Diesel
-
While the diesel backlash stemming from the VW emission scandal is real, BMW is forging ahead with the high-torque, high-efficiency engines regardless. For its latest 5-Series luxury sedan, it will announce that a new 540d mid-size diesel luxury sedan will arrive in U.S. showrooms later in 2017, Car and Driver reports. At this point, we'd generally launch into a litany of power and efficiency figures, but one simple fact clouds our crystal ball—the 540d doesn't exist in Europe. DON'T MISS: All 2017 BMW diesels certified by EPA, production now starting Over there, the most potent...
-
Newest, cleanest diesels in Europe can still be very dirty: analysis
It has become increasingly more evident that carmakers must take aggressive steps to ensure that diesel cars and light trucks meet current environmental regulations. Tests done by Emissions Analytics found that the majority of new diesel-powered cars sold in Europe do not meet the Euro 6 emission...
Green Car Reports -
Modified 'new' 2015 Volkswagen TDI diesels come with big discounts
If you're itching to climb into a brand new, 2015 Volkswagen TDI, the german automaker wants to sweeten the deal for you. Volkswagen has begun selling its fixed, 2015 model year TDI diesel vehicles and the marque has given dealers a bit of firepower to help move cars from dealerships to driveways...
Sean Szymkowski -
Brand-new 2015 Volkswagen TDI diesels back on sale after modifications
If you're a diehard diesel fan, you now have one last chance to buy a brand-new Volkswagen TDI diesel car. Well, almost brand-new, anyhow: the cars in question are 2015 models, and about 11,000 of them will go on sale after they have been modified. Once they're sold, there will likely be no more...
John Voelcker -
Europe diesel sales sag slightly, continuing trend since 2012
Despite efforts by Chevrolet to step into the void left by Volkswagen, sales of diesel passenger vehicles in the U.S. may have been permanently crippled by the VW diesel emission scandal. In Europe, however, diesel has been entrenched for decades as roughly 50 percent of the market. Even before the...
John Voelcker -
Asking prices climb for used VW TDI diesels as buybacks proceed
If you have your eyes on a used Volkswagen or Audi TDI turbodiesel, you may wind up having to pay more today for 2009 through 2015 models than you would have when they were new. At least right now, only 2015 model-year versions of VW and Audi vehicles sold with the 2.0-liter turbodiesel 4-cylinder...
Andrew Ganz -
When the first Chevrolet Cruze Diesel was launched back in 2014, it made a lot of sense. Diesel was in vogue. German manufacturers were pushing diesel power in a huge way, with Volkswagen's "Clean Diesel" leading the charge. Oh, how things have changed. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen diesel scandal - all our stories Diesel for passenger cars today is, for lack of a better word, despised. Governments in Europe, long a paradise of diesel power, are actively trying to ban the technology, while millions of Volkswagen owners are facing buybacks—the unlucky ones are facing questionable repairs and...
-
London's $27 entry charge for pre-2016 diesel cars to start April 2019
For more than 13 years, London has collected a stiff charge from motor vehicles entering the congested core of the city during weekday business hours. Known as the congestion charge, the fee of £11.50 a day, or $14.50 (£10 with automatic payment, or $12.50) is levied from 6 am to 7 pm...
John Voelcker -
VW resolves diesel cheating cases with 10 more U.S. states
Volkswagen Group of America continues to work through a long list of civil and criminal lawsuits over its diesel emission cheating scandal. Yesterday, the company said it had reached agreements with attorneys general in 10 states to resolve environmental claims against it. The pact also covers some...
John Voelcker -
Modified European VW diesels 'undrivable,' say some owners
Most of the Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars sold in the U.S. from 2009 through 2015 are likely to be bought back from their owners, probably leaving fewer than 100,000 on U.S. roads. That's not the case in Europe, where the impacts of the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal are still playing out...
John Voelcker -
French prosecutors to investigate Fiat Chrysler for 'aggravated cheating' on diesel emissions
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles continues to be dogged by allegations that it cheated on various diesel-emissions tests. In the U.S., the company faces two lawsuits alleging that diesel vehicles use "defeat device" software to circumvent emissions tests in a similar manner to Volkswagen's cheating TDI...
Stephen Edelstein -
VW's Electrify America submits electric-car charging plan to EPA, CARB: now what?
Volkswagen has submitted a plan for electric-charging infrastructure to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. VW's "Electrify America" plan shows how the automaker would spend funds it is required to commit to zero-emission vehicle infrastructure under the...
Stephen Edelstein -
On Friday, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to three criminal charges related to its use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests. Entry of the plea is the latest step toward resolving the criminal aspect of Volkswagen's diesel scandal in the U.S. A settlement between VW and the U.S. Justice Department was announced just under two months ago, calling for the automaker to plead guilty, pay $2.8 billion in criminal fines, and $1.45 billion in civil fines. DON'T MISS: VW settles diesel cheating cases: felony pleas, $4.3 billion fines In Detroit, attorneys for both...
-
VW diesel cheating produced 1,200 premature deaths: MIT study
In September 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in its diesel cars. The software routines allowed cars to pass emissions tests while still producing up to 35 times the legal limits of nitrogen oxides in real-world driving...
Stephen Edelstein -
Volkswagen diesel buyback: some buyers still waiting
In October, a federal judge signed the final agreement covering the majority of cars affected by the Volkswagen diesel-emissions scandal. That allowed the Volkswagen Group to start issuing buyback offers for half a million vehicles sold by the VW and Audi brands from 2009 through 2015 that were...
Stephen Edelstein -
GM says green-car buyers should consider its diesels: here's why
Diesel engines will continue to appear in pickup trucks, European luxury SUVs, and at least a few mass-market crossover utility vehicles. Two of those are the Chevrolet Equinox and Mazda CX-5 crossovers that will launch for the 2018 model year. But the future of diesel in U.S. passenger cars...
John Voelcker -
VW exec pleads not guilty on diesel cheating charges
A Volkswagen executive appeared in a federal courtroom in Detroit on Thursday to be arraigned on charges related to the automaker's diesel-emissions cheating. Oliver Schmidt previously headed the VW Group's U.S. regulatory compliance group. He was arrested by the FBI in Florida last month, while...
Stephen Edelstein -
Diesel sales in Europe will fall close to zero within 10 years: prediction
In the U.S., the Volkswagen diesel scandal was a case of an automaker betraying the trust of more than half a million owners. But in the Europe, the issue of diesel emissions looms far larger yet. Diesels have represented roughly half of European car sales for decades, their good fuel economy being...
Stephen Edelstein -
Shock waves from Volkswagen's admission that it had installed "defeat device" software on its so-called clean diesels to cheat on emission tests continue to reverberate around the auto industry. The diesel-emission scandal that emerged in September 2015 has already cost VW Group more than $20 billion, and dozens of investigations around the world continue today. Other automakers are facing their own court challenges as well. DON'T MISS: 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: First Drive (May 2013) Fiat Chrysler Automobiles faces lawsuits over EcoDiesel models of its Ram 1500 full-size pickup and Jeep...
-
2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel sedan rated at 37 mpg combined
With the elimination of Volkswagen diesel models, the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel is one of the few remaining options for buyers seeking a mainstream-priced diesel car. The second-generation Cruze Diesel was confirmed last year, but the initial sedan variant is only just now going on sale. We now...
Stephen Edelstein -
'Near-zero' diesel cheaper way to cut NOx than electric cars, says diesel lobbying group
A prominent lobbying group believes environmental remediation funds from Volkswagen diesel settlements should be spent on new "clean" diesel vehicles. The settlement for 2.0-liter TDI cars approved last year requires VW to pay $2.7 billion into a trust, managed by a third party. Volkswagen agreed...
Stephen Edelstein -
VW Board vs ex-CEO Piech: rancor erupts over diesel cheating lies
Statements from the boards of directors of automakers are generally dry, dispassionate, and formal. So the language of a terse item issued yesterday by the board of Volkswagen Group was remarkable in its directness. Not to mention its inferences about the company's former CEO Ferdinand Piech, who...
John Voelcker -
Which VW diesels can be fixed (updated), and which can't?
More than 16 months after Volkswagen's use of illegal "defeat device" software in diesel vehicles was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, some progress is finally being made in addressing the affected cars. Settlements are now in place for almost half a million VW and Audi models with...
Stephen Edelstein -
Bosch to pay VW diesel owners $330 million in emission scandal too
With a judge set to weigh in on the settlement VW Group negotiated with its 3.0-liter V-6 diesel owners, Volkswagen seems to have settled most of the U.S. legal claims stemming from its diesel-emission cheating scandal. Total costs in the U.S. alone are now more than $20 billion, and among other...
John Voelcker