AUTOCARS COLECTION 2011

This time, with feeling. According to both Bloomberg News and USA Today, Volkswagen is once again considering bringing the ill-fated Phaeton back to the U.S. market. The reasons behind the move are many, but center around VW’s intention to triple its market share here in the land of the free by 2018. In order to do that, the company is planning on rolling out its luxury bruiser one more time, bolstered in part by the successHyundai has seen with its Genesis sedan. Of course, that particular luxury cruiser doesn’t cost anything close to the Phaeton’s $85,000 MSRP – even the Korean automaker’s forthcoming Equus range-topper will likely not command that sort of money – and its success in the U.S. remains as-yet unproven.

Bloomberg spoke with Juergen Borrmann, the director of the carmaker’s Dresden facility. Borrmann said that the company is gunning for the U.S. and that by the time the model hits our parking lots, it will be completely reworked.

Consider us interested.

Supposedly, the American version will feature a slew of different engine choices compared to the cars currently on sale in Europe and China, as well as a significantly different interior materials. According to the report, our model will share very little with the next-generation car set to hit the market next month. Hey, if at first you don’t succeed…

The sixth-generation 2011 Jetta is a pretty big deal for Volkswagen. The automaker has developed a completely new platform for the new model (instead of simply relying on Golf architecture), and the end result is a car that is 3.5 inches longer than its predecessor. This should mean that much more passenger room will be on deck, enabling the Jetta to really compete within the midsize sedan segment (as well as the compact class). As for the design, it’s admittedly a bit predictable, but we’re glad to see the Jetta no longer being styled as a Golf sedan. What’s more, we can see hints of the NCC concept car from this year’s Detroit Auto Show, and while it’s not overly sexy, it still looks clean and crisp.

One place where there isn’t much news, however, is under the hood. The 2.5-liter inline-five and 2.0-liter turbo-diesel four are carried over from the current car, and we’ll see a return of the 2.0-liter turbocharged four for the Jetta GLI. Both manual and automatic transmissions will be on hand, including Volkswagen’s well-liked DSG on TDI and 2.0T models.

An all-new interior is similar to what Volkswagen has done with the Golf and CC cabins. We’re sure that cloth and leather will be available, as well as a host of interior upgrades like navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and so on.

Volkswagen of America descended upon New York City this morning and, much to the chagrin of native New Yorkers, plugged up Times Square with the world premiere of its 2011 Volkswagen Jetta. For being inconvenienced, Manahattanites were treated to a free Katy Perry concert on VW’s Urban Oasis stage after the sheets were finally yanked from three sixth generation Jettas. We had a man on the scene who battled the crowd for live shots, which you can view in the high-res image gallery below, as well as video of the car’s reveal after the jump.

It’s not surprising that the latest batch of photos of the reworked 2011 Volkswagen Phaeton were all taken in China. The Middle Kingdom is by far the biggest market for VW where wealthy executives prefer to be driven rather than get behind the wheel. As we already witnessed at the Beijing Motor Show, the Phaeton has now adopted the same horizontal theme for its fascia that we have seen on every other recent Volkswagen introduction, and the headlamp clusters now feature LED eyeliner running lamps.

Interestingly, the Phaeton is the first car to incorporate the ability to download Google Maps satellite imagery and points of interest data over a mobile phone. The new information can be overlaid on the built-in navigation maps to provide a vastly expanded and up-to-date database of information compared to the static data that can be stored on-board the car.

A camera behind the windshield can actually read traffic signs and display information like speed limits and no-passing zones on the navigation screen and the driver information display in the main instrument cluster. The camera can also scan the surroundings for other cars that could suffer glare from the bi-xenon headlamps and mask portions of the lights to cut that glare. We’ll be curious to see just how well the Dynamic Light Assist works at maintaining light for the driver without blinding others. While you ponder all of that technology, check out our high-res gallery below and the official press release after the jump.

Those crazy kids over at Auto Express have managed to get their hands on a leaked photo of the next generation Volkswagen Passat. The car is set to debut at this year’s Paris Motor Show, and so far, the German manufacturer has been quiet about exactly what we can expect from the mid-sized fighter. From what we can tell from the leaked photo, it looks like the company will be giving the Passat a dose of familial styling. A sharp chrome-laced grille replaces the black plastic of the current generation, and crisp headlights similar to what’s currently found on the Golf have been swapped in place of the old units.

It looks like the car will also wear slightly more aggressive body work all over, including aggressively arched fenders. Details are still scarce as to exactly what will crop up under the hood, but we don’t expect too many big surprises. American buyers will likely still be able to get their Passat with the same turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 200 horsepower while our European cousins will be able to enjoy a range of dieseland small-displacement gasoline powerplants.

Volkswagen has fleshed out its latest generation Polo lineup with the introduction of a new GTI variant. This latest GTI has the same output as the last hot Pol,o but now produces it on one-quarter less petrol. Each and every one of its 177 horsepower now comes from VW’s twin-charged 1.4-liter TSI inline-four with direct injection, a turbocharger and a mechanical supercharger. The combined fuel efficiency goes from 29.8 miles per gallon to 39.9 mpg on the EU test cycle.

The Polo GTI gets a similar rounded five spoke wheel design to its big brother, the Golf GTI, along with the obligatory red brake calipers and trim on the grille. Note, too, that this is the first Polo to get LED eyeliner running lamps and corner markers along with bi-xenon headlamps. In proper GTI fashion, the seats are covered in a plaid fabric just like the originals of three decades ago. In fact, with the growth of the Golf over six generations, this Polo is actually almost the same size as the original Golf.

Interestingly, the Polo GTI only comes with the quick shifting seven-speed DSG gearbox and sprints to 62 miles per hour in just 6.9 seconds, and handling will be aided by VW’s electronic differential lock, which is said to reduce oversteer.