Diesel

  • 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Bear Mountain, May 2014

    With electric-car battery prices falling faster than predicted even five years ago, carmakers face tough and costly choices in choosing powertrains for the lineups in 2020 and after. Pressed by stiff carbon-emission reduction laws in Europe and heavy regulations to encourage electric cars in China, they must assess how much to invest in new internal-combustion engines. Added to that is the perilous position of diesels for passenger cars and light trucks in light of the VW diesel emission scandal and increasingly stiff public reaction against the technology. DON'T MISS: Regulators give OK for...

  • 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Bear Mountain, May 2014
    Regulators give OK for 2017 diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ram 1500 sales

    Federal regulators gave final approval to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to resume sales of diesel-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 models in the U.S., the company announced Friday. In May, FCA announced it would file for the certification after those models were pulled for sale early in 2017...

  • Volkswagen TDI 'clean diesel' television ad screencap
    Modifications to oldest, dirtiest VW, Audi TDI diesels approved by EPA

    VW Group of North America now owns hundreds of thousands of Volkswagen and Audi TDI diesel vehicles it has bought back from owners under the terms of various diesel emission scandal settlements. Yesterday, it got some very good news: the EPA has approved a modification that will it allow it to...

  • 2014 Audi A6 2.0 TDI Ultra
    European commissioner warns against cities' diesel bans, fears market collapse

    The warning came even before last week's plans for updates to 9 million European diesel cars by German luxury makers Audi and Mercedes-Benz were announced. In a letter sent to the transport ministers of European Union countries, EU industry commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska warned that proposed bans...

  • 2013 Audi TDI range
    Audi, Mercedes now updating European diesels for emissions; more to come?

    Both Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler and Volkswagen Group have approved new plans to retrofit older diesel-powered vehicles with new software at no cost to owners. The largest number of such cars will be in Europe. The news comes amid the latest allegations surrounding German automakers and their...

  • 2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Recon, 2017 Chicago auto show
    Jeep Wrangler Diesel already testing, before 2019 launch

    The iconic Jeep Wrangler is a tough vehicle to make fuel-efficient. Its separate frame and body add weight, and it has all the wind-cheating grace of a small municipal hospital. The Wrangler SUV only gets redesigned every 10 years or so, so each new generation is a big deal to Jeep fans. DON'T...

  • 2014 BMW 328d

    As numerous political probes over the years have famously shown, once investigators dig into the circumstances around an alleged crime, anything can happen. The September 2015 announcement by the EPA that VW Group engineers had admitted to deliberate cheating on U.S. emission tests of the company's "clean diesel' engines may prove to be another case in point. Even as Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche continue to buy back or modify more than half a million diesel cars in the U.S., investigations into the German diesel deception are expanding in Europe. DON'T MISS: Audi traded diesel-emission gear...

  • 2014 Audi A7 TDI
    Tough Audi decision alleged: diesel-emission gear or profitable high-end audio systems?

    Although it's not been in U.S. news much lately, the VW diesel scandal continues to unfold in Germany, as prosecutors continue their investigations over whether criminal acts were committed under German law. That doesn't mean U.S. investigations have finished, however. Last week's arrest in Germany...

  • 2018 Chevrolet Equinox 2.0T
    2018 Chevy Equinox Diesel pricing to start just above $31,000

    Every now and then, resourceful journalists dredge up automotive news before it emerges in a sanitized press release from the maker in question. So it is with the pricing on the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel, one of two diesel-powered compact crossover utility vehicles expected to hit the U.S...

  • Freightliner Inspiration Truck self-driving truck concept
    Several states want far cleaner diesel trucks; EPA to start rulemaking?

    Almost one-third of the heavy trucks on U.S. roads now use the most stringent emission-control systems, which radically reduce their emissions of nitrogen oxides, soot, and other pollutants. Commercial trucks log much higher annual mileage than passenger cars, especially the semi tractors that haul...

  • Chrome exhaust pipe
    Combustion engines: high emissions from short commutes a huge challenge

    Drivers in the U.S. have longer commutes than those in Europe and Asia, on average. In the U.K., short commutes in vehicles with combustion engines—whether gasoline or diesel—pose particularly tough emission problems. That's because the exhaust aftertreatment systems have to warm up...

  • Toyota 'Project Portal' proof-of-concept hydrogen fuel-cell powered semi tractor, for Port of LA
    Missing piece in global vehicle emission puzzle: heavy trucks

    A global push to reduce vehicle emissions and create cleaner air for future generations has been underway for half a century now. However, while many governments around the world have introduced lower emission and higher fuel-efficiency standards for passenger cars, another large contributor to...

  • Nicolas Hulot, French minister of ecological transition, announces 2040 ban on vehicles with engines

    To most North Americans, the idea of banning all vehicles with internal-combustion engines seems unthinkable. Filling up with gasoline (or diesel) is as American as are dispersed low-density suburbs without mass transit, bike paths, or even sidewalks. Europeans, more of whom live in cities and most of whom have access to a more balanced set of transportation options, are sometimes more clear-eyed about such matters. DON'T MISS: Norway's Goal: All New Cars Will Be Emission-Free By 2025 To Cut Carbon (Aug 2015) Several years ago, Norway announced that the country would phase out sales of new...

  • Volkswagen TDI diesel vehicles owned by Phil Grate and family, Seattle, Washington
    Diesel deception: more pain ahead for VW brands, Bosch?

    Volkswagen Group is moving toward wrapping up its diesel deceit in the United States, but in Europe, it may only be starting. European owners of Volkswagen Group vehicles—Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, and Skoda—may justifiably feel as if they've received the short end of the stick when it...

  • A semi-autonomous BMW 5 Series, on the highway outside of Munich
    Even BMW's hometown may ban older diesel cars

    Diesel-powered vehicles are facing a tough road ahead as more European cities move to ban older, dirtier, oil-burning cars. Diesel has long been the preferred fuel of European drivers thanks to its efficiency and lower carbon dioxide levels. However, mounting research has shown diesel-powered cars...

  • 2014 Audi A8 TDI
    Germany investigates possible Audi diesel emission cheats

    Just as the Volkswagen Group begins to wind down its diesel scandal in the United States, things may be ramping up in Europe. A German government task force discovered a new type of defeat device in Audi vehicles, which allows the cars to cheat emission tests. Both V-6 and V-8 powered Audi A8...

  • Volkswagen Plant, Wolfsburg, Germany (photo by Richard Bartz)
    Lasting legacy of VW diesel scandal: EU gets serious about testing

    The Volkswagen diesel scandal left lasting imprints on the entire automotive industry, and may have changed the way regulators look at vehicles using the fuel forever. That's true not just in the United States, but elsewhere as well. The European Union is now increasing its efforts to make sure a...

  • 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Bear Mountain, May 2014
    Justice Department sues Fiat Chrysler over diesel emissions (update)

    The U.S. Justice Department sued Fiat Chrysler Automobiles yesterday over allegations that diesel engines in its light-duty trucks included equipment to defeat Environmental Protection Agency emissions tests. First reported as impending last week, the suit alleges that FCA fitted up to eight...

  • 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI Six-Month Road Test

    Another small portion of Volkswagen's diesel scandal has been put to rest: the EPA announced its approval of modifications for 2012 through 2014 Passat TDI sedans. In total, 84,391 Volkswagen Passat TDI diesel vehicles are eligible to be modified and deemed compliant, should the existing owner choose to keep the car rather than sell it back to VW. These Passat TDIs are fitted with the earlier EA189 2.0-liter diesel engine and feature a urea tank for Selective Catalytic Reduction exhaust treatment. DON'T MISS: Brand-new 2015 Volkswagen TDI diesels back on sale after modifications Despite...

  • 2018 Volvo XC60
    Volvo's current diesels may be its last: CEO

    Diesel has had an increasing rough ride during the current decade—scandals, emission crackdowns, a push for electric vehicles—and it's becoming clear that some automakers are reaching their limits. That includes Volvo, whose chief executive officer has declared its newest generation of...

  • Freightliner Inspiration Truck self-driving truck concept
    Real-world diesel emission study shows latest standards must be applied to heavy trucks

    When a major lobbying group issues a statement replying to an academic study the same day that study first hits the media, you know it's major. On Monday, the Diesel Technology Forum responded to an article in Nature with a statement that supported "improved real-world testing" of diesel emissions...

  • 2014 Audi A6 TDI
    Judge approves VW diesel V-6 settlement, last major piece of scandal

    The Volkswagen diesel cheating saga has closed another chapter as a U.S. judge approved a proposed settlement for V-6 powered vehicles, the final major U.S. piece of the entire scandal. In total, Volkswagen will pay $1.22 billion, both in settlements to owners and to cover the cost of modifying or...

  • Volkswagen TDI 'clean diesel' television ad screencap
    Extent of Volkswagen diesel deceit detailed in new book

    It's getting close to two years since Volkswagen admitted it had installed "defeat device" software on hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles sold in the U.S. The fact that VW carried out the deception is a well-documented story, covering how the software worked, how the company cheated, and...

  • Diesel fuel pump
    Reports of diesel's death are greatly exaggerated

    The fallout from the Volkswagen diesel scandal has cost the fuel plenty of not-so-great headlines, but the idea that diesel will soon die off entirely for passenger vehicles simply isn't true. A report in The Car Connection compiled the proof to show diesel is far from its deathbed. There remain...

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