2010 Volkswagen Cc 2.0l Salvage Flood Sandy Repairable Water Damage on 2040-cars

Auto blog

VW air rule violation allegations 'stunning,' $18B fine unlikely

The big automotive news today was the US federal allegations that VW quietly and illegally installed software on approximately 482,000 diesel vehicles sold in the United States so that they would not return substandard results on government emissions tests. To say the least, this is potentially a very big deal. You can read the details of the government's allegations here. The problem seems to be with the NOx trap. Sam Abuelsamid, a former AutoblogGreen editor who is now a senior research analyst at Navigant Research's Transportation Efficiencies program, told me that there were some hints that VW's diesel emissions strategy had issues a while back. The vehicles affected by today's announcement are all equipped with the 2-liter, 4-cylinder TDI, he said. They all have the lean NOx (nitrogen oxides) trap, whereas all other current modern diesels use urea to treat NOx emissions. "When VW launched those vehicles, I went to the TDI launch program in Santa Monica and asked them if they were going to put the diesel engine into the Tiguan because that would be an ideal application," he said. "They said no, because it would be too heavy. Turns out, the NOx trap was enough to meet the emissions standards in the smaller cars, but not the Tiguan. That seems to be where the problem is, in the NOx trap. All the other big VW and Audi diesels, they use urea, just like BMW and Mercedes do." Abuelsamid added that, in California, to do an emissions test, testers don't stick a probe up the exhaust, as you would suspect. Instead, they just do a visual test to make sure nothing was tampered with and then plug a scanner into the OBD-II port to read the codes. The news today basically says that the cars were programmed to send out false codes, giving readings that testers are looking for instead of what's actually going on. "That's the background, as far as I know at this point," he said. This could be "a black eye on the auto industry." - John O'Dell Speaking at the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica just hours after the news first broke this morning, Edmunds.com's John O'Dell said the Fed's allegations were "stunning." The idea that VW might have gamed the system, he said, "underscores how important EPA clean air numbers are, that a company would allegedly stoop to this to try and meet them. Obviously, people are paying attention to that sort of thing.

Volkswagen New Midsize Coupe Concept is an aspirational Jetta

Meet the Volkswagen baby CC. Okay, that's not really it's name (VW calls it the New Midsize Coupe Concept), but this sleek, four-door coupe draws more than a little inspiration from the CC while riding on VW's MQB platform.
It's a looker, we think, and is an eye-pleasing departure from the bland styling of the current Jetta. The sleeker front end is complemented by a wider body overall (it's wider than a Passat), while the more sporting roofline and the sharp rear fascia gives the New Midsize Coupe a decidedly sporting character. LED head- and taillights add a bit more personality to this already stylish design.
Thanks to its 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, it should get along rather sportingly, as well. The run to 62 miles per hour takes just 6.5 seconds thanks to the 217 horsepower on offer. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is also fitted, and contributes to an estimated 37 miles per gallon.

New investor allows Suzuki to fend off VW

After years of legal wrangling, the long-soured partnership between Volkswagen and Suzuki looks finally to be coming out of arbitration, according to Bloomberg. As a sign of the Japanese brand's improved fortunes, hedge fund Third Point LLC recently bought an undisclosed stake in the company. The investor reported seeing a major opportunity in the successful Maruti Suzuki business in India. As an investment, the only major problem that Third Point found with Suzuki was its legal battle with VW. "The company's greatest asset is its low-cost manufacturing process for vehicles for the emerging market consumer," the fund said in a letter, according to Bloomberg. Third Point reportedly also wants a seat on Suzuki's board, despite being a minority shareholder. The alliance between Suzuki and VW goes back to late 2009. In the deal, the Japanese brand was meant to get access to cutting-edge tech, and the German firm got a helping hand towards better establishing itself in India and Southeast Asia. Things didn't go as planned, though. Less than two years later, Suzuki's boss publicly derided the deal. Eventually, the allegations started going back and forth, and the two have been working out a way to untangle practically ever since. Among the biggest issue has been how to get back the 19.9 percent stake that VW purchased. According to Bloomberg, the arbitration is now technically over. With the divorce nearly final, the two sides are just waiting on a decision on how to split things up. Suzuki may even just buy VW's stake to get the shares back.