Volkswagen actually aired one more commercial during the game, the “Black Beetle”, which has been seen by more than 5 million viewers on the German firm's channel.
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Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General commented: "These results mark a milestone for the Chinese automotive industry. It is a clear sign that Chinese car makers are building on recent experiences and rapidly investing in better vehicle safety. Even with the upcoming increased demands, five stars are expected to be within reach soon."
Four more vehicles that are new were given a four-star rating, including the Fiat Panda, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jaguar XF and the EV Renault Fluence ZE.
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It appears that VW also believes it's time to replace the old-school five-pot with a more modern turbocharged four. Citing two sources from within the German company, Car&Driver reports that the 2.5L unit will soon be dropped from Volkswagen's U.S. range with a new 1.8-liter TSI four-cylinder engine taking its place.
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Developed by Volkswagen R GmbH - that is, the same people responsible for the Scirocco R and Golf R models, the Beetle R is said to show “the potential for an ever sportier version of the Beetle”.
The company also claims that the 200HP turbocharged 2.0-liter of the Beetle Turbo “could offer even more performance, similar to that of the Golf R and Scirocco R”.
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Volkswagen is one of the many automakers that has adopted this strategy spending millions of dollars each year to place its products not only in movies but in music videos as well. One of our eagle-eyed readers, Dallas Howell, noticed the product placement of the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle in Britney Spears’ brand-new, paparazzi-bashing "I Wanna Go" music video.
It also has a bar made out of the same polished wood as the cheapest of community centre pianos and burgundy leather L-shaped bench seat. It also has burgundy and silver paintwork and a wide body kit, which is sure to make you stand out from the crowd.
As the name suggests, the first 2012 Beetle available for pre-order is based on the 2.0L TSI model fitted with a turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine pumping out 200-horsepower and 207 lb-ft. of torque, coupled to a standard dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The 2012 Beetle RS Stage 1 is the creation of the Volkswagen-loving crew at VWvortex who were given a pre-production model by the German firm to work on. Since the vehicle came with no registration and license plates, the team decided to skip on the engine modes for now and concentrate on the styling aspect of the tune, which as you may have already guessed by now, was inspired by the Porsche 911 GT3RS.
Standard features on the 2.5L model include a split folding rear seat, aux-in for portable audio players, a leather steering wheel, 17-inch alloys, and an eight-speaker audio system.
For those seeking more power, VW offers the 2.0L TSI Beetle with 200-horses and 207 lb-ft of peak torque, which is priced from $23,395 or $24,165 (around €16,550) if you include destination charges. It is offered with a standard six-speed manual or an optional DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission, with the latter delivering offers an EPA fuel economy rating of 30 mpg on the highway and 22 mpg city.
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The UK insurance firm came to this conclusion after looking at data from over 18,000 hairdressers in Britain. The company said the MINI One is three and a half times more likely to be driven by someone working as a hairdresser than everyone else.
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This here design study for a New Beetle MkII was penned by our Brazilian friend Eduardo Oliveira, who you may remember from previous concepts like the 2012 Jetta, Hyundai i30 Sedan and Ford Thunderbird CC. Unlike David Cordoso's futuristic-looking proposal (see here) that we showed you back in May, Oliveira's design for the New/New Beetle is far more retro.
Follow the jump to check the full image gallery and tell us what you think about it in the comments section below.
