Volkswagen Recalls 136,000 Autos For Antilock Brake Fix
Volkswagen Group of America is recalling nearly 136,000 Audi and Volkswagen autos to fix potential problems with their antilock brake systems. The recall covers 135,683 vehicles, including certain 2009-10 Volkswagen Jetta A5 sedans, 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Eos, GTI, Rabbit and Audi A3 vehicles and 2010 Volkswagen Golf A6 vehicles. In them, the control unit for the antilock brake system may fail when the system or the auto's electronic stability control are activated. Volkswagen will notify owners, and repairs will be made free of charge. The automaker traced the problem to the use of an incorrect solder compound, which may cause cracks that prevent sufficient electrical power to flow. As many as 11 million vehicles worldwide may be affected, according Consumer Reports. Additionally, in mid-December, 83,000 3-liter diesel vehicles with model years between 2009 and 2016, were recalled. Previously, the company agreed to buy back 475,000 2-liter diesel cars, according to CNBC. On Friday, a South Korean court sentenced an executive of Volkswagen's local unit to one year and six months in prison for fabricating documents on emissions and noise-level tests to achieve certification for vehicles for import. This is the latest fallout from Volkswagen's emissions-test cheating scandal that last year resulted in a sales suspension in South Korea, a once fast-growing market for the German automaker. Seoul Central District Court said in a statement, referring to the suspension. The court statement only gave the surname of the executive, Yun, and said he was convicted of document fabrication, obstruction of work and the violation of an environment law. 14.91 million)for allegedly forging documents on emissions or noise-level tests. How much fuel does your car REALLY guzzle? 31.87 million) for false advertising. Seoul prosecutors are still investigating the case.
Design is clean, neat and stylish with the chrome pedals which makes it even more solid and outstanding. The central console is visually easy to control and there's Dual-zone air conditioning system which allows the driver and front passenger to set their own air-conditioning temperature. There's also a USB port for you to connect your device to access your media files or even charge your phone. The DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) allows the driver to switch between automatic and manual transmission. By pushing the gear stick to the left at the "D" (Drive-mode), it becomes manual just by pushing it up or down to adjust the gearshifts. Pushing it down from the Drive-mode will be the "S" (Sports mode), and the Beetle will be like a sports car - fast and responsive. Here's how the speedometer looks like. Its simple and easy to read, with a clear LCD at the centre providing you information about the car. Integrated into the centre dashboard are oil temperature gauge, clock with stopwatch function and boost pressure gauge that provide all key information at a glance.
At the top.. there are easy controls for the lightings and the opening n closing of the weather-proof fabric soft top is just the catch at the centre. The rear mirror sports the anti-glare function which can be turned on or off. It works at night to prevent the lightings from the rear oncoming cars to be glaring to the driver's eyes. Here's the additional glove compartment which creates a visual bridge back to the era of the first Beetle. Right below is the normal glove compartment which has more storage space. And this is the Fender Sound System. Consisting of 9 speakers and 400 watts of power, the Fender sound system provides an incredibly clear and powerful sound experience, for deep bass and detailed mid-range tones, regardless of the volume. As you can see the rear seats are quite deep and spacious for a cabriolet. Front seats can be moved forward easily with the catch on the sides of the seats to allow the rear passengers get in.
There's also a 12V Power Socket at the centre for all to use. Lookin' at this angle from the back.. Beetle Cabrio is indeed very eye-catching! It's the nicest Beetle I've ever driven. The boot is just a small opening at the back.. It can be opened by just pressing the Volkswagen logo at the back. The boot space is 225 litres no matter the soft top is opened or closed. Thanks to the K-fold feature of the fabric top. The rear seats can be pushed down to create more boot space by pulling this catch here. Beside it is a hook for you to hook on to your plastic bags so that your groceries and stuffs wouldn't be rolling all over the boot. So it will look like this when the rear seat is down. Both rear seats can be pushed down. And yes.. just right below its the Fender sound system's Subwoofer that provide solid sound to your ears.
Now.. this is how it looks like when the soft top is up. Underneath the bonnet of the Beetle Cabriolet is a 1.2 TSI engine with an output rating of 105 PS. This turbo-charged 1.2-litre four cylinder engine follows the downsizing principle in an extreme form, resulting in maximum power with low fuel consumption and emission values. Its maximum torque output of 175 Nm is available from 1,500 - 4,100 rpm. A brisk performance is achieved via a quick-shifting 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG), with the car accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 11.7 seconds and a top speed of 178 km/h. It also has extremely low fuel consumption of 5.9 L/100km in the combined driving cycle, with a CO2 emission value of 139 g/km. Initially I wasn't quite use to it when the top was opened, because the windscreen seemed to become smaller and darkens.. I got used to it! Instead, I enjoyed the feelin' when the soft top was down and simply just enjoy the natural breeze from the outside..
