Thứ Sáu, 16 tháng 9, 2016
Volkswagen is super-duper serious about going green. Emphasizing that fact, it will unveil a new electrified concept car later this month at the Paris Motor Show. Ahead of that that official debut, the German automaker has released three teaser images of that concept likely to both pique our interest for the thing but also to undermine the headlines Chevy has been garnering this week surrounding its 238-mile Bolt EV. Certainly, the concept looks classic VW, with a happy, round-y hatchback shape. That said, this car is more of a design showcase than a production car. Image: Volkswagen However, the car does ride on the Volkswagen Group's new platform, codenamed MEB. So although its exterior designs might be a bit wilder than buyers will see in the showrooms in a few years time, its overall shape — and perhaps projected range — will be closer to reality. Image: Volkswagen What details do we spy here in these teaser images that won't probably make it to the assembly line? Well, that charge port in the rear hatch-mounted spoiler for one. Also, those neat honeycomb-style LED headlights are probably prohibitively expensive for production. And although VW hasn't teased the interior, if the EV microbus BUDD-e concept from 2016 CES was any indiction, it should be pretty techie in this one as well. That's just a guess, though. We'll have to wait until September 29 when the Paris Motor Show kicks off to know for sure.
Thứ Tư, 17 tháng 8, 2016
If you thought the Tesla Model 3's 200-mile-range was impressive, wait until you hear what Volkswagen has in store. The company has been hurting a bit since dieselgate broke last year. The world's largest automaker might be down, but it's not out. That's because it has a veritable arsenal of exciting new vehicles in the pipeline. Perhaps none more so than VW's forthcoming long-range EV. While we knew the German carmaker was working on a 300-plus-mile electric car, we didn't quite know when we might actually see it, or learn about any of its features. However, today we have a better idea. VW CEO Hebert Diess told German magazine Wirtschafts Woche that the yet-unnamed EV will have a range somewhere between 400 to 600 kilometers (248 to 372 miles), according to Electrek. However, the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) is a bit more liberal with its efficiency figures than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). So, it'd probably rated by the EPA at around 300 miles per charge. Still, that would make it the longest-range EV around. What's more, Diess admitted the EV will be around the size of the Golf but have the cargo space of the larger Passat sedan. Given that admission, it's not unlikely that the car will be a microbus like the BUDD-e VW unveiled at CES earlier this year. Although Elon Musk has confirmed Tesla is working on a microbus of its own, there's no telling when that EV mini people mover will be debuted. The VW, on the other hand, is being readied for a Paris Motor Show unveiling in September. Granted, that car will be just a prototype. Thankfully, Diess confirmed the production version of the car will be sent into production in 2018 or 2019. If you're in the market for a mass-market long-range EV and don't want to wait for either the Model 3 or the VW EV, though, Chevy's Bolt EV will be hitting showrooms later this year.BONUS: BUDD-e electric microbus from Volkswagen is a tech lover's dream
Thứ Năm, 23 tháng 6, 2016
If $1,000 in gift cards wasn't enough to satiate irked Volkswagen diesel owners, do you think $7,000 will do the trick? On June 28, Volkswagen will reportedly submit a plan to a U.S. district court judge proposing the German automaker pay up to $7,000 to each owner of one of its diesel-powered cars affected by dieselgate, according to Bloomberg. Additionally, it will also finance a program aimed to offset air pollution. All told, the plan would cost VW $10 billion. However, not every owner will receive the full $7,000. Depending on the age of the vehicle, along with other factors, owners would receive cash payments between $1,000 and $7,000. The report makes no mention of a plan to repair the nearly 500,000 affected vehicles in the U.S. Presumably, since the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency rejected the German automaker's previous repair plan, it was unable to devise a better solution. Without the ability to fix the cars, that produce as much as 40 times the legal limit of tailpipe emissions, VW figures it might as well buy its way out of the problem. Based upon what current owners have said to me, I doubt very much that this relatively paltry figure will make them feel better about being tricked by VW. That said, short of a complete buy-back (the cleanest but most expensive solution), I doubt much can be done to win back owners' trust. Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Thứ Ba, 26 tháng 4, 2016
It's getting more and more difficult to believe that Volkswagen employees were unaware of the company's diesel emissions-cheating software. A top Volkswagen technology executive reportedly created a PowerPoint presentation in 2006 detailing how to cheat diesel emissions testing in the U.S., reports the New York Times. According to two anonymous sources who claim to have seen the presentation, the company knew its diesel cars polluted far more than advertised — as much as 40 times the legal limit in the U.S. — and declined plans to install improved emissions systems. Engineers realized early on that if they adjusted emissions systems to meet the much more stringent U.S. emissions laws, the systems would degrade prematurely. Instead, the company implemented a cheaper solution, the so-called "defeat device" software created by Audi in 1999, according to Reuters. It is not clear now many VW employees saw the presentation. Earlier reports indicated as few as 20 people inside VW knew of the plot. However, that number is increasingly becoming less and less credible. Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
