Latest news with #Passat
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
Mom leaves baby in running, unlocked car as she meets husband at bar, FL cops say
A mom left her baby in an unlocked car with the keys in the ignition outside a bar while she sat with her husband inside, according to Florida authorities. The 28-year-old mom and 60-year-old dad are now charged with felony child neglect without great bodily harm, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said in a news release July 21. McClatchy News is not identifying the parents to protect the identity of their child. The evening of July 18, dispatch got a 911 text alerting law enforcement to a child left unattended in a car outside a bar in Palm Coast, deputies wrote in an arrest affidavit. When deputies arrived, a witness told them she got to the bar at around 10 p.m., or 20 minutes before deputies arrived, and saw a white Volkswagen Passat with its lights and engine on, according to investigators. Deputies said they opened the unlocked car, which was running with the air conditioning on, and found a sleeping baby boy 'improperly secured in a car seat.' About 10 minutes after law enforcement arrived, the mom came out of the bar, and deputies asked her if the Passat was hers, according to the affidavit. Once she confirmed it was, deputies placed her in handcuffs and brought her husband out from the bar as well, investigators said. The dad told investigators he initially went to the bar in Palm Coast to 'get away' from home for a bit, then his wife followed him there because she said she needed money to buy items for their child, deputies said. The mom said she headed inside, used the bathroom and returned to check on the child before going back in the bar to see if her husband was ready to leave so she could bring him home, according to deputies. A commander spoke to the bartender, who said the couple had been drinking at the bar, but the woman only had a little bit and wasn't there long, according to the affidavit. The bartender made her a drink, but she only took a few sips because she didn't like it, investigators said. The mom told investigators she was only at the bar for 10 minutes, but deputies said she came out of the bar roughly 16 minutes after the 911 report came in about the unattended child. The couple's timeline also contradicted the witness report about how long the child was in the car, deputies said. While her husband was settling up, she said she went outside to check on her baby again, and that's when she ran into law enforcement, according to the report. The dad said once he realized his baby was alone in the car, he started getting ready to pay and leave, then law enforcement came in and brought him out, deputies said. A friend of the husband came and picked up the child while the couple was taken to jail, according to the sheriff's office. 'It's never acceptable to leave an infant alone inside a running vehicle — especially while inside a bar drinking,' Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. 'This kind of recklessness could have ended in tragedy. I want to thank the concerned citizen who reported this incident and our deputies who acted quickly to protect this innocent child.' Palm Coast in on Florida's Atlantic Coast, about a 60-mile drive south from Jacksonville.
Nikkei Asia
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Nikkei Asia
Volkswagen to shut joint China plant with SAIC Motor
The Nanjing plant was built in 2008 and has a maximum annual production capacity of 360,000 vehicles. © AP EIKI HAYASHI and TOMOKO WAKASUGI FRANKFURT, Germany/SHANGHAI -- Volkswagen will close a Chinese vehicle assembly plant operated jointly with state-owned SAIC Motor in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, as the German automaker tries reversing a slide by restructuring in the market that accounts for roughly 30% of its deliveries. The Nanjing plant was built in 2008 and built such gasoline-powered vehicles as the flagship Passat and budget brand Skoda's Superb. It has a maximum output capacity of 360,000 units a year. But its utilization rate had fallen because of declining sales, and production was later halted.
Euronews
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Euronews
Volkswagen and Chinese partner SAIC to close Nanjing production plant
German car manufacturer Volkswagen and its Chinese partner SAIC will close their joint plant in Nanjing, eastern China. Production at the facility has now ceased, Volkswagen confirmed to Euronews, and the plant is expected to slowly close down over the second half of the year. First reports of the closure first surfaced late last year. This does not, however, spell the end for the partnership, as in 2024, the joint venture period of SAIC VOLKSWAGEN was extended until 2040, according to VW's website. Why is VW closing its Nanjing plant? The plant opened in 2008 and holds a production capacity of 360,000 vehicles per year. It has recently produced popular cars such as the VW Passat and the Skoda Superb. The production of the Passat will relocate to a plant 70km away in Yizheng, also in Jiangsu province. Located not far from the centre of Nanjing, a huge city with a population of nine million, the densely populated setting limited the plant's ability to be extended and upgraded, sources close to the company told Euronews. As the industry focuses on a move to EV production, a transformation here would be too costly and inefficient. This approach seems to align with VW future plans, outlined on their website in February 2025: 'The Volkswagen Group is driving forward the digitalisation of its model portfolio 'in China, for China'. Starting in 2026, the 'China Electronic Architecture' (CEA) – a powerful zonal architecture, will be used in the locally produced fully electric vehicles of the Volkswagen brand.' EV capabilities will be developed at the new site in Yizheng and the site in Nanjing will be returned to the city. Volkswagen has been producing cars in China since 1985 and has become a leader in mobility in the country. According to their website, they produced 2.93 million vehicles in 2024 in China.
Reuters
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Volkswagen to close jointly-owned China plant, reports Handelsblatt
BERLIN, July 11 (Reuters) - Volkswagen ( opens new tab and its Chinese partner SAIC ( opens new tab will close their joint plant in the Chinese city of Nanjing, the German daily Handelsblatt reported on Friday. Production has already been halted, and the closure will take place gradually in the second half of the year, the report said, citing several people familiar with the process. Volkswagen did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from Reuters. Reuters reported in September that the German carmaker was planning to stop production at its Nanjing plant, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The carmaker would gradually shift production of its Passat family cars from the Nanjing plant to a nearby factory in the same eastern province of Jiangsu, the person said at the time. Volkswagen, long the top-selling automaker in China, is suffering from a decline in its market share in the country and is working with SAIC and other partners such as Xpeng to bring new models on the market that it hopes will be more competitive.
Top Gear
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Volkswagen Passat R-Line 2.0 TSI review: turbo estate is ace, but there's one problem... Reviews 2025
The kind of car Britain really should be buying more of. A boring German estate car? A Golf GTI-engined estate car! Advertisement - Page continues below No, it's an 'R-Line', which is the range-topping trim available on Volkswagen's spangly new Passat. Only now, there's the option of filling it with an engine Britain wasn't previously privy to: the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder lifted out of a Golf GTI. Sort of. 'Sort of'? Where a standard Mk8.5 GTI pumps out a healthy 261bhp from its 'EA888' engine, in this Passat VW's tuned it to deliver just 201bhp and 236lb ft of torque. So it's a MediumGTI-engined car. Disappointing. Lemme guess, it's saddled with pesky electrons, no doubt? Incorrect. This R-Line 2.0 TSI is free of electricity and is therefore about as old school as VW can get in 2025: front-wheel-drive, turbocharged four-pot, seven-speed DSG, five doors, zero e-motors. Advertisement - Page continues below Of course if you really like electricity in your car, VW will do you a Passat with a 1.5-litre hybrid offering 268bhp, which is a lot. But you don't want that one. You want this one. Quick reminder: this generation of Passat is now only available as an estate car – all the better for it, in our humble opinion – and shares its MQB Evo undercrackers with the Tiguan. Why do I want this one and not the one with more poweeerrr? Sounds better, for a start. The 1.5-litre TSI in the hybrids can sound a little coarse, but this one doesn't – it sounds eager, if a little subdued, and crucially doesn't sound like it wants to give up on life. It actually enjoys being given a light thrashing. And how fast does it go if I thrash it? VW reckons on a 0-62mph time of 7.5s which is respectable but feels much faster in a) the real world and b) something so large and cavernous. And it handles tidily. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
