuel mileage. The car is available in both versions Petrol as well as Diesel.

Top Volkswagen Executives On Trial

The trial of former Volkswagen human resources executive Peter Hartz has ended on Friday, January 26. And the verdict? Hartz received a two-year suspended sentence and a fine. The bribery and corruption case of Peter Hartz was feasted on by journalists and camera teams with matching angry protesters outside the courthouse in the town of Braunschweig.

Peter Hartz was a former top manager of Volkswagen and a member of the IG Metall trade union and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was also a special advisor to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD). He devised the draconian labor market reforms that bear his name. During the trial Peter Hartz was called with various names such as traitor, scoundrel and most of the angry protesters were shou ting for him to be put to jail.

Hartz trail was conducted in a rapid speed although he was charged with 44 criminal offenses; among them are bribery, undue influence and breach of fiduciary duty amounting to EUR2.6 million. His initial appearance inside the court only lasted an hour.

After a short deliberation, the chairman of the judges, Gerstin Dreyer , announced that the court has reached a prior agreement with all involved basing on the credible confession of Peter Hartz. He further declared that since Hartz has pleaded guilty on the charges and has confessed the whole truth, punishment would be reduced to a two-year suspended sentence and a fine of not less than EUR300,000. The said decision was ratified last Friday.

Volkswagen has also made it clear that it does not want details of the corruption involving the long standing works council Chairman Klaus Volkert and the other 23 works council members to be aired in open court. Lots of questions are still unanswered. The German public would like to know what Volkert do in return for receiving the questioned "special bonuses" amounting to EUR1.9 million between the years 1995 to 2005. Another mind-boggling question is the payment of EUR399,000 to Volkert's Brazilian lover, what was it for?

"It would have been quite interesting to discuss in the courtroom, or possibly later before the High Court, the question whether the alleged bribing of a works council boss harmed or benefited the enterprise. Perhaps the money paid was worth it. Since every day of industrial peace is worth a great deal of cash," wrote Hans Leyendecker in the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Hartz Case an Eye-Opener

The scandal that happens in Volkswagen has resulted for the German public to doubt their country's post war system of corporate governance. The felt cheated and betrayed. They also began questioning the system's vulnerability to serious abuse. Under the system called codetermination, labor representatives are allowed by law to obtain half the seats on a company's supervisory board which in turn gives them the opportunity to control management decisions.

As they say power corrupts. The system is not that perfect and so ending up being abused by those in power. Furthermore the chairman is also given an extra vote which gives him the power to tip the scales in votes resulting to the separation of labor and management. This type of system gives the shareholder representatives with the advantage especially in close boardroom battles.

And lastly the Hartz case has become an eye opener to the German public especially since never in their wildest dream did they ever think that such a distinguished man like Peter Hartz that authored Germany's Labor reforms and who is renowned for hitting record breaking targets for exports year after year is involved in one of the country's biggest plunder ever.

About Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a 20th century icon and unparalleled in terms of its production of legendary cars and quality auto parts like Volkswagen brake hose. The Beetle which is an original masterpiece of the German automaker has become the world's best-selling car of all time. Volkswagen's bus was also branded as a symbol of generation while the Golf was deemed by many as a modern masterpiece. All the mentioned vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen have become an indelible part of the cultural and personal lives of millions of people around the world.

Volkswagen was founded in an era where privilege is limited to a few number of people only. And this is exactly what motivates Ferdinand Porsche to come up with the idea of a people's car or Volkswagen in German. It was in the year 1934 when Porsche created the first people's car for Europe and a year later a working prototype was launched.

By the end of 1942, almost 70,000 Volkswagens were produced. Three years after in a swift recovery after the war, Volkswagen produced almost 2,000 vehicles for the Allied Forces and the new German Post Office. The year 1948 was another good year for Volkswagen; it was able to produce 25,000 Volkswagens from its production lines in Wolfsburg. Two Beetles were produced during this year and was shipped to United Sates. A year after another batch of Volkswagens was produced including Volkswagen Karrman convertible which became the best-selling convertible in the world.

Volkswagen Overseas

Volkswagen is making waves overseas. In Dubai, a circulating scam email stating that the recipient has won a huge cash prize plus a new car courtesy of Volkswagen has caused major confusion among people in the UAE. Volkswagen has already released an official statement saying that they have not sent any email containing such message. The German automaker has warned people in the UAE to be careful and not to easily believe such hoax email.

The scam email is believed to originate from Nigeria were scam artist abound. The scam email was believed by many people since it states there that it came from "The Lottery Department, Volkswagen Automobiles". Furthermore, according to the circulating fake emails, the recipient has been selected from more than two hundred fifty thousand email addresses. The winner is said to receive two million pounds or Dh14.4 million plus a Volkswagen car.

The scam email also provides what appears to be a UK telephone number which supposedly winners may contact to get their secret pin code from a Claim officer.

Volkswagen UK has already made a statement saying that the emails circulating in the UAE have no connection with their company and should be ignored at all cost. "Extensive enquiries have revealed this is an online scam originating from Nigeria," Volkswagen said.

The German automaker also stressed that the stated UK number found in the scam email is in fact routes to a Nigerian premium rate number. This means that people who are to call this number will end up with a heavily charged telephone bill. It is believed that it is through the bill from which the scam artist will received his part of the deal.

In other Volkswagen overseas news, in Kula Lumpur, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that troubled carmaker Proton and largest German automaker Volkswagen AG are in negotiations but he refused to give details of the deal.

According to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in an interview with New Straits Times, 'I don't want to comment because it is being negotiated.'

Further reports last week say that Volkswagen has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Proton's manufacturing division. This news has had favorably affected Proton's shares which rose to 13.14pct Friday to 7.75 rgt.

The Malaysian government is under intense pressure to announce details of the said partnership between the losing Proton and Germany's giant Volkswagen. It should be noted that Proton last year lost its status as Malaysia's biggest selling carmaker to its rival Perodoa.

Aside from Volkswagen, Proton has also tried to negotiate with the US auto giant General Motors as well as with PSA Peugeot Citroen of France. There are also three Malaysian automotive firms that have expressed their interest in taking stakes in the company.

It is interesting to note that the Malaysian government owns 59 pct of Proton in addition to a 43 pct stake held by its investment arm Khazanah Nasional.

Volkswagen and Proton will release their official announcement on February 8, 2007.

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About Proton

Proton Holdings Berhad is short for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (Malay for National Automobile Enterprise). It is Malaysia's first car manufacturer founded by former Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in the year 1983. Proton is listed on the Bursa Malaysia.

About Volkswagen

Volkswagen means "peoples' car" in German. It is also considered an icon in the 20th century due to the large number of legendary cars it has produced. As a fact, the German automaker's record is unparalleled in the industry. It was Ferdinand Porsche who has conceived the idea of creating a "people's car". He wants to provide the German public at large with an affordable and quality transport.

However some historians say that it was Adolf Hitler that commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to build a small, inexpensive car. In the year 1934, Porsche has made his first ever masterpiece- a Beetle shaped-sedan that was called Volkswagen (German for people's car). The Beetle made its debut two years later. The war delayed the production of the vehicle until 1949. A year later the beetle shaped sedan became popular and was then known as the Volkswagen Beetle.

Volkswagen Passat MK6 - Why Buy a Used Version of This Car?

Introducing The Brand New Volkswagen Passat MK6

It is important to understand as much as possible about a car before buying it, and you'd agree to that. For the same reason, we'd be talking about the MK6 version of the famous car from Volkswagen; the Volkswagen Passat. If you are planning on buying a used Volkswagen Passat, then probably this small guide should help you. It was in 2005 during the Geneva Motor Show that the Volkswagen Passat MK6 was first introduced, and late that summer it was available throughout the Europe. MK6 version is built upon the famous and very stable MK5 platform. This particular car is also referred by many people as the 3C version and also B6.

A Brief About The Design Factor

There are a few things that can be told about the design of this car too. Many experts say that Volkswagen has changed the design of MK6 such that it deviates a lot from the design of the Volkswagen Passat B5.5 and is more deviated towards the famous Volkswagen luxury car, the Volkswagen Phaeton. With that, the new Passat is given a luxurious looks along with the other perks that would be soon discussed. In fact Volkswagen reports that it has seen better sales of MK6 version compared to any previous models of the Volkswagen Passat. With this, you can safely assume that the older cars would be much cheaper compared to the MK6 version, if at all you are looking for the used Volkswagen Passat.

The Four Wheel Drive

Volkswagen group also has released a four wheel drive version of this car, which is named the 4motion. This car uses the revolutionary clutch system that is called Haldex which provides improved car handling during driving and noticeable improvement in the fuel efficiency. This system is also responsible for distributing the torque between the rear and front wheel base unequally, and in fact this ratio changes dynamically based on the car's situation. For an example, if the system notices that there is a slippage happening at the rear wheel base, the driving system begins delivering the front wheel driving.

The Change That MK6 Has Seen

This particular car has seen quite a few changes since the day it was launched. Most important one is the engine. The usual FSI engine that almost every Volkswagen car has, was replaced by Audi's 6 speed automatic transmission TSI engine in 2008. With that change, the car was able to reach the speeds of up to 220 kilometers per hour.

With this little information, I'm sure you'd be able to take a better decision which version of the used Volkswagen Passat to buy, else which one to buy; if you are buying a brand new one.

Volkswagen's Scandal-Ending All Corruptions?

The shocking details of Volkswagen's sex-and-bribery scandal have shaken Germany Incorporated in the summer of 2005. Volkswagen's former Chief of Personnel, Peter Hartz paid $2.5 million dollars in illegal bribes for over nine years to the company's labor boss just to have the support of the management plans. The alleged illicit payments were used by Volkswagen's Works' Council Chief Klaus Volkert to finance his lavish foreign trips, parties, prostitutes, and luxury hotels in Brazils and Lisbon. And all of these are disguised as business expenses.

The big question is: who is behind this corrupt scheme? Did former Chief Executive and now Chairman Ferdinand Piech approve the operation? And what about the labor leaders in Frankfurt? What do they have to say about all this?

Volkswagen's Rotten Apple

For now Germany will still have to wait for the answers though there are speculations that Piech is going to be dragged in the scandal. Inside the courtroom just last week, the 65-year-old Hartz has admitted making the illegal payments of $2.5 million between the year 1994 and 2005 to Volkert while an additional $518,000 goes to Volkert's Brazilina lover, Adriana Barros. The sex junket that happens on January 25 was claimed by Hartz as his own doing and that he has no accomplice whatsoever.

Hartz is facing ten years of imprisonment but due to his confession he will be able to negotiate for a lighter sentence. He was able to receive a suspended jail term of two years and a fine of $750,000. Likewise the state prosecutor has also dropped charges pertaining to Hartz's misused of funds by participating in the travels and the sex parties explaining that the said episode have minimal damage to Volkswagen.

The scandal that happens in Volkswagen has prompted the German public to doubt their country's post war system of corporate governance. They have also questioned the system's openness to serious abuse. Under the system called codetermination, labor representatives are granted by law to obtain half the seats on a company's supervisory board. This in turn gives them significant control over management decisions. The only problem with this system is that it gives those in positions all the opportunities to abuse the power vested on them resulting to corruption. And that is not all; the chairman is given an extra vote which gives him the power to tip the scales in votes that usually ends with the splitting of the labor and management.

Such type of system normally gives the shareholder representatives the advantage in close boardroom battles. Unfortunately Piech has long ironed out everything and this includes weaving a close relationship with the labor at the Volkswagen empire. What is the significance of this? Piech with the labor at his side will be able to disgruntled shareholder representatives on his board.

At the recent Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen's new Works Council Chief Bernd Osterloh commented that their labor leaders would support Piech's reelection as supervisory board chairman in May, if he desires to go on with it.

More Trials to Come

Peter Hartz is the first of the four Volkswagen's managers that are to be put on trial. Similarly, Hans-Jürgen Uhl, a member of the German Parliament for the center-left Social Democrats was also charged with giving false statements and for being an accessory to breach of trust over his alleged participation in the sex junkets. The trial for Uhl case is due later this year.

Volkswagen's History

Many would probably ask, was Volkswagen's executives corrupt in the past? The German automaker's history is one that pictures success amidst trials. And so a great part of its history mainly focuses on its wonderful creations and not so on its executives.

Volkswagen the largest German automaker and brand of high quality auto parts like Volkswagen brake booster is considered to be an icon of the twentieth century. As a fact only a few car manufacturers can parallel the legendary cars created by the German automaker. Volkswagen's The Beetle has become the automaker's trademark. This "Bug" has also become one of the world's best selling cars of all time.

Aside from The Beetle, the Volkswagen bus has also made a name for its own and today viewed by many as a symbol of a generation. The Golf is another Volkswagen's masterpiece and similarly sells pretty well in the market.

Volkswagen does not only produce machines made of steel but creates masterpieces that become an indelible part of the cultural and personal lives of millions.

Volkswagen was born in an era that can be termed as "of the privilege few". And during those times Volkswagen was conceived as an affordable and reliable means of transport for many of those whose average income is not enough to purchase other brands of cars. It was in the year 1934 when Ferdinand Porsche has created the concept of first peoples' car for Europe. The first working prototype was launched in just a year.

By the end of 1942 Volkswagen was able to produced 70,000 vehicles and in 1945 in a shift recovery after the war the automaker was able to produce 2,000 vehicles but this time it was for the Allied Forces and the new German Post Office. By 1948, the German automaker has once again produced 25,000 vehicles plus two Beetles which are shipped to the USA. A year after, the German automaker was able to build 25,000 more vehicles including the Volkswagen Karmann convertible which became the best-selling convertible in the world.

1955 came and a million Volkswagens were built. This was the start of the company's growth. From company it has grown into a world corporation, building factories and working communities in countries like United Sates, Brazil, Canada and in some major centres in Western Europe.