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Fiat Chrysler reportedly phasing out diesel passenger cars by 2022
Fiat Chrysler's diesel plans are back in the spotlight again. The Italian-American car maker was hit with several lawsuits last December, each claiming that the company's heavy-duty pickup trucks used devices aimed at cheating emissions tests. Last month, the EPA said that Chrysler had violated the Clean Air Act, alleging that the company had installed software in some diesel vehicles that increased emissions. Now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is apparently ditching diesel as a fuel source in its passenger cars by 2022, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Oxford plans to be a zero-emission city by 2035
All fuel-burning vehicles could be barred from entering Oxford city centre under new plans designed to turn it into the "world's first Zero Emission Zone." In a bid to drastically cut air pollution, Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council submitted a joint proposal that would ban petrol and diesel cars from a small number of streets from 2020 and encompass the entire city centre in 2035.
Scotland plans to make petrol and diesel cars obsolete by 2032
It's become pretty clear that the petrol and diesel cars are enjoying their final days in the sun, what with both the English and French governments vowing to phase them out by 2040. Their future goal gives them more than two decades to support the major carmakers as they transition to greener fuel sources, while implementing the necessary infrastructure to support them. Not to be outdone, the Scottish government today announced that it plans to implement its own green project a lot, vowing to phase out all petrol and diesel car sales eight years before their neighbours.
Diesel's first Android Wear smartwatch will set you back $325
The latest fashion house to launch its own Android Wear device is Diesel in the form of the On Full Guard smartwatch. The On Full Guard, which was first announced a few months back, comes packing Qualcomm's 2100, IP67 water resistance and an AMOLED display. As Wareable explains, the company is hoping that its unique skin for the Android Wear 2.0 device will help it stand out in a crowd.
VW engineer sentenced to 40 months in prison for emissions cheating
Former Volkswagen engineer James Liang is taking the fall for his employers sins. Liang has been sentenced to 40 months in federal prison, and has been ordered to pay a $200,000 fine for his part in the German automaker's deception about diesel emissions. That fine is 10 times the amount prosecutors were seeking, according to Reuters. While his defense argued for house arrest considering he'd only "blindly executed" his marching orders out of "misguided loyalty."
Mazda's engine breakthrough promises big fuel efficiency gains
Mazda has made the announcement car manufacturers have been working towards for years: it's releasing the first commercial compression-ignition gasoline engine. Dubbed SkyActiv-X, the engine will be available in 2019 and promises up to 20-30% more engine efficiency than the current SkyActiv-G, and up to 45% more than Mazda's 2008 petrol engine. Current gasoline engines rely on a spark plug to ignite their air-fuel mix. The SkyActiv-X will ignite the air-fuel mix spark-free through compression, like a diesel engine. This, according to the Japanese manufacturer, combines the advantages of petrol and diesel engines to achieve "outstanding" environmental and power performance.
UK to ban sales of fossil fuel cars by 2040
France isn't the only big country getting ready to ditch fossil fuel vehicles. The UK is planning to ban sales of new fossil fuel-powered vehicles (including vans) from 2040. It's all about improving air quality, the government claims: airborne pollution is the "biggest environmental risk" to public health, and cutting off sales will help tackle pollution quickly. The move is part of a larger, £3 billion ($3.9 billion) strategy that will call on local government to retrofit buses, alter roads and even tweak traffic light patterns in the names of lower emissions and greater efficiency.
BMW denies conspiring with rivals on diesel emissions systems
VW isn't the only German automaker reeling from the effects of diesel emissions scandals. BMW is denying Der Spiegel allegations that it not only colluded with Daimler and the Volkswagen Auto Group (including Audi and Porsche) on the designs and prices for AdBlue diesel emissions treatment systems, but fell short of European exhaust standards. While the newspaper claims that BMW's thousand-plus meetings with rivals amounted to a "cartel," BMW insists that the meetings were simply meant to create a Europe-wide infrastructure for AdBlue. It also claims that the technology (which injects urea into the mix to help reduce emissions) meets the latest European requirements, and that it can update the software on older cars to meet that standard.
US sues Fiat Chrysler over diesel emissions cheating
Volkswagen definitely won't be the only major automaker hauled into court for cheating on diesel emissions tests in recent years. In the wake of EPA accusations from January, the US Department of Justice has sued Fiat Chrysler for allegedly using a combination of defeat devices and software to trick regulators into thinking its 3.0-liter EcoDiesel engines are... well, eco-friendly. Reportedly, 2014-2016 model year Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles (104,000 in total) violated the Clean Air Act by meeting emissions rules in EPA testing, but spewing "much higher" nitrogen oxide levels in certain everyday driving situations.
Portland plans to convert poop into fuel
The city of Portland has come up with an unusual way to replace diesel fuel. It's going to convert waste methane from sewage into renewable natural gas. That's right -- trucks in the future could run on poop.
Volkswagen can sell (some) diesel cars in the US again
Volkswagen is about to sell diesel vehicles for the first time in the US since its emission scandal broke in 2015. The automaker has received the EPA's blessing to sell 2015 diesel models that have been updated with new hardware and anti-pollution software, VW spokesperson Jeannine Ginivan told Bloomberg.
Fossil will give you 300 new smartwatch options in 2017
Fossil swore that it would introduce smartwatches across all its brands, and it's definitely making good on that promise... although the result is a tad overwhelming. The company has announced that it's launching 300 (!) hybrid and touchscreen styles in 2017, and that includes brands that are both introducing their very first wearables as well as veterans jumping into the Android Wear arena. When all is said and done, most of Fossil's labels will have at least some kind of smartwatch on store shelves. We won't go into every single model (do you have a few hours?), but there are some definite highlights.
Volkswagen agrees to yet another diesel cheating settlement
Volkswagen has agreed to pay at least $1.2 billion to compensate US owners for lying about emissions on 3.0-liter diesel vehicles. Owners of 20,000 model-year 2009-2012 cars -- which can't be fixed to meet legal standards -- will be offered a buyback or trade-in and from $7,755 to $13,880 in compensation, depending on the model. Buyers of 58,000 newer cars will have their vehicles repaired and receive up to $16,114. However, if the FTC isn't satisfied with the fixes, VW could be forced to buy back those cars too, making the settlement as high as $4 billion.
Emissions cheating scandal expands to France's Renault
The "Dieselgate" pollution scan that started with Volkswagen has expanded in Europe as French authorities are now investigating automaker Renault SA. Three judges will probe possible "cheating on pollution control checks ... with the consequence of making the [vehicles] dangerous to the health of people and animals," Le Figaro reports. That follows a preliminary investigation which concluded that some Renault models were emitting up to ten times the legal amounts of nitrogen oxide (NO2).
VW pleads guilty in US emissions scandal, will pay $4.3 billion
Volkswagen has agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle criminal and civil charges brought by the United States Justice Department over the company's use of emissions-cheating technology in millions of its diesel vehicles sold around the world, the AP reports. As part of the settlement, the company plead guilty to three criminal charges and it will be required to work with an independent monitor for three years. Overall, this is the largest penalty handed down to an automaker in US history.
Regulators approve VW plan to fix 70,000 more diesel vehicles
Before it can reinvent itself as an EV automaker, Volkswagen still has to clean up the remnants of the ongoing Dieselgate scandal that has cost the company billions in buyback programs, repairs and class action settlements. With so many different models affected, VW has also had a difficult time getting regulators to approve it fixes. However, the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board announced Friday that they have approved the company's plans to repair about 70,000 Generation 3 2-liter engine vehicles.
Volkswagen reaches deal for remaining 80,000 Dieselgate vehicles
Even though it's been over a year since Volkswagen was caught lying in the Dieselgate scandal, it's finally going to be done paying for it. The company recently reached a deal with US regulators whereby it'll account for the remaining 80,000 diesel vehicles that were programmed to cheat on emissions tests. There'll be an option to buy back at least 20,000 of the vehicles and all car owners will get "substantial compensation" for the inconvenience. The company had already committed to spending around $2.7 billion over three years to cover the cost of the 475,000 2-liter cars caught up in the scandal. The 80,000 vehicles mentioned here are 3-liter models that weren't included in the earlier estimate. On top of that, Volkswagen has also agreed to cough up $200 million to a US environmental fund. It's not sure yet if other European countries will step in to punish the company even further. In the meantime, Volkswagen has been busy trying to revamp its image as an EV maker. With a $14.7 billion settlement, the Dieselgate scandal is considered one of the largest class-action suits in US history.
VW to pour $200 million more into an anti-pollution fund
Believe it or not, Volkswagen still isn't done paying for its diesel emissions scandal. Reuters understands that the car maker has agreed to pay over $200 million extra into a US Environmental Protection Agency fund devoted to reducing pollution created by VW's diesel emissions cheating. The company had already agreed to spend $2.7 billion over three years, but the extra money will cover the 80,000 3-liter diesels that violated emissions limits -- previously, it was only accounting for 2-liter vehicles. Barring surprises, the deal could be made official as soon as the 19th.
EU is suing member states over Volkswagen diesel scandal
The European Union isn't happy some of its member countries still haven't punished Volkswagen for cheating on emission tests. According to several sources, it has began taking legal action against seven nations, starting with the UK, Germany, Luxembourg and Spain for approving the carmaker's vehicles to be sold in their countries but failing to haul it to court like the US did. Further, UK and Germany refused to share what they discovered from their own investigations. The EU is also suing the Czech Republic, Greece and Lithuania for not even having laws that can penalize the company.
Thanks to VW, BMW's 2017 diesels will be delayed
BMW confirmed Monday that US sales for its model-year 2017 diesel vehicles will be delayed because US regulators are taking longer than expected to certify the models. Bimmer, which sells diesel-powered 3-Series, 5-Series, X3, and X5 vehicles in the US, didn't give a timetable of when such domestic sales would start. Autoguide had previously reported of the potential delay for sales of US diesels, which account for about six percent of BMW's total sales in the US.
