Autoblog

It's ba-ack. The VW Golf that drew 8.5 million hits the first time it appeared on eBay is back on the block. That was almost two years ago in May of 2005, believe it or not. In case you don't remember, this 1999 Volkswagen Golf was the personal conveyance of then-Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, until shortly before his ascendance to Popehood. The Cardinal sold the car and it ended up in the hands of one Benjamin Halbe, who had no idea who the former owner was, but hit the jackpot when Ratzinger became Pope. The 6-year-old grey car sold for almost €190,000 when press-hungry GoldenPalace.com decided they had to have it. Well, apparently the novelty has worn off and it's time to shed the vehicle from their collection of oddities.

GoldenPalace.com has put the VeeDub up for sale and promises that the proceeds will go to Habitat for Humanity Great Britain. They also say that the car has not been driven since it was bought in 2005, so mileage should still be around 75,000 KM. In case the lucky bidder decides to drive the car, they should know that it has been started and features a 5-speed manual transmission, AC, PW, PL, tilt steering, cassette stereo, alloys, ABS, dual front airbags, side airbags, safety belt pretensioners, and presumably, God as your co-pilot. With more than eight days left, the bidding is already over $55,000.

[Source: eBay via German Car Scene]

The Pope has a new set of wheels. VW's head honcho, Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, has presented Pope Benedict XVI with a customized long wheelbase W12 Phaeton. The car is trimmed out to maximize the Holy Father's privacy, comfort and security (translation: it's armored) as he's shuttled about in the 450-horsepower super-sled.

More photos of the presentation of the car to the Pope can be found after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was forced to give up his rather secular ride, a 1999 Volkswagen Golf, when he became Pope Benedict XVI. Feeling bad for the old guy, Volvo handed over a set of Volvo XC90 keys to His Holiness yesterday. The SUV is dark blue with a light-colored interior, which doesn't really matter much since the Pope only goes mobile in the patented Popemobile that can deflect bullets and survive bomb blasts. As far as we know, Volvo's don't deflect bullets or survive bomb blasts very well, so perhaps the Bishops can use the XC90 for late night pizza runs.

[Source: SwedeSpeed]