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German logistics giant Deutsche Post has quietly designed and made its own electric delivery van, exploiting sweeping changes in manufacturing technology that could upend the established order in the auto industry.... For commercial reasons he wouldn’t put a price on the Streetscooter, but said: “It did not cost billions to develop and produce. You will not believe how cheap it is to make.”

US watchdogs have found three pieces of so-called emissions cheatware in Volkswagen's three-liter diesel engines, according to German Sunday tabloid Bild am Sonntag. The dodgy code, we're told, lifts limits on engine output after 22 minutes of operation – that's rather convenient because air pollution tests by regulators last just 20 minutes. It's alleged this means the turbocharged direct injection engines in Audi's Q7, Porsche's Cayenne and VW's Touareg models deliberately and temporarily lower their performance so they can pass America's strict eco-friendly tests in labs – and then pump out chemicals to their mechanical hearts' content in the real...

"We hardly have visitors these days,” one salesman at the dealership said, declining to be identified. “For now, these are the only cars we can sell,” he said, pointing to the two white cars. “It’s a government’s order, so what can we do?” On Aug. 2, the Environment Ministry revoked the certification of 80 models of Audi, Volkswagen and Bentley vehicles for cheating on emissions and noise level tests. The ministry also banned them from being sold here. “Audi Volkswagen Korea would not necessarily leave the Korean market, but for dealers, they will have to go hungry,” said Kim Pil-soo,...

The recall fix has still yet to be approved, but increasingly, it looks like the cars affected will never meet U.S emissions standards.... The fix is mainly intended for customers who decide to forgo the option of a buyback or a lease cancellation. For those who bought one of these diesel Volkswagens for environmental reasons, news of a non-emissions-compliant fix makes a buyback a much more appealing proposition. News of this comes a week after the California Air Resources Board rejected VW's proposed fix for various VW, Audi, and Porsche models equipped with emissions-cheating 3.0-liter V6 diesels. If the company...

Is there a Moterhead ping list? So, the Soup owns one of those baaaad TDi's that the EPA want off the road. The choice is for the Soup to give it back, pay off TDI loan and have about 11K to buy another vehicle. Or wait until they announce a fix within 2 years have it fixed and walk away with 5100 probably taxable dollars. The TDI gets 50 to the gallon and is in good shape, 2013 golf standard transmission. Another factor is it has the famous Tadaka Airbag. I like the diesel and I like the power and...

Dennis Gaudet has had some loyal VW customers. One of them bought his past four vehicles from Gaudet’s Volkswagen store, part of the AutoServ Dealer Group in Tilton, N.H., and had been back to the VW dealership three times since the diesel scandal erupted in September for guidance on what to do with his diesel vehicle as trade-in time approached. Each time, Gaudet says, his dealership told the customer to hang tight until more was known. “He didn’t show up a fourth time,” Gaudet said. “I happened to run into him, and he was driving a Honda.” Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/vw-diesel-scandal/tdi-toxic-vw-customers-are-moving#ixzz4CKLeP4qa

Porsche unveiled a new V-8 engine at the 37th Vienna Motor Symposium that will eventually power the range-topping variants of the upcoming second-generation Panamera and the next Cayenne SUV. In addition to powering the larger vehicles in Porsche’s lineup, the new V-8 will also be used by other Volkswagen Group brands including Audi and Bentley. Featuring two twin-scroll turbochargers, the new 4.0-liter V-8 is rated at 550 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque (up from 520 hp and 516 lb-ft), which puts it just shy of the current 4.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 utilized in the 570-hp Porsche Panamera Turbo S. Despite...

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, right, arrives for a court hearing in San Francisco Thursday. Mueller has been overseeing talks about a settlement between Volkswagen, the U.S. government, and the car company's customers. ================================================================================================================== A buyback of emissions-cheating cars was one solution Volkswagen offered in federal court Thursday, outlining an agreement between the carmaker and the Justice Department over hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles that were sold in the U.S. despite not meeting pollution standards. Car owners would be able to choose between having their vehicle fixed or accepting a buyback; financial details weren't revealed about the plan, which...

The heat is on! Not the unusual winter warmth in much of the United States - but the unrelenting heat generated by propaganda and pressure campaigns that the White House, EPA, Big Green and news media are unleashing in the wake of the Paris climate agreement … and as a prelude to the 2016 elections. A recent Washington Post editorial laid out the strategy. The long-term warming trend is "concerning." Maybe we can't blame this year's strong El Nino "squarely on climate change," but "one paper" says the number of strong El Nino years could double. Obama's "landmark" carbon dioxide...

The Obama Administration's Justice Department is now suing Volkswagen for "up to $90 billion for allegedly violating environmental law." Politically-favored General Motors was fined $900 million, or 1% of that amount, for covering up an ignition switch defect that led to the deaths of at least 124 people. At last count, the number of people who lost their lives as a result of emissions' tampering by VW stood at zero. Meanwhile, the GM board unanimoulsy elected CEO Mary Barra as its Chairman, demonstrating that it is still not independent of the White House political operation, even years after the...

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday filed a civil lawsuit against Volkswagen AG for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act by installing illegal devices to impair emission control systems in nearly 600,000 vehicles. The allegations against Volkswagen, along with its Audi and Porsche units, carry penalties that could cost the automaker billions of dollars, a senior Justice Department official said. VW could face fines in theory exceeding $90 billion - or as much as $37,500 per vehicle per violation of the law, based on the complaint. In September, government regulators initially said VW could face fines in excess of $18...

So Consumer Reports decided to put a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI and a 2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDI to the test. To activate the car’s cheat mode, they pumped the accelerator pedal 5 times while the ignition was in the “on position” but the engine was off. To avoid being “kicked out” of the cheat mode when the car noticed the rear, undriven wheels spinning, CR simply unplugged the rear wheel speed sensors. Simple as that. Cheat mode activated. They ran their standard Consumer Reports drive cycle. This involved a city traffic simulation on the track and a 65 MPH highway...

Volkswagen admitted in September that it used defeat devices aimed at fooling emissions tests in 11 million of its diesel vehicles -- but now its gasoline models are implicated in the scandal as well. On Tuesday, Volkswagen reported that it understated the level of carbon dioxide emissions of about 800,000 vehicles, including gasoline-powered models. This is the first confirmation that some of Volkswagen's gasoline-run vehicles do in fact exceed carbon dioxide emissions. The company didn't provide details in today's revelation, but it said the conclusion comes after conducting internal emissions tests. Volkswagen reported its findings after the markets in Europe...

If you live in one of the more than 20 states where Opus Inspection, through its subsidiary Envirotest, operates emissions testing programs, you may have seen its “RapidScreen” trucks and, more lately, unmanned stations set up beside the road, scanning the tailpipe emissions of passing vehicles. You may even live in a state where receiving a clean bill of health from one of these trucks a couple of times a year can exempt you from having to present yourself and your car for an emissions test at registration time (though you still have to pay the inspection fee, naturally). The...

A Volkswagen Touareg diesel is tested in the Environmental Protection Agency's cold temperature test facility, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Volkswagen has disclosed to U.S. regulators that there's additional suspect software in its 2016 diesel models that would potentially help their exhaust systems run cleaner during government tests. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) **************************************************************************************************************************************** U.S. regulators say they have a lot more questions for Volkswagen, triggered by the company's recent disclosure of additional suspect software in 2016 diesel models that potentially would help exhaust systems run cleaner during government tests. That's more bad news for VW dealers looking for...

Two top Volkswagen engineers who found they couldn’t deliver as promised a clean diesel engine for the U.S. market are at the center of a company probe into the installation of engine software designed to fool regulators, according to people familiar with the matter. The two men, Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi ’s chief engineer, and Wolfgang Hatz, developer of Porsche’s Formula One and Le Mans racing engines, were among the engineers suspended in the investigation of the emissions cheating scandal that sank the company’s market value by 43% since Sept. 18 and triggered a world-wide recall to refit the engines to...

WOLFSBURG, Germany—Two top Volkswagen engineers who found they couldn’t deliver as promised a clean diesel engine for the U.S. market are at the center of a company probe into the installation of engine software designed to fool regulators, according to people familiar with the matter. The two men, Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi ’s chief engineer, and Wolfgang Hatz, developer of Porsche’s winning Formula One engines, were among the engineers suspended in the investigation of the emissions cheating scandal that sank the company’s market value by 43% since Sept. 18 and triggered a world-wide recall to refit the engines to meet clear-air...

Audi and Skoda say they have a total of 3.3 million cars fitted with the software that allowed parent company Volkswagen to cheat US emissions tests. Some 2.1 million Audis affected worldwide include 1.42 million in western Europe, with 577,000 in Germany, and almost 13,000 in the US. Czech-based Skoda said 1.2 million of its cars were involved, but has yet to give a country or model breakdown. Separately, German prosecutors started a probe against VW's former boss. Former chief executive Martin Winterkorn will be investigated over "allegations of fraud in the sale of cars with manipulated emissions data," German...

Swiss authorities said on Friday they had temporarily banned the sale of new Volkswagen brand diesel-engine models potentially equipped with software capable of tricking environmental tests. Some 180,000 vehicles made by Volkswagen's Audi, Seat, Skoda and VW brands between 2009 and 2014 could be affected by the scandal, the Federal Roads Office said in a statement. Models equipped with diesel engines of the type 1,2TDI, 1,6TDI and 2.0TDI may be fitted with software capable of tricking environmental tests, the government agency said. It stressed that only cars designed to meet Eur05 emission standards were affected and not the Eur06 engines....