New Skoda Super Combi Outdoor is All Show, No Go

The crossover-ish station wagon craze over at the Volkswagen Group continues with the presentation of the new Skoda Superb Combi Outdoor.

However, unlike the VW Passat Alltrack, the Audi A4 and A6 Allroad and even Skoda's own Octavia Scout, the Superb Combi Outdoor is only about the looks, as it doesn't get a higher ride or a modified suspension nor any protective underbody plates.

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SCOOP: Skoda Caught Trying out New Superb Scout

The Scout moniker is for Skoda what the Allroad nameplate is for Audi. In other words, it is used to describe the mildly tweaked "faux off-road" versions of Skoda's regular passenger models.

With the exception of the Yeti, which is a crossover anyway, the only other model in Skoda's current range (the Citigo won't launch before May) that does not include a Scout version is the flagship Superb.

But that's about to change as the Czech manufacturer was spied out in the open testing a Scout version of the roomy Superb Combi.

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Skoda Celebrates Production of its 14-Millionth Vehicle, wants to Sell 1.5 Million a Year by 2018

The Czech auto brand that could has built its 14 millionth vehicle some 107 years after Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement, the founders of Skoda, began producing their first cars in 1905.

The milestone vehicle is a special edition ‘Laurin & Klement’ Superb that is designated for delivery to a German customer.

“This celebratory car is an impressive expression of our growth strategy,” said Skoda chairman Winfried Vahland. “We are expanding at a high speed. Almost two thirds of the 14 million cars built by the company were produced and sold in the past 20 years, four million of which were produced in the past 5 years alone.”

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Superb: Skoda's Cheeky Print Ad on Automatic Ambient Lighting

This is one of those print adverts that you may not be sure what is being promoted upon a first glance but you'll definitely remember once you get it and start smiling.

The ad is for the European market Skoda Superb, a spacious mid-size saloon (available as an Estate as well) based on a stretched version of the VW Passat's platform, and it highlights the saloon's automatic ambient lighting positioned under the doors and exterior rear-view mirrors by showing a middle-age man wearing red heels and fence net stockings.

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SCOOP: Facelifted 2012 Skoda Superb and Octavia Snapped Testing in the Alps

While the Volkswagen Group is keeping itself busy with new introductions such as the VW brand's Up! and the soon-to-be launched Skoda MissionL (albeit under a different name), the company has not forget about its current portfolio and is working on improving its offerings in all segments.

This time, our team of spy photographers snagged the 2012 Skoda Superb facelift in sedan form undergoing testing in the Alps.

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VW Group's Skoda Division Sets New Record in 2010 with 762,600 Sales

The once ailing Skoda brand is turning out to be a solid investment for the Volkswagen Group as the Czech automaker is breaking one sales record after the other. In the year that just passed on, Skoda Auto recorded is best-ever sales results delivering 762,000 vehicles, which represents an increase of 11.5% over 2009 when it sold 684,200 units. Furthermore, the company broke the threshold of three quarters of a million vehicles sold in a single year for the first time in its history.

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A Painted History of Skoda

Just today, we learned that Skoda delivered a record number of vehicles in the first nine months of 2010, increasing its operating profit by a whopping 64%. This is what most people know about the Czech automaker; that it has been a wild success since Volkswagen took over the reins of the company. But there are others -myself included- who think the real glory of Skoda lies in its past.

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Skoda Introduces New 1.6 TDI to Superb Range

The VW Group's new 1.6 TDI turbo diesel is making its way to the options lists of the European market Skoda Superb saloon and Estate / Combi (station wagon) models, where it will replace the 1.9 TDI.

While the smaller displacement 1.6-liter four-cylinder diesel unit produces the same output figures as the 1.9 TDI with 105-horsepower and 250Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque, it promises to offer improved diesel mileage and lower CO2 emissions.

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New Skoda Superb Fastback Design Concept

With Volkswagen and Audi both featuring what marketers and advertising agencies like to call "four-door coupe" models in their range (the Passat CC and A5 Sportback respectively), one wonders why the German group hasn't added a similar model to their more mainstream brands, Seat and Skoda.

Czech architect and designer Pavel Hrubyi decided to take matters in his own hands (or so to speak) and draw a four-door coupe, sportback, fastback or whatever else you would like to call it, proposal for the Skoda brand based on the firm's range-topping Superb saloon.

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Skoda: Powertrain Updates for 2011MY Octavia, Yeti and Superb

European market Skoda models Yeti, Octavia and Superb will be getting powertrain updates for the 2011 model year starting from the end of this month. In detail:

The engine portfolio for the Yeti crossover has been extended with the VW Group's 122HP 1.4-liter TSI petrol unit combined with manual transmission and front-wheel drive (FWD), as well as a 140HP 2.0 TDI CR DPF turbo diesel with automatic DSG transmission and FWD, and the more potent 170HP 2.0 TDI CR DPF turbo diesel with manual transmission and 4WD.

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