Volkswagen Up Wins 2012 World Car of the Year - East Idaho News
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Volkswagen Up Wins 2012 World Car of the Year

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040512 VolkswagenUp?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1333643260583Volkswagen(NEW YORK) — Volkswagen’s compact Up model is the 2012 World Car of the Year, but chances are you haven’t heard of it. That’s because the Up, a centimeter smaller than the Fiat 500 at just shy of 12 feet long, isn’t sold in the United States.

“At the moment it’s just available in Europe,” Volkswagen designer Oliver Stefani told ABC’s Aaron Katersky at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday.

Stefani designed the Up to make it easy to park in the city while maximizing interior space.

But one Volkswagen executive said that despite strong sales overseas, it may not be worth selling in this country because there’s too small a market for smaller cars.

Up beat out the Porsche 911 and the BMW 3 Series for the prestigious title.

Porsche 911 was named 2012 World Performance Car of the Year on Thursday, the same day the line’s original designer, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, grandson of the company’s founder, died in Austria at the age of 76.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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