Volkswagen
307 articles in this category
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 10, 2013 Volkswagen has announced their 2014 lineup and the big news is that the 2.5L will be bidding farewell in the Beetle, Jetta, and Passat. In its place will be a new 1.8L turbocharged four-cylinder with 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. While the 1.8T has about the same horsepower as the outgoing 2.5, it has about seven more pound-feet of torque. The 1.8T will be available in the Jetta and Passat SEL at the start. The rest
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 18, 2012 Since last November, we've been reporting on Volkswagen dropping the 2.5L five-cylinder and replace with it a turbocharged 1.8L four for the Beetle, Golf, and Jetta. Now, we have got confirmation the 1.8T will be appearing in one of the three vehicles listed. Rainer Michel, Vice President of Product Marketing & Strategy at Volkswagen of America stopped by the Autoblog offices to talk about Volkswagen has in store for 2013. Mic
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It has been almost a year since Volkswagen introduced the U.S. to the seventh-generation GTI at last year's New York Auto Show. While we have to wait just till June for the GTI to arrive at dealers, the company has revealed the pricing for the hot hatch. The 2015 GTI will start a price of $25,515 (includes a $820 destination charge) for the S model which gets you a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder with 210 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, and a six-speed manual transmission. That will a
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Volkswagen has announced pricing and various details on the upcoming 2017 Golf Alltrack this week. The Golf Alltrack differs from the Golf SportWagen with 0.6-inch higher ride height, underbody guard for the front bumper, a larger gas tank (14.5-gallon for Alltrack vs. 13.2-gallon for Golf SportWagen), and 4Motion AWD as standard. Power comes from a turbocharged 1.8L four-cylinder with 170 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy is rated at 22 City/30 Highway. Pricing begi
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Previous Page Next Page Volkswagen has never understood the U.S. marketplace since the first Beetle. Their vehicles were either too expensive or didn't fit the needs of a buyer. But the company hopes with their new 2018 Atlas crossover, they can make end roads into the U.S. market and begin fixing their tattered image. The Atlas is basically the production version of the CrossBlue concept that debuted at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. Details such as the long gri
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Volkswagen dropped the pricing information for the 2018 Atlas crossover arriving at dealers next month and it is right on the nose of the automaker's promise of starting somewhere around $30,000. The entry-level Atlas S kicks off at $30,500 and comes with a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder producing 235 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Standard equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, rearview camera, 6.5-inch touchscreen with Apple CarP
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While Europe has been enjoying the new Volkswagen Tiguan for a few months, North America has had to wait a bit longer for it. Tonight, Volkswagen has unveiled our version of Tiguan. Why has it taken so long? That's because our Tiguan is a bit different as we get the long-wheelbase variant. Compared to the European-spec model, the North American Tiguan is 10.7 inches longer and rides on a 4.4-inch longer wheelbase. The longer wheelbase allows Volkswagen to shoehorn in a third-row into the veh
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The end of the Volkswagen Beetle is coming. Volkswagen announced last week that production of the iconic coupe and convertible will end next July at the company's Puebla, Mexico. Before the final curtain call, Volkswagen will be building a Final Edition version. Available as a either a coupe or convertible, the Final Edition will be available with two exclusive colors - Safari Uni and Stonewashed Blue. You can also get it in white, black, or grey if the exclusive colors don't interest you. C
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For 2019, Volkswagen is swapping engines on certain Golf models to help boost fuel economy. The Car Connection reports that the Golf and Golf SportWagen will swap the turbocharged 1.8L four for the Jetta's turbo 1.4. The smaller engine produces 147 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. Volkswagen is also adding more gears to the transmissions - six-speeds for the manual and eight for the automatic. EPA fuel economy estimates are not available at the moment. All-wheel drive variants
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Volkswagen revealed the pricing structure for the 2019 Jetta due to arrive at dealers in the second quarter. The base S model kicks off the lineup with a starting pricetag of $19,395 (includes an $850 destination charge) - making it $100 cheaper than the outgoing model. For the price, that will net you a turbocharged 1.4L TSI four-cylinder, six-speed manual, LED head and taillights, alloy wheels. 6.5-inch infotainment system, Bluetooth, and backup camera. An automatic transmission adds $800
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The current Volkswagen Touareg is the last one we'll ever see as the Atlas will take its place as Volkswagen's SUV/Crossover flagship. For other markets, Volkswagen has revealed an all-new Touareg. The new model looks to be a mashup of Audi and Volkswagen design themes. A set of angled headlights are integrated into a large front grille. Strong creases run along the side and rear. Volkswagen has made the new Touareg longer and wider, but has also has dropped 234 pounds due to the extensive u
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Volkswagen has released some sketches of the upcoming 2020 Passat that will be debuting next month at the Detroit Auto Show. It is clear that the automaker is addressing one of the biggest complaints about the current model, the boring exterior. Volkswagen is taking some ideas from the smaller Jetta with a larger, upright grille; creasing along the side, and new trunk lid design. Aside from the roof, Volkswagen says all of the body panels are new or modified. According to media who got the
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Volkswagen unveiled an updated 2021 Arteon tonight. Now you might be thinking this is a quick turn around as the Arteon has been on sale in the U.S. for only a year. But you need to keep in mind that Volkswagen has been selling the Arteon in Europe since 2018, so a refresh was in the cards. Changes for the exterior are subtile with a more prominent grille, new lighting, updated Volkswagen badging, and new choices for paint and wheels. The interior is a bit more dramatic with updated dash fea
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Volkswagen's electric car offensive has already started in Europe with the ID.3. The next step is taking on the U.S. with the next electric vehicle, the ID.4 introduced today. The ID.4 looks very close to the concept that was first shown back in 2017 with such details as the VW logo smack dab in the middle with a light bar running across; wide air dam for the front, flowing lines, and a full-length lightbar at the rear. In terms of size, the ID.4 is about 4.6 inches shorter, 1.9 inches lowe
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The Chicago Auto show has started off on a busy streak of reveals and announcements and Volkswagen is no exception. VW was proud to announce their refreshed seven and five-seater SUVs, offering enhanced technology, upgraded interiors designs and materials and a livelier powertrain. President and CEO of Volkswagen of America, Pablo Di Si had this to say: “The Atlas was the first modern Volkswagen designed, engineer
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On Tuesday, Volkswagen debuted the refreshed 2024 Golf. This renowned hatchback receives an updated exterior and revised interior. The GTI also receives mild styling changes and a more powerful engine. European GTIs have an updated 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 261 horsepower, an increase of 20 horsepower. GTIs will still be front-wheel-drive, but Volkswagen killed off their six-speed manual. This leaves VW's seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic. Exterior changes includ
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Last month, the United Auto Workers established a local chapter for workers at Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tennessee plant. This month, opponents of the UAW are working on establishing their own union chapter. According to Reuters, opponents are creating the first chapter of American Council of Employees, which will allow hourly and salary workers to join. Mike Burton, a key player in defeating the UAW's efforts to represent hourly workers in Chattanooga, is leading the efforts in creating this
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The delayed launch of the Volkswagen Arteon may be nearing its end. MotorTrend is reporting that the Chairman of Volkswagen has said that the Arteon will hit U.S. shores this year. The original cause of the delay was a backlog of certifying vehicles under the World Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). The Arteon in the U.S. will use a 268 hp 2.0 liter Turbo from Audi that had yet to be certified. VW sells the Arteon in Europe using a different engine. The Arteon debuted
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In 2005, Volkswagen was in dire straights. The company was going through a painful restructure and was looking into various ways to get itself back into shape. One of those ways was a possible deal with Daimler on possibly using their diesel technologies. But Volkswagen canceled the talks later that year and worked on their own diesel engines, which led to the cheating software and the mess it finds itself today. Bloomberg has learned from sources about a top-secret plan known as 'Project T
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There is some possible good news for owners of Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen models equipped with the 3.0L TDI V6. Bloomberg has learned from sources that Volkswagen and U.S. environmental regulators have reached an agreement on fixing and buying back vehicles with this engine. The agreement gives Volkswagen the go-ahead to fix 60,000 vehicles with a software update, while the remaining 20,000 vehicles will need to be bought back because they would be too complex to fix. Avoiding the buybac
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Just when you think the hole Volkswagen has found itself in can't get any deeper, it has. Earlier this week, The Associated Press reported that Volkswagen disclosed to the EPA that 2016 model year TDI models have a different piece of software that would allow them to pass the emissions test. This software makes a pollution-control catalyst heat up faster to improve the performance of a device which cleans up the nitrogen oxide into harmless hydrogen and oxygen. Now fitting a device like this
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A new wrinkle has appeared in the Volkswagen diesel scandal. Last week, Daniel Donovan filed suit against Volkswagen of America for wrongful termination and breaking the Michigan Whistleblowers' Protection Act after reporting that the company continuing deleting data after the EPA said to stop. On September 18, the EPA filed a violation notice against Volkswagen's diesel vehicles. Part of that notice required Volkswagen to not delete any more data. Donovan alleges in the suit that workers at
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More bad news for Volkswagen this week. Speaking with German publication Wirtschaftswoche, California Air Resources Board's (CARB) chair Mary Nichols said in their testing, only Volkswagen TDI models were found to have cheating devices. "So far we have found in vehicles of other brands no fraudulent shutdown. This does not mean that all emissions are as we would wish. But there is nothing that comes close to the magnitude of the excess in VW vehicles," Nichols said CARB will continue tes
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The California Air Resources Board has rejected Volkswagen's plan to fix the 3.0L TDI V6. "VW's and Audi's submissions are incomplete, substantially deficient, and fall far short of meeting the legal requirements to return these vehicles to the claimed certified configuration," CARB wrote in a letter to the German automaker. This comes as a bit of a surprise as last month, Volkswagen's lawyer Robert Giuffra said the company was close to a fix for this engine and it wouldn't affect overal
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The big stumbling block for Volkswagen and the EPA/California Air Resources Board (CARB) has been trying to figure out a fix for diesel vehicles with illegal software. Ever since CARB rejected Volkswagen's first proposal back in January, the three have been in negotiations. But now, an official from CARB says some vehicles may only get a partial fix. Speaking at a legislative hearing in California yesterday, chief of the California Air Resources Board enforcement division Todd Sax said it mi
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One of the stumbling blocks for Volkswagen with the diesel emission scandal has been trying to find a fix that the feds would agree to. Previous attempts for the 2.0 and 3.0L TDI have ended with rejection from the California Air Resources Board due to the "submissions are incomplete, substantially deficient, and fall far short of meeting the legal requirements to return these vehicles to the claimed certified configuration." But it seems progress is being made on this. In an interview with R
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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has given Volkswagen a reprieve on the diesel emission scandal. According to Reuters, CARB has extended the deadline to approve or reject Volkswagen's fix for the nearly 500,000 vehicles with the cheating 2.0L TDI to January 14, 2016. The reason for the extension is Volkswagen continued to submit "significant information and data" about the repair effort for the affected models since submitting the proposed fix back on November 20th. VW spokeswoman J
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Volkswagen has said time and time again they didn't know about the emission cheating until sometime in 2015. But a new report calls this into question. German newspaper Bild am Sonntag (via Reuters) reported over the weekend that an employee known internally as "Winterkorn's fireman" notified senior managers - including Volkswagen's CEO at the time Martin Winterkorn - about the U.S. possibly probing some of VW's diesel vehicles for high emission levels back in May of 2014. The letter came fr
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Some good news for Volkswagen as the Environmental Protection Agency has approved a fix for a select number of vehicles equipped with the 2.0L TDI. Reuters reports that the fix available for 70,000 vehicles will come in two phases. Right now, vehicles eligible for the fix will get a software update. The following year, Volkswagen will install more software, diesel particulate filter, diesel oxidation catalyst, and NOx catalyst. Now for the bad news, this fix is only available on the 2015 Au
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A possible punishment that the EPA could bring down on Volkswagen is making them build electric vehicles in the U.S. German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reports the EPA is asking the German automaker to produce EVs at their Chattanooga, TN plant and to help build out a network of chargers across the U.S. The report doesn't say if EPA is asking for VW to produce a new electric vehicle or a current one - the Golf EV. It should be noted that Welt am Sonntag's report doesn't cite a source. "Tal
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More good news for Volkswagen as the EPA has finally given the ok for the company to start selling repaired TDI vehicles. Bloomberg has learned from Volkswagen Group of America spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan that dealers can sell TDI models from the 2015 model year once they have been updated with new software. The fix will also include new hardware for the diesel engine, but dealers don't have to wait for the parts to come in early next year. "We are still finalizing the details of this prog
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Volkswagen has already missed one deadline set by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on reaching a deal with the U.S. Government over the diesel emission scandal. Breyer has given them a second deadline of April 21st. Now the administrator of the EPA worries they could miss the second one. Speaking to reporters at a breakfast, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said she has concerns about the two groups being able to reach a deal before the deadline. "I wouldn't take any single signal as th
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Tomorrow, we find out the details of the settlement between Volkswagen and the U.S. Government over the diesel emission scandal. As we reported last week, sources told various news outlets that part of the settlement would include compensation payments from $1,000 to $7,000 to owners. A European Union commissioner believes that should be extended to those in Europe. EU Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska tells German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that Volkswagen should set up a similar com
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Towards the end of February, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer gave Volkswagen a deadline. On March 24th, the German automaker would have to give a definitive answer on the status of a fix for nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles. At a hearing this week, Breyer has moved the deadline to April 21st. According to Reuters, both the EPA and Volkswagen said at the hearing they are making progress on a reaching an agreement. But there are still a number of issues to work out. A possible issue is whethe
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It has been almost six months since Volkswagen admitted to using illegal software on their diesel vehicles to fool emission tests. Since then, a lot of people have been waiting for a fix to make the vehicles legal. Now a federal judge has given Volkswagen a deadline to come up with a solution. Reuters reports that at hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco has given the German automaker till March 24th to give a definitive answer on the status of a fix. "Si
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Volkswagen and U.S. Government were going to have a hearing at U.S. Federal Court in San Francisco today for an update on the 3.0L TDI talks. But yesterday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has pushed it back to next month. Reuters got their hands on a court order in which Breyer says "negotiations are continuing between the German automaker, regulators, and lawyers representing owners," and a delay "may produce a resolution of the outstanding issues." As we reported earlier this mon
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Volkswagen has cleared one hurdle in the form of the 2.0L TDI talks. Now it is working trying to clear the hurdle that is the 3.0L TDI V6. Yesterday in U.S. Federal Court in San Fransisco, Judge Charles Breyer got on update on the talks over the 3.0L TDI V6. Breyer said at the hearing that "substantial progress" is being made between Volkswagen and the U.S. Government. People briefed on the talks tell Reuters that Volkswagen might agree on buying back at least 21,000 older Audi Q7 and Volks
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There is finally some good news for owners of the 80,000 vehicles equipped with Volkswagen's 3.0L TDI V6. Today in U.S. Federal Court in San Fransisco, District Court Judge Charles Breyer announced that Volkswagen and the U.S. Government have a reached an agreement on the 3.0L TDI settlement. The AFP in a tweet reports the settlement will total $1 billion. The agreement will see Volkswagen buying back 20.000 models as they cannot be retrofitted with new parts to make them legal. The remaini
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The blame game over the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal continues with the former chairman Ferdinand Piëch saying that Volkswagen's top brass knew about the cheating months before it came to light. German newspaper Bild reported yesterday that Piëch told prosecutors that he informed Martin Winterkorn and four other members of Volkswagen's supervisory board about the possible cheating with their diesel engines. The other members include, Stephan Weil, prime minister of the German s
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If you didn't think the diesel scandal at Volkswagen could get any worse, think again. Let's begin with the former CEO at Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn. Reuters is reporting that German prosecutors have opened an investigation into Winterkorn into "allegations of fraud in the sale of cars with manipulated emissions data" based on ten unidentified individuals filing charges. Now Winterkorn has said that he wasn't aware of any wrongdoing on his part in light of this scandal. There is a rep
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A new report alleges that former Volkswagen CEO, Martin Winterkorn knew about the defeat devices two weeks before the official announcement from U.S. regulators. German publication Bild am Sonntag (via Reuters) got their hands on a letter sent on September 4, 2015, to Winterkorn from a manager. The letter said, "In the conversation on 03.09.2015 with the regulator CARB (California Air Resources Board), the defeat device was admitted." Volkswagen's U.S. CEO Michael Horn told a House o
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Another day, another lawsuit for Volkswagen over the diesel emission scandal. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against Volkswagen of America for false advertising. The suit says Volkswagen claimed in ads their diesel vehicles were clean, when actually they were polluting more thanks to illegal software. "For years Volkswagen's ads touted the company's 'Clean Diesel' cars even though it now appears Volkswagen rigged the cars with
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Volkswagen's diesel emission scandal went deeper this week as the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (known as the KBA) announced on Tuesday that the software Volkswagen uses on their diesel vehicles was deemed illegal. This decision opens up the possibility of lawsuits and penalties against the company, but the extent of this is unknown at this time. As the New York Times states 'it was a turbulent day for the company.' Aside from the KBA announcing the software Volkswagen used was de
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When Volkswagen admitted that it used illegal software in their diesel vehicles to cheat emission tests, questions arose as to whether or not any other automakers did something similar. The German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KPA) decided to investigate this and put 60 vehicles from various manufacturers, including Volkswagen, to the test. Their results revealed that Volkswagen was the only one automaker to cheat. These results will be published in a report later this month, but German
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The Volkswagen diesel scandal has prompted the German transport minister to meet with the counterpart in the U.S. According to Reuters, Alexander Dobrindt will be holding talks today with Anthony Foxx, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation about the scandal. The report goes on to say that Dobrindt hopes to meet with officials from the EPA. That's not all that is taking place in the U.S. for Volkswagen. Another report from Reuters says the company has put plans of overhauling the management an
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One of the big questions coming out of the Volkswagen Diesel scandal was whether or not other automakers also manipulated emission tests. The German transport office at the moment doesn't have any evidence that says so. "At this point we have no indication of other manufacturers being involved," a spokesman for the office said at a government news conference today. Not the news Volkswagen wanted to hear as the company is beginning to feel the heat from European countries. France's pros
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The emission cheating that went back to 2006 and would land Volkswagen in deep trouble last September was an open secret in the automaker's engine development department. German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung along with regional broadcasters NDR and WDR reported on Friday some of the results of Volkswagen's internal investigation into the diesel cheating scandal. The cheating goes back to 2006 at Volkswagen's engine development department. With strict U.S. emissions standards looming, th
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A lot has been happening in the past couple of days for Volkswagen over the diesel emission scandal. Let's get you up to date. First, Volkswagen of American has pulled its application for EPA certification on 2016 models equipped with the 2.0L diesel four-cylinder until they comply with emission standards for the U.S. Volkswagen hasn't said when they will resend their application for certification. Next is the Associated Press reporting that German prosecutors carried out searches at a n
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It was expected that Volkswagen would begin repairing diesel vehicles with the illegal software in the first few months of 2016. But after the California Air Resources Board rejected Volkswagen's fix this week, the timeframe for when vehicles will be fixed is unknown. On Tuesday, CARB said Volkswagen plan were "incomplete, substantially deficient and fall far short of meeting the legal requirements to return these vehicles” to compliance. Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress, C
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After ten months when news came to light that Volkswagen used illegal software to cheat emission tests in the U.S. the German automaker has agreed to a $14.7 billion settlement. This morning, the U.S. Justice Department filed details of the settlement in U.S. District Court in San Fransisco. As part of the settlement, Volkswagen will offer owners of affected models the choice of either having their vehicle bought back or repaired if and when a repair is approved by the EPA and CARB.
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Next Tuesday was the deadline that Volkswagen and the U.S. Government would have to finish their discussions on finalizing an agreement over the 2.0L TDI scandal. But last night, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has given the two parties an extension to June 28th. Reuters reports that Breyers gave the extension after a request was made by the court appointment mediator, former FBI director Robert S. Mueller. In a written order, Bryer said "given the highly technical nature of the proposed
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Kenneth Feinberg is still hard at work on developing a compensation plan for TDI owners in the U.S. affected by the diesel emission scandal. But in an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Feinberg says "there will be a generous solution." Now what that solution will end up being is unknown at this time. Part of the problem is Feinberg has his hands tied as Volkswagen and the EPA/CARB are still working on trying to figure out a fix for the 2.0L TDI engine.
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If there is one thing we have learned during the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal, it is this: Just when you think you have everything figured out, there is always a surprise waiting around the corner to add a new twist. Bloomberg reports that Bosch allegedly asked Volkswagen for legal protection over damages from the defeat device it helped developed. This allegation comes from a revised lawsuit filed by Volkswagen owners in the U.S. against the two companies. The filing says this reque
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The settlement between the U.S. Government and Volkswagen still has to be approved by a federal court judge, but we're already getting some indications of what owners are planning to do when it is approved. Car and Driver got their hands on a memorandum filed at U.S. Federal Court in San Francisco by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein - the firm representing owners in the case. The memorandum argued for the deal to get final approval - ahead of an October 18th hearing. But this memorand
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Ever since Martin Winterkorn resigned from his post as Volkswagen Group CEO due to diesel emission scandal sixteen months ago, he has been out of the spotlight. However, Winterkorn made his first public appearance today at a parliamentary committee in Berlin investigating the emission irregularities of automobiles. At the hearing, Winterkorn maintained his innocence, saying he had no part in the cheating, nor knew anything about it. “It’s incomprehensible why I wasn’t informed early and cle
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Volkswagen and U.S. regulators have finally agreed to a plan on the diesel emission scandal and possible dates have been set up for fixing the various the vehicles involved. Despite this, some of the diesel vehicles will not be fully compliant with clean air laws. According to Bloomberg, the oldest 2.0L TDI engines found in the last-generation Jetta and Golf, and 2009 Beetle will emit more emissions even with a possible fix. According to the California Air Resources Board, the possible fix w
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With Volkswagen buying back a large chunk of the 2.0L TDIs involved the diesel emission scandal, the question arises of where to store them. The answer according to the German automaker is they are storing them at "regional facilities." One of those regional facilities is the parking lot of the Pontiac Silverdome - former home to the Detroit Lions - in Pontiac, MI. However, the vehicles stored there find themselves in a bit of legal trouble. The Oakland Press reports that the City of Pontia
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There were concerns that Volkswagen would not be able to come up with a fix for their 1st-generation 2.0L TDI models that would meet the approval of various U.S. regulators. But never say never as the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board have given their approval for Volkswagen's proposed fix for 326,000 vehicles with this engine. Reuters reports the fix will involve Volkswagen making numerous upgrades to the hardware and software, including a new emissions cat
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Almost five months after Volkswagen and the U.S. Government announced they had reached a settlement totaling $14.7 billion over the 2.0L TDI engine scandal, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has given the final approval today in San Francisco . The approval marks a pivotal moment for the German automaker as they begin to move away from a scandal that has done a lot of harm not only to them, but also diesel fuel. The majority of the settlement will be used by Volkswagen to give owners of veh
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Last month, Volkswagen announced that it had reached a $14.7 billion settlement with the U.S. Government over the illegal software used on the 2.0L TDI engine. But before anything could be put into motion, it had to get the go-ahead from U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer. Yesterday at a hearing in San Francisco, Judge Breyer gave his preliminary approval on the settlement. This now means Volkswagen and Audi can start sending out official notices to owners explaining what happens next.
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The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil suit against Volkswagen today for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act by using illegal cheating devices on nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles. "The United States will pursue all appropriate remedies against Volkswagen to redress the violations of our nation's clean air laws," said Assistant Attorney General John Cruden. A senior official at the Department of Justice tells Reuters the penalties in the lawsuit could cost the German automaker b
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The sh*t is hitting the fan. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced today that Volkswagen had illegal 'defeat device' software installed on a number of their vehicles equipped with the 3.0L TDI V6 to evade diesel emission testing. The two parties say the software allowed the TDI engine to emit nine times the legally allowable pollution limit. Vehicles involved in this latest allegation include, 2014 Volkswagen Toureg TDI 2015 Porsche
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We're getting to the point where it is becoming a bad idea mentioning 'could it get any worse' when talking about Volkswagen and the diesel scandal it finds itself embroiled in. Sooner or later, it will get one step worse. Case in point is Volkswagen admitting on Friday that their 3.0L TDI V6 used on a number of their vehicles does violate emission standards. Earlier in November, the EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) accused Volkswagen of using a defeat device in a number of vehi
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Volkswagen will be cutting another big check. Today, the company announced that it had reached a settlement with Department of Justice over the criminal case on the diesel emission scandal. Volkswagen will plead guilty to three criminal felony charges and will pay $4.3 billion - $2.8 billion for the fine and $1.5 billion to settle civil cases. The settlement also requires an independent monitor to watch over the company for the next years. Volkswagen's board still needs to approve this sett
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To shoulder the massive costs that will come from the diesel emission scandal, Volkswagen has agreed to terms to take out a 20 billion euro (about $21 billion) bridging loan with a number of banks. Sources tell Reuters the decision to go with a number of banks allows Volkswagen to spread the debt out and that the company hopes to start paying back the loans next year by issuing bonds in the company. A few weeks ago, we heard rumors that Volkswagen was planning to take out 20 billion Euros in
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Has it really been a month since Volkswagen and the U.S. Government announced they had reached an agreement over the 2.0L TDI emission scandal? Yes, it has and since then, the two have been hard at work with finalizing the agreement. This week, the two were in Federal Court in San Francisco to give an update. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said at the brief hearing that the two parties have been making significant progress. The "parties ... have reported that in the month since we la
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Kenneth Fineberg finds himself helping out another automaker in crisis. Volkswagen announced yesterday they have brought in Fienberg to work on and oversee a new claims program for owners of Volkswagen models involved in the diesel emission scandal. “We are pleased to announce the retention of Kenneth Feinberg. His extensive experience in handling such complex matters will help to guide us as we move forward to make things right with our customers,” said Michael Horn, President and CEO, Volk
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Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller told a German publication that it would launch a recall for diesel vehicles that have emission-cheating software starting in January and hopefully finish up fixing all of the vehicles by the end of the year. "If all goes according to plan, we can start the recall in January. All the cars should be fixed by the end of 2016," Mueller told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Now it should be noted this is only for vehicles in Europe. A Volkswagen of America s
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Volkswagen is getting ready to start the $10 billion compensation program for owners of the 2.0L TDI engine in the U.S. But some folks want the German automaker to do something similar for TDI owners in Europe. "Volkswagen should voluntarily pay European car owners compensation that is comparable with that which they will pay U.S. consumers," said EU Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska last week. In a interview with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag over the weekend, Volkswagen CEO
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Volkswagen and their U.S. dealers have had a tense relationship since the diesel emission scandal broke. From the departure of Michael Horn to dealer meetings where tough questions were being asked to Volkswagen executives. But it seems some progress is being made on repairing it. In a statement released today, Volkswagen announced they have reached an “agreement in principle” with its dealers over compensation for losses due to the diesel emission scandal. According to Automotive Ne
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Another week has passed and some new information has come to light in the Volkswagen diesel scandal. First off, Volkswagen has confirmed one of their diesel engines doesn't have the cheat. The EA 288 TDI engine used in vehicles for the European-market has been checked out to see if it had the illegal software. In a statement issued by Volkswagen, the engine did not have “software constituting an improper defeat device as defined in laws is installed in vehicles with EA288 EU5 as well as EU6
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Yesterday, Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller said that owners of affected diesel vehicles will need to have them 'refitted'. Muller didn't go into detail about what he meant, but Reuters has some possible ideas. Speaking with experts, Reuters says Volkswagen might have to develop different solutions for the 482,000 vehicles affected in the U.S. This comes down to Volkswagen using two different systems for controlling emissions; lean NOx traps (most Volkswagen diesel vehicles involved in the sc
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Volkswagen is trying to save as much cash as they can to help offset the upcoming fines and penalties due to the cheating devices they fitted to a number of diesel vehicles. We have reported that Volkswagen is in the process of freezing and reevaluating a number of projects. Now it seems the German automaker is making cuts in the trims and variants it offers. Bloomberg reports that Volkswagen will be cutting back on the number of trims and variants that it offers. Bernd Osterloh, a superviso
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On Friday, Volkswagen made an announcement that many of us were expecting, cutting its massive R&D budget. The company will cut 1 billion Euros (about $1.1 billion) from R&D to prepare itself for the massive fines that will be heading its way in the near future due to the emission scandal. Along with this, Volkwagen announced that it would be capping spending on property, plant and equipment at around 12 billion euros ($12.8 billion) for next year. This is about eight percent smaller
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Volkswagen was planning to publish the final report on the external investigation done by U.S. law firm Jones Day. But in a move that surprised no one, Volkswagen has decided not to publish it. "I’m aware that some of you wish for greater transparency. Often the publishing of a full report is demanded. To be clear: there is no written final report from Jones Day, nor will there be. I ask for your understanding that for legal reasons Volkswagen is prevented from publishing any such report,"
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Volkswagen was planning to release the preliminary findings of its internal investigation into the diesel emission scandal this month. But now, the company has scrapped those plans. In a statement, the German automaker cites strong objections from their lawyers and “unacceptable risks” to the company. But there might be more this than what Volkswagen is saying. Last week, Volkswagen finally reached a deal with the U.S. Government over the emission mess. By releasing the results, it might pu
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The first person has been charged in the U.S.' Volkswagen diesel emission probe. Today at the U.S. Federal Court in Detroit, James Robert Liang, leader of diesel competence for Volkswagen from 2008 until June of this year entered a plea of guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, commit wire fraud, and violate the Clean Air Act. According to grand jury indictment filed back in June and unsealed today, “Liang and his co-conspirators, including current and former employees, and
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A number of Volkswagen engineers have admitted that they manipulated CO2 emission data to meet ambitious goals to meet goals set by former Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn. German newspaper Bild am Sonntag (via Reuters) reports that engineers filled tires with more air and mixed diesel with their motor oil to make them use less fuel. This reportedly began after then-CEO Martin Winterkorn's announcement at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show that by 2015, the company would cut CO2 emission levels by
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American criminal lawyers are in demand at Volkswagen. Bloomberg has learned from sources that various executives at the company are hiring lawyers as the Department of Justice begins sending out officials to Germany for meetings to gather evidence for possible criminal charges. Volkswagen has already agreed to a $16 billion settlement over the diesel emission scandal. But the Department of Justice is continuing their investigation into whether various Volkswagen executives knew about the c
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Volkswagen finds itself in legal trouble once again as three U.S. states - Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York - have filed separate lawsuits over the diesel emission scandal. The lawsuits allege that the automaker undertook a massive cover-up of the illegal software and was orchestrated by high-level executives - including the former CEO. “The idea that this level of fraud could take place and involve so many people at such high levels of a major international corporation is appalling,” s
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Volkswagen announced today a new Goodwill Package for owners of the affected 2.0L TDI engine. As we reported over the weekend, the package includes two $500 gift cards - a Visa and Volkswagen Dealer card - along with three-years of roadside assistance. To get your hands on this package is quite the challenge. First you have to visit VWDieselInfo.com and put in your VIN, along with vehicle information. From there, Volkswagen will mail out the cards to you. But you cannot use those cards yet.
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At last month's court hearing where Volkswagen announced a deal had been reached with the U.S. Government on the 2.0L TDI engine, we learned the two were still in negotiations over the 3.0L TDI V6. Now it seems that issue is coming to a close. Bloomberg has learned from sources that Volkswagen and U.S. Government are ironing out technical details and reviewing test results of a possible software fix for the engine. It is said that a new catalytic converter could be part of this as well. Sour
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Volkswagen is looking to limit the damage that has been caused by the diesel emission scandal. According to Automotive News, part of this comes from buying some used TDI model on U.S. dealer lots at pre-crisis prices. Speaking with dealers briefed on the plan, Volkswagen will guarantee the value of used models equipped with 2.0 TDI containing the illegal software sitting on dealer lots. If the vehicles aren't sold within 60 days, Volkswagen will buy them back. In a memo from Volkswagen o
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It slices! It dices! No, we're not trying to sell you a set of knives. This is the best way to describe Volkswagen's strategy for the U.S.; price cuts. Bloomberg reports that Volkswagen will be changing their strategy in the U.S. to become more mass-market in the U.S. This will mean a wider product range and lower prices. The hope is the strategy can reverse a downward spiral in U.S. sales that has been taking place before the diesel scandal broke. Volkswagen for many hasn't bee
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Today at U.S. District Court in Detroit, Volkswagen pleaded guilty on three felony charges relating to the diesel emission scandal as part of a plea agreement. The three felonies are conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and introducing imported merchandise into the United States by means of false statements. "Your honor, VW AG is pleading guilty to all three counts because it is guilty on all three counts," said Volkswagen general counsel Manfred Doess at the hearing. As part of the ple
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As we reported yesterday, Volkswagen has decided against revealing the preliminary results of their internal investigation as it would bring “unacceptable risks” to the company. It might have been a good idea as a new wrinkle has appeared in the diesel emission scandal. The New York Times has learned from two sources that a top technology executive prepared a PowerPoint presentation showing the automaker could fool the EPA's emission testing. The presentation was only a few pages long and ex
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Volkswagen is making progress with moving on from the diesel emission scandal as they have announced a proposed agreement for the 3.0L TDI V6. Filed in federal court last night, the agreement totals $1.2 billion and hopes to resolve civil claims for 78,000 vehicles. The settlement includes, Buy back or terminate the lease of approximately 20,000 eligible 2009-2012 Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7 TDI models (dubbed the Generation 1 models). There is also the possibility of Volkswagen offerin
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Weeks before the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal came to light, several executives were reportedly warned about the possible costs during a meeting. German tabloid Bild am Sonntag reports that Oliver Schmidt, a Volkswagen executive that was arrested earlier this year in U.S., said the costs of diesel emission cheating could cost the company up to $18.5 billion during a presentation held on August 25, 2015. Those that attended the presentation included former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterk
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Reuters is reporting that Volkswagen developed several versions of its "defeat device" software for their diesel models. Three sources tell the news service the company used the different versions of the software on four diesel engine types. If this proves to be true, this could indicate a widespread cheating program at the company, not the rogue engineer claim that executives have been using as a defense. This also puts Volkswagen in a difficult position when it comes to potential fines. If
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A number of Volkswagen executives will not be seeing their full bonus for 2015. In a statement today, Volkswagen announced bonus payments for top executives will be cut "significantly." This announcement comes a week after it was revealed that Volkswagen Group Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch would be getting about 10 million euros (about $11.4 million) as compensation for stepping down as the company's CFO. News about this bonus angered Volkswagen's labor leaders and the state of Lower Saxony,
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The diesel emission scandal has left Volkswagen at a bit crossroad in a number of areas. One of them deals with their brand identity in the U.S. For a better part of a decade, Volkswagen was known as the brand that sold 'clean diesels'. But the company is working to rebuild and change their identity. Part of that plan is taking diesel and putting it on the backburner. Volkswagen Group of America CEO Hinrich Woebcken tells Automotive News that diesel will not be a core element of their ident
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If you're wondering when Volkswagen will resume sales of diesel vehicles in the U.S., you're going to have to wait a bit longer. Automotive News has learned that the German automaker hasn't applied for the necessary EPA approvals to start selling diesel vehicles in the U.S. "They need to address our concerns" before sales can resume, an EPA official said. Those concerns most likely relate to Volkswagen coming up with a fix that meets the standards of the EPA and California Air Resources
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This morning at Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, executives admitted there were parts of the company "tolerated breaches of rules" and would be 'relentless' in finding those involved in the diesel emission scandal. Volkswagen Chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch told reporters at the press conference that investigations into the affair were going well, but it would take time for the investigation to figure out which individuals were the key players. Poestch also reiterated that a smal
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Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller told a group of 20,000 employees today in Germany that the company will be cancelling and delaying a number of projects in light of the diesel emission scandal. "Therefore we are putting all planned investments under review. What is not urgently needed will be scrapped or delayed. And therefore we will adjust our efficiency program. I will be very open: this won't be painless," said Muller. Fixing around 11 million vehicles around the world that are affect
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There appears to be some movement on the 3.0L TDI settlement between Volkswagen and U.S. Government. A source briefed on the 3.0L TDI V6 settlement told Reuters that Volkswagen will pay $200 million into a pollution reduction fund. This is on top of the $2.7 billion Volkswagen will be paying for the 2.0L TDI pollution reduction fund. This seems to be the only thing the two groups have agreed on at the moment. Yesterday, a hearing at U.S. Federal Court in San Fransisco was pushed back few ho
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In addition to $14.7 billion settlement reached with the U.S. Government, Volkswagen will pay an additional $86 million in civil penalties to California over the diesel emission scandal. "We must conserve and protect our environment for future generations and deliver swift and certain consequences to those who break the law and pollute our air," said California's Attorney General Kamala Harris in a statement. Harris explained the civil penalties resolved certain claims made by state off
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German authorities will put Volkswagen's fixes for diesel emissions to the test. German newspaper Die Welt reports that the German Transportation Authority will take Volkswagen vehicles affected by the diesel cheating scandal and perform emission and fuel usage testing once the company begins doing the fixes. Die Welt goes on to say that the test results and raw data will be published in full to guarantee transparency. No word as to when the re-tests would be carried out. Volkswagen say
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In light of new allegations put forth by the EPA on Monday, the American branches of Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen have issued a stop-sale on vehicles equipped with the 3.0L TDI V6. According to Automotive News, this move grounds the sales of not only new TDI models from the Volkswagen group, but also a number of used models equipped with the 3.0L TDI V6. The EPA announced on Monday that it had found a second 'defeat device' on a number of models using the 3.0L TDI V6. Volkswagen has denied
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It seemed like it would never happen. But today in a federal courtroom in Calfornia, Volkswagen and the U.S. Justice Department announced they have reached an agreement over the 570,000 2.0L diesel vehicles equipped with illegal software that cheated EPA emission tests. The preliminary "agreement in principle" states the Volkswagen will give owners the option of selling their affected TDI vehicles back to VW or have the vehicle modified to meet U.S. emission standards. Those who are leasing
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We're getting close to entering the seventh month of not having a fix for Volkswagen's cheating TDI engines in the U.S. A couple weeks back, a Federal judge in California gave Volkswagen a deadline of March 24th to provide a definitive status of a fix. But Volkswagen might not have the answer the judge or affected owners want. In an interview with German newspaper Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, Volkswagen brand boss Herbert Deiss said it could take months before Volkswagen and U.S. authorit
