Diesels
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Diesel-engine giant Cummins agreed this week to the largest diesel recall in the history of the EPA, according to a Reuters report. The recall affects about 500,000 medium- and heavy-duty diesel engines in vehicles produced between 2010 and 2015. The engines were installed in everything from big rigs to so-called "vocational trucks," such as garbage and fire trucks, to RVs and large pickups. DON'T MISS: FCA can settle Jeep, Ram EcoDiesel emission case with fine, recall: Justice Department The engines' selective catalytic reduction systems were found to be less durable than the law requires...
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EPA reinstates limitations on dirty diesel glider trucks
In a reversal of its reversal, the EPA said Thursday that it would enforce limits on dirty "glider" trucks after all. Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler put the brakes on his predecessor's decision to not enforce an Obama-era rule on dirty diesel big-rigs. CHECK OUT: States join to halt EPA's...
Eric C. Evarts -
New Ford cab take stabs at fuel-efficient powertrains
If you're like us, you can remember seas of yellow Ford Crown Victorias dashing through cramped city streets, shuttling tourists and Carrie Bradshaws through New York City. If you're like us, you're also probably old. Ford on Thursday debuted two new taxis for fleet service next year with twists...
Aaron Cole -
Ford, BMW, and Infiniti electric car strategy, Trump loses in court, and electric car chargers everywhere: The Week in Reverse
This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, April 17, 2018.
Eric C. Evarts -
Mazda gets California approval for CX-5 diesel
The Mazda CX-5 diesel has been certified for sale in California, but still needs federal approval
Eric C. Evarts -
Possible retrofits in Germany for dirtiest diesels could cost carmakers more
These are not good times for the makers or owners of diesel cars, particularly in their European stronghold, where on average half of all new vehicles had been sold with diesel engines. Strict new real-world emission tests have proven hard to meet, consumers are starting to shy away from buying new...
John Voelcker -
It's the mystery model, the all-but-legendary vehicle still just beyond reach, years after its maker first announced plans to offer diesel engines. Specifically, it's the diesel version of the Mazda CX-5 compact crossover utility vehicle, first revealed in 2016 and later announced as a 2018 model. In November 2016, a Mazda executive confirmed the CX-5 diesel would arrive in showrooms during the fall of 2017, following the launch of a redesigned and updated CX-5 that spring. DON'T MISS: Mazda diesel to arrive fall 2017, it says, in new CX-5 crossover The redesigned CX-5 arrived on schedule;...
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2019 Hyundai Santa Fe launched with diesel; hybrid, plug-in hybrid for US or not?
Along with the 250-mile 2019 Kona Electric hatchback it launched Wednesday at the New York Auto Show, Hyundai unveiled an entirely redesigned version of a much higher-volume vehicle. That's the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe mid-size crossover utility vehicle, which gains size, features, and considerably...
John Voelcker -
Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for March 2018
Not a lot has changed since last month: Buyers continue to move from passenger sedans to crossovers and trucks, and gasoline remains relatively cheap. That means you can pick up some bargains fuel-efficient and electrified vehicles. DON'T MISS: Lexus lowers hybrid prices a lot to cut premium over...
John Voelcker -
Rome joins European ban-diesel bandwagon after German court ruling
First Paris, then a pair of German cities, and now the Eternal City. Two weeks ago, the mayor of Rome announced on her Facebook page that the city would ban diesel cars altogether by 2024. It's not clear whether the ban applies solely to the older, most-polluting diesels as it does already in...
John Voelcker -
Mixed messages on future of diesel at Geneva auto show
You can smell the diesel exhaust in any city in Europe, sometimes even before you hear the clatter from under the hood of every other passing vehicle. The Volkswagen diesel scandal that broke in September 2015 brought a laser focus to the software used in all diesel engines, and their inability to...
John Voelcker -
German court rules cities may ban older diesel vehicles to cut air pollution
That huge intake of breath you may have heard from across the Atlantic Ocean was the sound of German carmakers gasping at a court decision handed down on Tuesday. After a week's delay in issuing its ruling, a German court decided that individual cities in the country may ban vehicles with diesel...
John Voelcker -
Last November, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would rescind a rule that banned companies from fitting outdated, older, and dirtier diesel engines into brand-new "glider" chassis-cab trucks. Among the many regulations to limit emissions and other forms of pollution that EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has axed, this one was particularly obscure. As is required by its mandate, the agency's rationale for eliminating the rule was based on science. DON'T MISS: EPA to axe rule banning older, dirtier diesel engines in new trucks: report (Oct 2017) Or at least what it called "science" at...
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Mercedes-Benz gets its own diesel emission cheating questions now
Investigators probing U.S. models of Mercedes-Benz sold with diesel engines have found software, possibly illegal under EPA rules, that helped them pass emission tests. Such software may be similar to that notoriously used in 580,000 vehicles sold by VW, Audi, and Porsche from 2009 through 2015 in...
John Voelcker -
FCA can settle Jeep, Ram EcoDiesel emission case with fine, recall: Justice Department
While VW is moving toward the end of buybacks, payments, and fines for eight years of cheating on diesel emission standards, Fiat Chrysler is still in the thick of its own diesel mess involving Jeep SUVs and Ram trucks. On February 2, the U.S. Justice Department offered to let the company move...
John Voelcker -
Best deals on hybrid, electric, fuel-efficient cars for February 2018
With gasoline cheap and buyers continuing to shun passenger cars for crossovers and trucks, there are bargains to be had in fuel-efficient and electrified vehicles. This month's deals, courtesy of CarsDirect, includes cheap leases, low financing rates, and money off sticker prices. They cover a...
John Voelcker -
2019 Ford Transit Connect Wagon gets "EcoBlue" diesel option, no hybrid so far
The last time Ford released a new hybrid or plug-in electric model was for the 2013 model year, and that's a long time ago in electric-car years. Detroit's second-largest automaker continues to work on boosting the fuel-economy ratings of its vehicle lineup, however. The latest example is a new...
John Voelcker -
Inline-6 turbodiesel in 2019 Chevy Silverado pickup to be built in Michigan
The forthcoming diesel-powered 2019 Chevrolet Silverado will, without a doubt, thump with the Heartbeat of America. During the new truck's launch at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, GM product chief Mark Reuss hinted at a future announcement regarding the next-generation...
Mark Stevenson -
With Volkswagen having left a gaping void in the North American market for diesel vehicles, other automakers are taking a chance at exploiting the fuel for their own market-share gains. The latest entrant is Kia, which—for the first time in its 24-year U.S. history—will have a compression-ignition engine on dealership floors. Kia's newest engine option will be a mid-size crossover utility vehicle, a segment without any other diesel competitors, which could boost its chances of success. DON'T MISS: 2018 Kia Soul EV gets bigger battery, range boost from 93 to 111 miles According to...
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For 2018, only a dozen diesel vehicles on sale in U.S. (guess who has most)
With the permanent end of diesel sales in the U.S. by three VW Group brands—Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche—the number of diesel passenger cars and light trucks has plummeted. In fact, for the 2018 model year thus far, there are only 11 basic models listed in an annual publication issued...
John Voelcker -
Diesel redux: 2018 BMW 540d sedan certified for US sale (but will it matter?)
BMW has announced it will resurrect the diesel 5 Series sport sedan, in the form of a 540d model, one year after the introduction of a thoroughly updated 5 Series. The company says the diesel edition will list for $62,995, including destination, once it arrives at dealerships in February. According...
Mark Stevenson -
As expected, 2018 Ford F-150 gets V-6 diesel engine option
Ford's best-selling full-size pickup truck will be powered by a diesel engine for the first time in its 70-year history. Monday morning, Ford revealed details of the new diesel-powered 2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke, which it claims will achieve an EPA-estimated fuel-economy rating of 30 mpg highway...
Mark Stevenson -
Those fuel-efficient diesels? Actually worse on lifetime CO2, study says
Diesel-powered cars have enjoyed a comfortable market share in Europe for decades, but their decline in popularity continues following numerous diesel-emission cheating scandals and regulatory crackdowns. As if diesel cars hadn't already had enough negative press, a new study says "fuel-efficient"...
Sean Szymkowski -
Do Frankfurt's electric cars cover German desperation over diesel decline?
This year's Frankfurt motor show was big, busy, and full of new concepts and production cars spanning the gamut from small electric cars to exotic supercars with prices in the millions. Every German maker showed one or more electric or electrified concepts, and renewed talk of driving on...
John Voelcker