The emissions scandal affecting more than 11 million Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche vehicles around the world likely started in 2005 when engineers initiated a “chain of mistakes” while trying to meet nitrogen-oxide emissions standards in their new line of diesel vehicles, executives for the company said on Thursday. [More]
emissions
Emissions-Cheating “Defeat Devices” Found In Additional VW, Audi, Porsche Vehicles
By 11.20.15
The emission-scandal plot continues to thicken for Volkswagen and U.S. regulators. Nearly a month after the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board accused the carmaker of including “defeat devices” in an additional 10,000 previously unreported vehicles, investigators for the agency say the number of cars is significantly higher. [More]
Dealers Stop Sale Of New, Pre-Owned VW, Audi & Porsche Vehicles Covered In Latest Emissions Violations
By 11.4.15
Just a day after Volkswagen executives said the car company would not stop the sale of vehicles included in the Environmental Protection Agency’s newest notice of violation for emission standards, the manufacturer backtracked, and now says it will tell dealers not to sell certain VW, Audi and Porsche models. [More]
Volkswagen Internal Investigation Finds Carbon Dioxide Emissions Issue With 800,000 Vehicles
By 11.3.15
With nearly 11 million vehicles worldwide already emitting nearly 40 times the allowable rate of nitrogen oxide, Volkswagen says an internal investigation found about 800,000 additional vehicles may have issues with carbon dioxide emissions, too. [More]
VW Denies Latest Emissions Violations, Won’t Halt Sales On Affected Vehicles
By 11.3.15
Just hours after federal and state regulators accused Volkswagen of using so-called “defeat devices” on newer model cars in order to ensure they passed emissions tests, the carmaker said the allegations aren’t true and that it will continue to allow sales of the recently identified automobiles. [More]
Regulators Find More “Defeat Devices” In 10,000 VW, Porsche And Audi Vehicles
By 11.2.15
A month and a half after the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board found “defeat devices” designed to cheat emission tests in nearly 500,000 Volkswagen and Audi vehicles, the agencies’ ongoing investigation found additional Clean Air Act violations in the carmaker’s newer model Porsche, Audi and VW cars. [More]
VW Investigating If Second Diesel Engine Line Contains “Defeat Devices”
By 10.22.15
Volkswagen has admitted to rigging the emissions control systems on 11 million diesel cars over the last seven years. But what about the company’s older diesel model vehicles? That’s apparently something the carmaker intends to find out by launching yet another investigation. [More]
VW Moving Forward With New Emissions System, Electric Power For Future Models
By 10.14.15
Volkswagen’s immediate future is in a bit of a holding pattern. The company has a plan for how to properly handle diesel emissions in new vehicles, but it can’t implement it right away. Meanwhile, its 2016 lineup of diesels has yet to win approval from the Environmental Protection Agency. [More]
Report Claims Mercedes, Honda, Mazda Diesels Also Have Questionable Emissions
By 10.9.15
Volkswagen may not be the only carmaker with diesel engines that pass emissions tests in the garage but would fail if tested on the open road. A new report claims that several other manufacturers have diesel vehicles that test well until you put them in real world driving situations. [More]
VW Offering Owners $2,000 “Loyalty Bonus” For Buying A New Car, Sticking With The Company
By 10.7.15
The hundreds of thousands of consumers still waiting to hear just how Volkswagen plans to fix their “clean diesel” vehicles rigged to cheat emissions tests could simply go buy a new automobile from the carmaker — you know, one that isn’t affected by the scandal. Or at least that’s what it appears VW is saying with the launch of an “Owner Loyalty Bonus” program. [More]
Studies Try To Estimate Number Of Deaths Tied To Rigged Volkswagen Emissions
By 10.5.15
Over the course of seven years, Volkswagen and its affiliated companies sold millions of diesel vehicles around the world — nearly 500,000 in the U.S. — with emissions control systems rigged so that the cars falsely appeared to meet environmental standards. While much of the focus has been on the carmaker’s alleged fraud and the financial cost to consumers and VW, some researchers have been trying to figure out how many people died as a result of the additional toxic emissions released into the air. [More]
VW Announces 11M Cars Affected Worldwide By Software That Evades Emissions Standards
By 9.22.15
While the Environmental Protection Agency ordered Volkswagen to recall nearly 500,000 sedans equipped with software that tricked emissions tests, the carmaker announced on Tuesday that more than 11 million vehicles actually include the so-called defeat device. [More]
By 1.26.09
../../../..//2009/01/26/president-obama-has-ordered-the/
President Obama has ordered the EPA to allow states set their own fuel-efficiency standards (fourteen states had begun the process when President Bush put a stop to it a couple of years ago.) He’s also asked the DOT to “develop higher fuel-efficiency standards automakers would have to follow.” [USA Today]
General Motors Says New Fuel Requirements Will Add $6,000 To Price Of Cars
By 1.17.08
Bob Lutz, GM’s vice president and product chief, told reporters this week that new federal guidelines that require 35mpg fuel efficiency by 2020 (yes, more than a decade from now) are so stringent that it will end up costing an average of $6,000 more per vehicle. “That cost will have to be passed on to consumers,” he then threatened. We can’t help but feel sorry for GM. After all, this whole “better fuel efficiency” topic was only brought up, what, like two or three months ago? And GM only has twelve years to find cost-effective (we’d say “innovative” but don’t want to put too much pressure on such a backwards, fearful company) ways to lighten cars and improve engines.
By 1.2.08
../../../..//2008/01/02/today-california-sued-the-epa/
Today California sued the EPA over its refusal to let states enact their own greenhouse-gas laws. “Fifteen states plan to intervene on California’s behalf, including 13 of those that have either adopted or are in the process of adopting the rules. Delaware and Illinois, which have not passed the standards, also are part of the lawsuit.” [New York Times]
Schwarzenegger Says California Will Sue Federal Government Over Emissions Ruling
By 12.21.07
Today the EPA announced that California and 16 other states will not be allowed to make their own laws governing greenhouse gas emissions, because “The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution, not a confusing patchwork of state rules.” California’s robot leader of the future and erstwhile killing machine promptly announced that California will be suing the federal government, and in a press conference today said that “It’s another example of the administration’s failure to treat global warming with the seriousness that it actually demands.”
Computer Glitch Causes Toyota Prius To Fail Georgia Emissions Test
By 11.27.07
If you bought a Toyota Prius and have been trying to pass an emissions test in Georgia, you’re probably pretty stressed out right about now.
