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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #299 LIVE!

We record Episode #299 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #299
2013 Honda Accord

Bosch: Diesel demand still strong, despite VW scandal

Like an auto racer's results on the circuit, Volkswagen's recovery from its diesel-emissions scandal may well depend on spin control. That's what Bosch Chairman Volkmar Denner said in recent remarks at an event in Germany, Reuters reports. Bosch is a major VW supplier, of course, so it does have some skin in the game. Denner said he hasn't seen signs that demand for diesel vehicles has fallen yet in the wake of a scandal in which software in VW diesels was programmed to game emissions-testing systems. Denner says the ultimate impact on diesel sales will depend largely on the "campaign" VW will use to assure the general public that its diesels remain a viable way for drivers to boost fuel economy and lessen their impact on the environment. Of course, there have been hints that VW may pivot to more electric vehicles and distance itself away from diesels in the coming years. As a VW supplier, Bosch has been connected to the diesel scandal, it has repeatedly said that the problems were all VW's fault. Europe's biggest automaker lost its CEO in the wake of last month's scandal and has set aside $7.3 billion to address the issue. As many as 11 million VWs may have been programmed with the cheating software. Governments around the world are trying to address the issue. France may eliminate diesel-fuel subsidies, while all VW diesels in Australia have been recalled. And California has given VW until November 20 to detail how it would fix the problem. Related Videos: Image Credit: AP Photo/Michael Sohn Green Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal

Happy 60th to the VW Karmann Ghia

Volkswagen's product portfolio may be as extensive these days as any other carmaker in the business. But if you still think of the original Beetle as synonymous with the brand, that's probably because a) you're old and b) the Beetle was the company's only product until the mid-50s.
Sixty years ago Wilhelm Karmann (founder of the eponymous coachbuilder) was in Paris for the auto salon and met up with Luigi Segre and his team from Carrozzeria Ghia who showed him what was essentially a "Beetle in a sports coat." A month later they showed it to Volkswagen chief Heinrich Nordhoff who, setting aside his conservative tastes, approved it for production. And so the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was born, giving the German marque a second product line. It still used Beetle mechanicals and was built at the same Karmann factory in Onsabrück that was already assembling the Beetle Cabriolet.
It took another couple of years to put the design into production, but from 1955 to 1974, Volkswagen and Karmann built 362,601 coupes and 80,881 of the subsequent convertible that arrived in 1957. Today the Onsabrück factory is part of the VW Group, handling production of the Golf Cabriolet, XL1 and Porsche Boxster and Cayman, and with that original Karmann Ghia prototype as part of its factory collection.