VW fleet punished by Mutter Nature

A shower of giant hailstones - some as big as golf balls (as the photo shows) - damaged 30,000 new VWs at a German port. The cars were waiting to be shipped overseas from a dockside plant in Emden, on Germany’s northern coast, when the freakish hailstorm struck.

The vehicles, which included Golfs, Polos, Passats and Jettas, sustained heavy paint and bodywork damage, but hardly any glass was shattered during the storm.

[Motor Torque]

Supermodel graces Volkswagen’s expensive new campaign

The TV ad for Volkswagen’s latest Gol (the German company’s entry-level car in South America) features Brazilian supermodel Gisele Budchen. And if that isn’t a good excuse to publish a naked picture of her, we don’t know what is.

The big-budget ad, which cost a reported $5m to make, also stars a badly dubbed Sly Stallone. According to the media in Brazil, Gisele was paid a healthy $2.5m, while poor Sly had to make do with just $800,000.

Watch the ad below:

The classiest VW Beetle you’ve ever seen

Hmm, we don’t know where to begin describing the paint job on the bonnet (or “hood” if you’re one of our American cousins) of this VW Beetle, or VWgina – just don’t stare at it too long, that’s our best advice. It must be a “Brazilian” model (ho ho ho).

Japanese concept car at cutting egde of eco vehicles

Enough of all this fume-emitting motor racing. Let us stop for a second to consider the fragile planet that we live on (cue Enya)…

Here’s Toyota’s Hybrid-X, an eco-friendly concept car that is being shown off at all of the big spring motor shows. It’s currently on show in Beijing, at Auto China 2008. So, what’s so special about the Hybrid-X? Er, well, it’s essentially a next-gen version of the Prius (as driven by Larry David in “Curb Your Enthusiasm” – a ringing endorsement in our book), Toyota’s pioneering hybrid-fuel car. As such, it’s a damn sight better-looking than the Prius. More photos if you step this way…