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Weekly Recap For 4.22.16 | Autoblog Minute

Senior Editor Greg Migliore recaps the week in automotive news, including a look at the latest from the VW diesel emissions scandal, spy shots of the latest Honda CR-V, and more. Ferrari Honda Volkswagen Crossover Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video emissions scandal diesel emissions scandal

2015 VW Golf R ready for your pre-order on January 8

If you want to be the first person on your block with Volkswagen's latest Golf R parked in your garage, you need to clear some time from your schedule on January 8. On that day, VW is opening the pre-order books for the first 500 Stateside examples of the new hot hatch, and they come with some neat accessories, too. Don't worry about specing just the right Golf R because all 500 early models are identical. In addition to the obvious 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with 292 horsepower 280 pound-feet of torque and 4Motion all-wheel drive, the six-speed dual-clutch gearbox is the only option here. Every one of these hot hatches comes in Lapiz Blue Metallic paint with 19-inch wheels covered in summer performance tires. Based around the DCC and Nav trim, each of them also has VW's adaptive damper system, bi-xenon headlights with LED running lights, a Fender audio system, parking sensors and navigation. Beyond just being the first ones to own VW's latest hot hatch in the US, the deal for these 500 folks also includes a Volkswagen R watch, carbon fiber and stainless steel keychain and a certificate. All three items are serialized to match the VIN of the buyer's Golf R. The total price for each one of these 500 Golf R's is $39,090, plus $820 destination and delivery. But potential buyers don't have to come up with all of that on January 8. They just need to visit VW's Golf R site and pay a $500 reservation fee to get in line, which goes toward the purchase of the car. The money is refundable for anyone who backs out, and any additional orders are put on a waiting list in case of any cancelations.

EPA message to automakers: You're on notice

With top administrator Gina McCarthy speaking about the "moral obligation for climate action" on Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would ramp up its oversight of the auto industry in the wake of Volkswagen's emissions cheating. In a letter sent to manufacturers Friday, the agency said it would begin examining cars to see whether they contained defeat devices "in addition to the standard emissions test cycles." "We are putting vehicle manufacturers on notice." Exactly how the agency plans to test for these devices – which are not devices per se, but algorithms contained in millions of lines of software code that govern vehicle functions – remains unclear. Christopher Grundler, the director of the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, divulged few details in how the agency would uncover so-called defeat devices used by cheaters. "Not today – or actually ever – I'm not going to be describing what new ways we'll be using to detect these defeat devices." Later, he said engineers will have to "come up with some clever ways to do this." The only insight he offered was that the EPA, California Air Resources Board, and Environment Canada would partner on testing more cars for emissions and anomalies. Grundler also said the EPA would diversify its testing fleet. In addition to relying on vehicles provided by manufacturers, the federal agency will now also borrow cars from "private citizens" and utilize rental cars for tests. "We are putting vehicle manufacturers on notice," he said. Joint investigations between EPA and CARB have "been very successful in protecting human health and the environment," said Janet McCabe, the agency's acting administrator in the Office of Air and Radiation. "But we also know, and the Volkswagen violations before us now make it clear, we need to adapt and step up our oversight." That may include an increase in on-road testing in addition to the five emissions tests now more relied upon. The EPA owns and maintains 23 portable emissions-monitoring systems like the one used by West Virginia University researchers who first detected elevated levels of nitrogen oxide emissions from two Volkswagen diesel vehicles. Right now, they're almost exclusively deployed to monitor emission from heavy-duty vehicles, whose NOx emissions "dwarf" the amount produced by light-duty vehicles, which produce less than 2 percent of the total, according to the agency's figures.