VW shows Golf SportWagen Alltrack, colorful Beetles - USA TODAY
NEW YORK -- Volkswagen continues to milk its redesigned Golf small car with variations and concept cars as a way to plug holes in its new-model launch schedule.
Concept cars and special edition versions both are techniques often used by the auto industry when it wants to distract attention from sagging sales and a lull between sales-boosting new-model launches.
The VW models are at the 2015 New York International Automotive Show here. It opens to the public Friday and runs through April 12.
VW showed Monday night an array of Beetle concept vehicles -- the types of concepts that easily could become production models. Part of the point of an auto show is to give automakers feedback on models that might be planned for the future.
The 2016 Golf SportWagen Alltrack with 4Motion all-wheel drive (AWD) goes on sale next year, joining the the front-drive version in showrooms now. AWD is the feature that could give the brand a straight shot at Subaru's small wagons, which come with AWD standard.
VW's U.S. chief, Michel Horn, confirmed Tuesday night the car won't be available with the popular diesel engine. The wagon configuration with AWD makes it very difficult to package all the fuel system hardware that a diesel needs to pass clean-air regulations in the U.S., he said.
The model previously was called the Jetta SportWagen.
Horn said "dealers were asking for" an AWD version because "customers wanted it."
The AWD version of the new Golf wagon is the last of the Golf models. The redesigned, seventh-generation Golf went on sale last spring with the high-performance GTI. Other versions followed, and by the time the SportWagen Alltrack hits stores next year as a 2017 model, VW will have gotten two years of publicity bang for its new-model buck.
The brand's U.S. sales fell 10% last year, in a market up 5.9%, most likely due to the lack of new models with high sales potential. Golf sales are up but it remains a minor slice of VW's pie.
Here's a look at the four Beetles that the maker refers to as Special Edition concepts:
•Convertible Denim: A denim-look soft top and a matching stonewashed blue metallic body color. The concept is powered by a 170-horsepower 1.8-liter TSI gasoline engine.
•Beetle R-Line: The Beetle R-Line concept stresses dynamic performance more than ever.
It's powered by a 217-horsepower 2-liter TSI engine, up from the 210-hp conventional 2-liter engine.
The interior is equipped with upgraded sport bucket seats. In addition, numerous interior features, including the dashpad, door inserts and steering wheel spoke trim, have a carbon fiber-style finish
•Beetle Pink Color Edition: Painted entirely in pink metallic, designed for the style-conscious who also like to make a visual statement with their car.
Not only in the U.S., but also in China, VW sees unmet demand for a pink car. It says it is mulling a pink limited edition is possible if the reaction here is "is positive."
VW says the car could be built as a convertible, though it's shown as a hardtop.
•Beetle Convertible Wave:
Open-top four-seater that pays tribute to summertime on the American coasts.
The New York version is painted Habanero Orange Metallic, a spicy
color offset by bright Tornado 19-inch aluminum-alloy wheels and chromed door mirrors.
The seating inserts are a classic houndstooth pattern that harkens back to high-end fashion and vehicles of the 1950s and 1960s. The seats are meant to complement the genuine wood dashpad in the style of a traditional surfboard.
VW notes that while the Beetle Convertible Wave is a concept car, but points to the Beetle Dune shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2014 that's now planned for dealerships early next year.
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