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After winning this year's European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year awards, the Volkswagen Golf has picked up its third - the annual Car of the Year Japan award. The Volkswagen Golf achieved a first in the 34-year history of the Car of the Year Japan awards by winning the coveted title in a ceremony held in conjunction with the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. No foreign car has won the award, till now. In a contest that was expected to see the Golf trade blows with the Honda Fit/Jazz for honours, the Golf polled strongly from the outset and ended up amassing a commanding 504 out of a possible 600 points from the 60 jurors in attendance. The Fit/Jazz came in second with 373 votes while the Volvo V40 followed with 167 votes. "This is a very special award for us in so many ways. Firstly, our Golf 7 has become the first ever imported car to win Japan's COTY award, and we achieved this in our 60th year since Volkswagen imports started into Japan," commented Shigeru Shoji, President of Volkswagen Japan. Explaining its decision, the jury highlighted in particular the new Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) as a core strength of the Golf. The MQB formed the basis for precise handling with simultaneously high levels of ride comfort and driving pleasure, the jurors said. Further features to earn praise included the excellent standard of safety, the clear and clean design, the high-quality interior and exterior finish and the highly modern TSI engines. In three new minor awards that were introduced this year, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV picked up the 'Innovation Award', the Mazda6 won the 'Emotional Award' and the jointly developed Suzuki Spacia and Mazda Flair Wagon captured the 'Small Mobility Award'. The 'Special Achievement Award' went to the Daihatsu Move for its front seat lift design, technology created to assist senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Ever wondered how vehicle wrapping or car art is done? The above video shows an ordinary MK7 Golf being turned into a shiny hatchback. The job is performed by London-based car art company, Creative FX. The Golf itself is supplied by UK dealer, Driftbridge Volkswagen. There are two practical advantages that I can think of regarding the transformation. Firstly, a highly reflective surface helps to reduce heat buildup in the cabin. Secondly, the owner does not have to send his car for polishing ever again! We can see that car art needs a lot of patience and attention to details. The Golf in the video needs to be 'de-badged' and 're-badged'; the door handles are removed and put back; extra care is required when going around curved surfaces like the side mirrors. If the video has got you interested in the work performed by Creative FX, here's the link to their website - http://www.fxuk.net/

Some time in the first half of 2011, the Mk6 Golf GTD was introduced in Singapore. Now, the new generation is about to make its debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Like the Mk6 Golf GTD, the Mk7 version combines the styling details and chassis setup of the GTI with a diesel engine. The GTD will only be offered in three exterior colors, namely Tornado Red, Black and Pure White. Motivation is provided by a 2.0-litre common rail turbocharged inline-four producing 181bhp and 380Nm of peak torque from 1,750 rpm. The engine is coupled to a standard six-speed manual or an optional six-speed dual clutch DSG. Century sprint is completed in 7.5 seconds while the fastest speed that one can go is 229km/h. The Mk7 Golf GTD shaved off 0.6 seconds in the century sprint performance as compared to its 170bhp predecessor. On the inside, the GTD gets tartan sports seats, flat-bottom steering wheel, stainless steel pedals and a gear lever with 'GTD' engraving.

With the recent release of their MQB platform, it is expected that Volkswagen will release the next generation Golf some time in the fourth quarter of this year and Volkswagen will introduce changes to the model that is normally found in higher end models. It is rumoured that Volkswagen will debut the Mk 7 Golf at the 2012 Paris Motor Show this year (29 September to 14 October) and the car will be packed with technology that is usually associated with luxury models. The car will come in several engine variants, from the ordinary petrol engine up to a plug-in hybrid that generates around 243bhp. The normal models are powered by a new series of downsized petrol engines (code EA211) and diesel engines (code EA288). The top of the range diesel model (non GTD) will generate around 181bhp and 380Nm of torque. There is also a 220bhp twin turbocharged diesel engine that the company is still putting under some tests and this one will likely end up in the GTD sub-model. As for the petrol engines, the smallest displacement engine is a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine that generates around 138bhp and it features cylinder deactivation for increased economy. The larger engine (code EA888) sizes are at 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre. The Mk 7 Volkswagen Golf GTI gets the most radical change of all. The 2.0-litre engine will deliver around 260bhp, a 50bhp increase from the current generation. The next Golf GTI will feature the new VAQ electronically controlled front differential and Volkswagen mentioned that it will offer a more agile steering behaviour and a much greater sense of steering precision. All wheel drive and the company