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Daimler says straight up it doesn't cheat on emissions tests

Distancing itself from VW and its diesel emissions scandal, Daimler has put out a statement saying that it has never installed devices on their vehicles that would artificially reduce emissions during a testing process. The company added that it "actively" supports European regulators' efforts to improve emissions-testing methods to better measure emissions during "real" driving conditions. BMW put out a similar statement last week, saying that its diesels are programmed to be tested properly. While Mercedes-Benz diesels were a fixture on US roads in past decades, the company's diesel sales are now concentrated overseas. "We categorically deny the accusation of manipulating emission tests regarding our vehicles," Daimler said in Friday's statement. "A defeat device, a function which illegitimately reduces emissions during testing, has never been and will never be used at Daimler." There's a reason for that sort of straightforward statement. Namely, heads continue to roll at VW after the automaker admitted it manipulated software in its diesel vehicles to pass US emissions testing. VW followed up by saying that as may as 11 million vehicles worldwide may contain that software and has set aside $7.3 billion to address the issue. VW CEO Martin Winterkorn stepped down as well. Take a look at Daimler's press release below. Daimler AG categorically denies any and all allegations of manipulation Stuttgart, Sep 25, 2015 In light of the ongoing assertions from the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), a non-government organisation, and the related speculation, Daimler AG once again clearly states that: We categorically deny the accusation of manipulating emission tests regarding our vehicles. A defeat device, a function which illegitimately reduces emissions during testing, has never been and will never be used at Daimler. This holds true for both diesel and petrol engines. Our engines meet and adhere to every legal requirement. In light of the written request by the DUH, which was sent to us this morning with a deadline to respond by 3:00 pm (CET), and the seven questions they posed, we can confirm that none of the allegations apply to our vehicles. The technical programming of our engines adheres to all legal requirements. We have no knowledge of measurements that indicate our vehicles did not meet legally required standards.

Tesla says Model 3 is best-selling midsize premium sedan in America

Auto sales figures are sort of fuzzy numbers, no matter how you slice them and no matter which manufacturer you're talking about. Unless you're specifically tracking vehicle registrations, automakers generally self-report the figures. So, you have to trust that they aren't doing anything too tricky. Plus, not every sale is equal, as some are logged as dealership loaners or demo models, some go to fleets (like to a rental car agency), and still others are, of course, bought by traditional customers looking for a new daily driver. With that preamble out of the way, when we saw a tweet from Tesla claiming that the all-electric Model 3 is the best-selling midsize premium sedan in America, our interest was piqued. According to Tesla, market share of the Model 3 has just surpassed the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which had up until now led the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Lexus IS as the best-selling sedan in its class. Note that the graph from Tesla below is, we think, specific to four-door models. So, is it true? Judging by the numbers we can find, including some from Bloomberg, which has a running chart to track Model 3 registrations, the answer is... probably. We don't know exactly how many Model 3 sedans Tesla is currently cranking out, but Bloomberg estimates production at about 2,560 units per week, and total sales for 2018 at 34,414. We know the number is increasing regularly, though, and Elon Musk has said most recently production sits around 500 units per day, which, on a seven-day cycle, would be 3,500 per week. We looked up Mercedes' sales figures for the month of May, 2018, and found that the German brand sold 5,419 C-Class models last month, for a total of 23,917 for the year (incidentally, that's down more than 30 percent from the year prior). While the bulk of those sales would surely be made up of sedans, it would also include a small percentage of coupes. Either way, it's likely that Tesla is currently producing and selling more Model 3s than Mercedes is C-Classes. Now, it's also worth considering if the C-Class is the only vehicle from Mercedes that directly competes with the Model 3. We'd guess customers may also cross-shop the CLA sedan with the Tesla, and if that's the case, you might decide it's worth adding in Mercedes' 2,527 CLA-Class sales last month and 9,622 so far for the year. The same argument could be made for certain versions of the BMW 2 and 4 Series.

Fast sedans and loose Tweets | Autoblog Podcast #555

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Reese Counts. Reese has been traveling a lot, and the two discuss his recent first drives of the 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT four-door and the 2019 Audi Q3. The pair also talk about the 2018 BMW X2 that's been in the office this week. Also on the agenda is the SEC's lawsuit against Elon Musk, Ola Kaellenius replacing Dieter Zetsche at Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac's move back to Detroit and the upcoming reveal of the 2019 BMW 3 Series at the Paris Motor Show.Autoblog Podcast #555 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT four-door 2019 Audi Q3 2018 BMW X2 Elon Musk lawsuit New Mercedes-Benz CEO Cadillac is heading back to Detroit The new 3 Series debuts next week Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes