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VW claims Apple wouldn't let it show wireless CarPlay at CES
Apple may have baked wireless CarPlay into an iOS update months ago, but that doesn't mean it's ready to show off the feature... at least, not according to Volkswagen. The car giant claims that Apple wouldn't let it demonstrate the phone-to-infotainment-system option at CES this week. There's no mention of why it was verboten, but Car and Driver speculates that Apple wanted any first public demonstration (it hasn't been shown in action until now) on its own terms. We've reached out to Apple for its take on the situation, and we'll let you know if it has a comment.
VW shows off its quick-charging electric microbus concept
When the US government has filed a civil suit against you because your vehicles violated emissions laws, it's a good idea to start showing off some electric vehicles. That's exactly what Volkswagen has done during its CES keynote. The company showed off the BUDD-e new concept bus that's packed with technology and like all concept cars, you'll probably never get to buy in its current state of awesome.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: A Volkswagen van, and more!
Sea levels are rising as arctic ice melts, so what will cities do to combat rising tides? According to architect Vincent Callebaut, they'll set sail. This week Callebaut unveiled plans for a futuristic floating village that can be 3D-printed from plastic waste. Meanwhile, the team behind the world's largest 3D printer announced plans to create a life-size replica of Syria's Palmyra arch, which was destroyed by Islamic State militants. In other architecture news, Thomas Heatherwick wants to build a tree-covered mountain in the middle of Shanghai, and a team of Harvard students built an amazing tiny home that you can rent for $99 a night.
VW to set up emissions claims program for your lawsuits
Volkswagen announced on Thursday that it is establishing an independent claims program led by Ken Feinberg, the man that handled both the government's payout efforts for 9/11 victims and Transocean's compensation for people affected by the Deepwater Horizon spill. Feinberg "will develop an independent, fair and swift process," according to the company, for resolving the more than 500 lawsuits that VW is currently facing. There's no word, however, on when the program will officially launch. The company is also still waiting on approval for its proposed repairs from regulators.
Volkswagen scandal might force it to sell luxury brands
The Volkswagen saga continues, as the company deals with the aftermath of its emissions scandal. According to Reuters, the German automaker has secured a loan of roughly 20 billion euros in order to pay for resulting lawsuits and to compensate consumers whose cars are now worth less following the admission. However, there's a catch. In order to assure that it can pay back the loan, Volkswagen had to confirm that it's prepared to sell off some of its smaller holdings including Bentley, Lamborghini and Ducati.
VW reportedly knew its fuel economy figures were wrong a year ago
If one report is accurate, Volkswagen execs didn't just know that their cars' emission estimates were fishy -- they knew the fuel efficiency figures were off, too. German newspaper Bild claims that top brass was aware of misleading fuel economy estimates about a year ago, or months before it became public. Former CEO Martin Winterkorn reportedly went so far as to yank one model off the market, the Polo TDI BlueMotion, because its fuel consumption was simply too far off the mark (18 percent above estimates).
VW explains how it will fix its European diesel engines
Volkswagen released a short explainer video on YouTube Wednesday, outlining the measures needed to bring its line of EA 189 diesel engines back into compliance with EPA regulations. The EA 189s are the 1.6- and 2-liter diesel engines at the heart of the company's recent emissions scandal that has seen more than 8.5 million cars recalled in Germany alone.
Volkswagen is issuing AR glasses as standard factory equipment
Following a successful 3-month pilot program at its Wolfsburg plant, Volkswagen announced on Tuesday that it will begin issuing 3D smart glasses to its plant logistics personnel. These glasses, which display information like bin locations and part numbers directly in the user's line of sight, should help speed up order picking. That is, they'll tell plant employees if the parts they're holding are the parts they actually need. And to keep the process as hands-free as possible, a camera embedded in the specs will double as a barcode scanner.
VW offers $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers to affected diesel owners
Volkwagen's attempt to compensate vehicle owners who drive one of the models included in the company's emissions scandal is now official. The initial reports were indeed correct, as the company will offer $1,000 in gift cards and other incentives to VW customers. On top of a $500 dealership credit, the 482,000 diesel owners will also receive a $500 Visa gift card that can be used anywhere and free roadside assistance for three years. Audi customers who drive affected vehicles will be privy to the same "goodwill package," too. Owners will have to visit a special website to request the items by entering their car's VIN number and mileage alongside their name and address. Volkwagen says those customers should receive the package in a month. The company is already offering $2,000 in trade-in credit, and with today's announcement, the total compensation for owners of vehicles included in the on-going saga can be worth up to $3,000.[Image credit: Getty Images]
VW will reportedly offer cash to cheated diesel car drivers
If you're feeling burned by Volkswagen's decision to cheat on diesel emissions tests, you might get some compensation for your troubles. Sources for The Truth About Cars understand that VW will launch a "TDI Goodwill Program" that compensates diesel car drivers with cash in the form of prepaid cards. In the US, you'd get both a $500 universal card as well as a VW-only card worth $500 to $750. The automaker isn't confirming details just yet, but it tells the New York Times that it's planning an announcement on Monday. Dealers also tell the newspaper that they're aware of a program in the works, although they don't know the specifics. It may not include the expanded range of cars reportedly tainted by the scandal, though, since VW is denying claims that it cheated with some models.
Volkswagen also lied about its gas-powered cars
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 chokes on its first loss in 15 years
After inventing a diesel engine that doesn't emit any harmful gases into the atmosphere, you'd think that VW would never run out of money ever again. Despite this, the German auto maker has just posted a quarterly loss of €3.48 billion ($3.84 billion) which, if we're honest, makes very little sense. After all, the financial documents reveal that the firm was making a pile of money up until September, and then everything drops off a cliff. The only thing that makes sense is if something totally implausible took place, like discovering that the firm was using software in a global system of emissions fraud. But, if we're honest, nobody in their right mind would attempt something so irresponsible as that, would they.
Volkswagen's emissions scandal might affect even more cars
And further down the rabbit hole we go. On top of the 11 million cars already found to be cheating on diesel emissions tests, Volkswagen has also announced that it's investigating to see if other diesel cars have similar software tweaks, the New York Times reports. Specifically, it's looking into cars with its EA 288 diesel motor. All of the cars already affected, including VW's Passat, Jetta and Golf lines, are running a separate EA 189 motor line. The news follows a Reuters report from earlier in the week which claimed the car maker actually had several different emissions cheating solutions. That would make sense if it wanted to cover several different engine types. VW has recalled all of the cars affected by the scandal so far -- some can be fixed with a mere software update, while others might require mechanical tweaks. The company has also said it might compensate its customers for the fall in value of their cars following the scandal, though it won't be offering full refunds.
Car makers are worried tougher emission tests will kill diesel sales
If you guessed that the ever-expanding Volkswagen diesel scandal would make other automakers nervous... you guessed well. In a statement, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) worries that regulators will demand overly strict emissions tests and standards. Extra-tough requirements would supposedly make some diesel-based vehicles (which are popular in Europe) "effectively unaffordable," leaving vendors with no choice but to axe those models. The industry is in favor of better tests, the ACEA insists -- it just wants more "realistic" goals.
Germany orders recall of 8.5 million emissions-cheating Volkwagens
The outcome for consumers affected by the diesel emissions cheating scandal that has enveloped Volkswagen over the past month is becoming clearer, at least in Europe. According to the AP, Germany is ordering the company to recall all cars that include the emissions-cheating software across the European Union. That comes out to 8.5 million cars out of the total 11 million affected vehicles that were sold worldwide. Naturally, the fix will be free for owners -- and it's still possible that Volkswagen could compensate those who own cars affected by the scandal, as resale values are sure to drop significantly.
VW's 2016 diesels have a different device that may dupe emissions tests
Just when you thought the Volkswagen emissions scandal couldn't get any worse, it might do just that. The automaker revealed to US regulators last week that its 2016 diesel models may have a different device that could help those vehicles earn higher marks on the government's emissions tests. The tech in question is "auxiliary emissions control device" separate from the software on automobiles made between 2009-2015 that was first disclosed last month. This new software heats the pollution control catalyst quicker, boosting the performance of the components responsible for separating harmful nitrogen dioxide into nitrogen and oxygen.[Image credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images]
Volkswagen may give money to owners of emissions-cheating cars
If you're one of the 11 million owners of a Volkswagen car that's part of the company's huge emissions cheating scandal, you might be getting some compensation for the vehicle's lost value. As reported by ABC News, Volkswagen US CEO Michael Horn (pictured above) testified today in front of a congressional subcommittee and said that the company might pay the owners of affected cars as a way to make up for the fact that resale value for those vehicles (and indeed pretty much any VW out there) is going to drop. However, Horn said that Volkswagen wouldn't be refunding customers money. The company also isn't planning to provide loaner cars for owners, as the affected vehicles are still safe to drive (even though they're releasing up to 40 times more than the EPA's acceptable standard).
Volkswagen says 1.2 million UK cars involved in emissions scandal
After confirming that it will spend more than 6.5 billion euros (£4.8 billion) to fix the 11 million vehicles affected by its diesel emissions scandal, Volkswagen has come clean over how many of those are in the UK. The company says a total of 1,189,906 British cars with EA 189 EU5 engines will be recalled in the coming weeks and is in the process of contacting affected customers about what they need to do. It also plans to create a "self-serve process" for owners to check if their car is impacted by the issue, but notes that all of its vehicles are "technically safe and roadworthy" in the meantime.
Volkswagen will fix emissions test-cheating cars ... somehow
Volkswagen is gearing up to fix the cars affected by its diesel emissions cheating scandal -- though the specifics are still up in the air. The company's new CEO, Matthias Mueller, told employees that it'll be reaching out to customers in the next few days about getting their diesel cars retrofitted, Reuters reports. However, it's still unclear how, exactly, VW is going to update those cars. It'll most likely be some sort of software-related fix, since it got into hot water over software that was programmed to misrepresent diesel emissions when cars were being tested. We can expect regulators to scrutinize VW's solution to make sure it's actually solving the problem. It'll also likely affect the mileage and performance of the company's cars, which so far have been some of VW's main selling points. Volkswagen is prepared to spend up to $7.3 billion to clean up the mess, which is getting worse the more we learn (it apparently knew about the test cheating years ago, for one).
Volkswagen knew about shady emissions practices years ago
Volkswagen's recently departed CEO may have been caught off-guard by his company's attempt to hide true diesel car emissions from regulators, but there are now signs that some VW higher-ups knew the truth. German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagzeitung claims that technicians had warned about dodgy emissions practices in 2011, while Bild maintains that key supplier Bosch told "top circles" at VW about its emissions concerns back in 2007. It's not clear just who knew about the issues and where the buck stops -- VW is declining to comment, which isn't surprising when it's still in the midst of an investigation into what happened.
