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Jaguar Land Rover remains bullish on diesels

Despite Volkswagen's recent diesel scandal, Jaguar Land Rover is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to roll out the technology across most of its lineup in the coming years. Jaguar and Land Rover will add diesel engine variants to every model in their lineups, except for the Jaguar F-Type sports car. Land Rover launched the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport with available 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 diesels, and together they have sold more than 330 units so far in September, their first month on sale in the United States. JLA officials say they've seen no fallout from VW's emissions problem and are adamant their diesels meet EPA standards. "That has been our strategy, and it is not changing," Joe Eberhardt, Jaguar Land Rover North America CEO, told the Automotive Press Association on Wednesday in Detroit. "You have to deal with the situations as they arrive. We are confident of diesel." Jaguar will get another diesel next year from its Ingenium engine family, which will initially be sold in the XE sedan and the F-Pace crossover. It's a turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit and makes 180 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. A JLR spokesman said the Ingenium has not yet gone through the EPA certification process, and the diesel-powered models will arrive in the fall. Jaguar also plans to add diesel engines to the flagship XJ and XF sedans. Land Rovers, including the Discovery and Evoque, will also get diesel options, and the company estimates the technology will offer 20- to 30-percent improvements in fuel economy, depending on the vehicle. Eberhardt said it is "too soon to tell" if the diesel market will be weighed down by Volkswagen's situation. The German automaker admitted to cheating on emissions tests to make its diesel-powered cars appear to run cleaner than they actually do in real-world situations. The ensuing outrage forced longtime VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn to step down and prompted a reorganization of the company, which faces legal and regulatory action around the world. Still, Eberhardt maintains JLR is "very confident" in its diesels, which are part of its strategy to grow sales around the world. Land Rover has experienced rapid growth under the ownership of Indian conglomerate, Tata Motors, while Jaguar is set to revitalize its lineup with new entries like the XE and F-Pace to reach a broader market segment.

Volkswagen names new chief designer for Bentley

The Volkswagen Group has named one of its own to head up the design department at its Bentley division. The role now falls to Stefan Sielaff, who has been with the group (off and on) since 1990. Sielaff is principally an interior designer, but has been tasked with setting up numerous overall design offices for Volkswagen and Audi over the years. In his new capacity he'll be reporting to the group's chief engineer Rolf Frech (and oddly not to Bentley chief Wolfgang Durheimer), but at the same time, Sielaff will retain his role as head of interior design for the entire VW group, reporting to its chief designer Walter de Silva. Sielaff replaces Luc Donckerwolke, who has headed up Bentley design since 2012 and is leaving the company. We'll be on the lookout to see where Donckerwolke lands next. Crewe/Wolfsburg, 04 June 2015 Stefan Sielaff to head design at the Bentley brand • Sielaff also responsible for Group Interior Design Strategy Stefan Sielaff (53), currently Head of the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam, will assume responsibility for design at the Bentley brand effective July 1, 2015 in addition to his present post as Head of Group Interior Design Strategy. As Director of Design at Bentley, Sielaff succeeds Luc Donckerwolke (49), who held this function since 2012. Stefan Sielaff joined the Volkswagen Group in 1990, beginning his career in the interior design department at Audi. From 1995 the design graduate was entrusted with setting up the Group's Design Center Europe in Spain. In 1997 he was placed in charge of the Design Studio in Munich and was appointed Head of Audi Interior Design in the same year. In 2003 Sielaff moved to DaimlerChrysler as Design Director of the Interior Competence Center, returning to the Volkswagen Group in 2006 to become Head of Audi Design before being appointed Head of the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam und Head of Group Interior Design Strategy in 2012. In his new function as Director of Design at Bentley, Sielaff reports to Rolf Frech, Board Member for Engineering. In his function as Head of Group Interior Design Strategy he continues to report to Walter de Silva, Head of Group Design. Luc Donckerwolke has decided to leave the company. De Silva said: "Luc Donckerwolke has played a key role in the design of various Group brands. We would like to thank him for his work." Related Video: News Source: Volkswagen Design/Style Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Bentley Volkswagen

Recharge Wrap-up: Zero takes electric motorcycles to cop expos, Chevy Volt powers dealership's Internet

Zero Motorcycles will be at three law enforcement conferences this month, including COPSWEST Training and Expo, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Law Enforcement Vehicle Test and Emergency Vehicle Product Expo and International Association of Chiefs of Police Expo. Zero will display its recently debuted 2015 line of electric motorcycles at the events including the new FXP, a police-duty version of it FX "Stealthfighter." Zero also offers the MMX, SP and DSP for police and military use. Learn more about the events in the press release below. Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn told European regulators that more stringent emissions standards too soon will be a major problem for automakers. He says that such moves could prove "fatal" for an auto industry that is still working to develop cleaner vehicles. "Every gram of CO2 that we save in our European fleet costs our group almost 100 million euros," says Winterkorn, "100 million that we have to invest in advance, without knowing when these investments pay off." He says that already creating emissions targets beyond those set for 2020 could harm European automakers competing globally. Read more at Automotive News Europe. When a Detroit Chevrolet dealership lost its Internet connection, it turned to one of its Chevy Volts for a temporary fix. After the regular connection at Buff Whelan Chevrolet went down, it plugged in a Volt showroom model equipped with 4G LTE, and used its connection to resume business. The car can handle up to seven connected devices, so the team used a Malibu to connect the rest of its computers. When a customer asked why the Volt was on, the team explained the whole situation, leading to one impressed customer. Read more at Automotive News. Zero Motorcycles To Attend Law Enforcement Conferences 2015 Police and Authority Motorcycles to Appear at IACP SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zero Motorcycles, the global leader in the electric motorcycle industry, announced today that it is attending three leading law enforcement conferences in October: - COPSWEST Training and Expo. October 6-9, 2014. Long Beach, California. - Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Law Enforcement Vehicle Test and Emergency Vehicle Product Expo. October 16, 2014. Fontana, California. - IACP Conference and Expo. October 25-28, 2014. Orlando, Florida. "These events provide a great opportunity to present our patrol motorcycles and accessories.