Rather than continuing to offer an all-electric version of the top-selling Golf model, Volkswagen will apparently instead be directing those wanting an “electric” car to buy a new 48V hybrid version of the Golf. With that in mind, one has to wonder what execs at Volkswagen are thinking. The Volkswagen Golf is pretty much the company’s most popular model. Why not just offer a well design all-electric iteration of it? Why go through the motions of designing a somewhat gimmicky lineup specifically for electric car sales instead? Are the motives for such a decision benign, or are execs trying to stall the adoption of all-electric vehicles? While I can’t prove it, I’d wager that the profit margin on the soon-to-be-released 48V hybrid version of the Volkswagen Golf will be much higher than it is on either the current Volkswagen e-Golf or the Volkswagen I.D. It’s not clear how much of a profit the company makes on the current e-Golf, but presumably the figure isn’t that high since the plan is to put the kibosh on it completely. Also notable is that VW has been in no hurry to sell the model (with there now being very long wait times to receive purchased units), and the company is reliant upon batteries purchased from third parties. BMW execs, you may recall, recently announced that they were pushing back their plug-in electric vehicle timeline, specifically because gross margins on the models weren’t high enough. For what it’s worth, I’m inclined to characterize Volkswagen’s decision to cease the sale of an all-electric version of the Golf as a mistake. While the move perhaps makes sense from the perspective of the next few years, it seems very possible that the company will end up losing market share that it otherwise (with a serious e-Golf iteration) wouldn’t.
This Italian sports car was first manufactured in France by an introverted genius known as Ettore Bugatti. Bugatti had a legendary reputation for building some of the most expensive sports cars of the past century. The first Bugatti after the First World War did not fare well. The company underwent restructuring, refinancing and finally was sold to Volkswagen- who currently own the company. During the 30s, Bugatti did get a lot of help with engineering from Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati. The initial Bugatti were fancy cars- more a work of art than anything else. Each part of the car was individually crafted and from this evolved the modern day glossy Bugatti that we know of today. As a racing car, Bugatti did do well in many European races but the car was chiefly designed to be enjoyed on the road for a casual drive. The classic Ettore Bugatti cars of the past included the Type 35 Grand Prix, The Royale, The Type 57 Atlantic and the Type 55 Sports car.
Only a few of these classic cars exist today. It is estimated that there are about 2000 Bugatti cars in existence today. In the late 90s, Volkswagen purchased the right to produce cars and soon manufactured the Bugatti EB 118 AND 218 Veyron. The Veyron was mass produced in 2005 and was found to be super fast car. It also consumed gas at an exorbitant rate. The original Veyron had many test failures. The latest Veyron 16.4 has fared better but is also costly and requires a lot of gas even for short distances. Because the car has always been bought by the super rich, sales of Bugatti have remained stable- untouched by the global recession. However, when the gas prices peaked in 2008, all the Bugatti cars remained in the garage. 250 to fill the car in late 2008- and for those who love to put the pedal to the metal, the Bugatti tank will last 20-30 minutes.
Golf Magazine Top 100 Golf Courses in the U.S. Macdonald was actually born in my childhood hometown, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada but his formative years were spent in Chicago. His business would eventually take him to New York and it was there that he started searching for the ideal site to build what he hoped would become the greatest golf course in the United States. He'd utilize the services of Seth Raynor to help build his masterpiece, quite a fortuitous choice, as Raynor would eventually become his right hand man on many great designs and ultimately a world-renowned architect in his own right. The National, as it's known among architecture aficionados, was inspired by many of the great courses in the British Isles and many of the more famous holes in the U.K. The first hole, "Valley", seems like a gentle opener at only 330 yards but a conservative drive down the right side will result in a blind, uphill approach to one of the wildest first greens you can imagine.
