VW Golf Keeps its Sales Crown in Europe for 2011, Polo Comes in 2nd, Ford Fiesta 3rd

The sixth generation of the Volkswagen Golf is in its final year with a replacement due to be unveiled at the upcoming Paris Motor Show this fall, yet it still managed to sell more cars than any other model in Europe in 2011 for a third year in a row, according to data provided from JATO Dynamics.

Volkswagen delivered 484,547 units of the Golf in 2011, down 1.6% over the previous year. The German company also took second spot with the Polo that sold 356,490 cars, up 0.5%, while the Ford Fiesta with 348,465 sales (-13.3%), the Opel / Vauxhall Corsa with 313,325 units (-1.7%) and the Renault Clio with 294,172 (-13.1%) complete the Top 5.

We should note that all Top 10 best-sellers came from either German (7 models) or French (3 models) brands.

JATO Dynamics says that outside the top ten, certain models performed much better than their predecessors did including Peugeot’s new 508, which saw its sales rise almost three times achieved by its predecessor, the 407, in 2010, the new Ford C-Max/Grand C-Max, Citroën C4, BMW X3 and Kia Sportage.

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Italdesign Guigiaro's Polo-Sized VW Tex Coupe and Go! MPV Concepts

Italdesign Giugiaro celebrates its official Volkswagen property status with the the Tex and Go! concepts, both based on VW's upcoming modular transverse architecture. VW hopes use this architecture to cut down on development costs by having a vehicle system that can house a variety of power trains from the start.

Starting with the sportier of the two "A0" segment concepts, the Tex is Italdesign's take on "tomorrow's sporty Volkswagen". This baby Scirocco - approximately the size of a Polo and named after Italian comic hero Tex Willer - is a front-wheel drive sport hatch powered by a Twin Drive hybrid plug-in system.

Mated to a 7-speed DSG, this allows for up to 35 kilometers of electric travel, a top speed of 220 km/h (137 mph), and a sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph) in "about 6 seconds".

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2011 VW Polo Sedan: New Photo Gallery, Plus Info on India-Market Version that that Resurrects Vento Name

We've found more than two dozen fresh photos of the new Volkswagen Polo sedan (including first pictures of the interior) that was officially revealed in Moscow earlier this week.

The Russian version of the four-door Polo will be built VW's factory in Kaluga and will be offered with one engine, a 1.6-litre petrol unit producing 105HP and two transmissions, a 5-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic with sequential shift function.

In addition to the new photos, we learned that Volkswagen will launch the Polo sedan as the Vento in the Indian market starting from this fall. It's worth noting that the Vento nameplate was used for the third-generation Jetta in Europe.

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New Volkswagen Polo Sedan: Jetta's Little Brother Revealed

You're looking at the all-new four-door sedan version of the latest Volkswagen Polo that was officially revealed today in a world premiere in Moscow. The new Polo Saloon extends the German firm's range of sedans into the small car segment and will be built on a completely new assembly line at Volkswagen AG's plant in Kaluga, Russia.

VW says that the Polo Saloon is the first car in the history of the brand to have been developed specially for the Russian market, bearing in mind its specific climate and street conditions.

Among other things, this translates to the use of more robust paints and chrome parts that are highly resistant to aggressive agents, and a suspension geared to bad roads.

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VW Polo Mk1 Dragster Pushes out 1,047HP, Runs the 1/4 Mile in 9.15 Seconds [with Videos]

Being New Year's Eve, there's not a lot of news today (nevertheless, we do have something interesting coming up...), so we thought we'd share with you this insane VW Polo Mk1 dragster created by German tuning firm, AME Racing. The lightweight hatch is fitted with a heavily modified 1.9-liter inline four boasting a massive Garrett GT40R turbocharger and a custom water/air intercooler for an awe-inspiring output of 1,047 horsepower and 950Nm or 700 lb-ft of torque.

Equally impressive is the fact that all that power is transferred to the wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox that is connected to an all-wheel drive system from an Audi TT.

AME Racing states that the VW Polo dragster goes from 0-100km/h (62mph) in just 2.3 seconds, from 0-200km/h (124mph) in 6.3 seconds and from 0-250km/h (155mph) in only 9.0 seconds while it runs the quarter mile sprint in 9.15 seconds. According to the Germans, the Polo is capable of speeds of around 300km/h or 187mph.

Via: Rpmgo

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VW Begins Taking Orders for 3.3lt/100km - 71.3mpg Polo BlueMotion, World's Most Fuel Efficient Five Seater

Adding to our tales about fuel efficient cars that you can't get here in the States, is the new Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion. The automaker announced today that it started accepting orders for the supermini that can be bought in Germany for €16,500, or at today's exchange rates, US$24,200.

Powered by a three-cylinder diesel engine, the Polo BlueMotion returns a combined fuel consumption in the EU cycle of just 3.3 lt /100km (71.3mpg US) making it the world's most fuel efficient five-seater car, according to VW, that is.

Just so you can get an idea, in comparison, the larger (and yes, roomier, faster etc, etc) Toyota Prius is rated in Europe at 3.9 lt/100km (60.3mpg US) with prices in Germany starting from €25,450 or about US$37,300.

To achieve this fuel economy, Volkswagen's engineers modified the Polo's three-cylinder diesel engine that produces an output of 75 horsepower and equipped the car with stop-start and energy recovery systems.

In addition, the Polo BlueMotion, weighing in at just 1,150 kg or 2,535 lbs, sports numerous other mods including a nearly closed-off radiator grille, underbody panels, and 15-inch "Greenland" type alloy wheels shod in low rolling resistance tires.

Volkswagen claims that the BlueMotion's fuel consumption was reduced by 22 percent (or 0.9 litre) compared to the conventional Polo with a 75HP TDI while its CO2 emissions were also reduced from 109 to 87 g/km.

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New VW Polo is 'Car of the Year 2010'

Volkswagen's "mini-me Golf", the fifth-generation Polo, has won the coveted 'Car of the Year' award for 2010 with 347 points against 337 for the Toyota iQ mini which came in second. The new Opel / Vauxhall Astra, which was considered by many a favorite to snatch the award and continue General Motors' success with the Insignia that won the 2009 title, finished in third place receiving 221 points.

The other finalists for this year's competition, which brings together a total of 59 motoring journalists from 23 European countries, were the Skoda Yeti with 158 points, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class with 155 points, the Peugeot 3008 with 144 points and the Citroen Picasso with 113 points.

Car of the Year 2010

1. Volkswagen Polo - 347 points

2. Toyota iQ - 337 points

3. Vauxhall Astra - 221 points

4. Skoda Yeti - 158 points

5. Mercedes-Benz E-class - 155 points

6. Peugeot 3008 - 144 points

7. Citroen C3 Picasso - 113 points

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