2014 Volkswagen Jetta Tdi on 2040-cars

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VW CEO lost his job over buggy software that delayed new models

It says a lot about the state of the auto industry and where it's going that software problems have cost the CEO of a carmaker his job. Volkswagen ousted Herbert Diess as chief executive officer after severe software-development delays set back the scheduled launch of new Porsches, Audis and Bentleys. This was untenable considering buggy software postponed the debut of VW’s initial rollout of ID models, and customers are still having to drop off their cars at the dealer for updates the company has struggled to make over the air. Sure, Diess also didnÂ’t do enough to make allies and became increasingly isolated due to his hard-nosed leadership style. In his push to transform the company into an electric-vehicle leader, he repeatedly clashed with labor leaders by warning VW was losing out to Tesla and needed to cut thousands of jobs. But failures at the carmakerÂ’s software unit Cariad ultimately eroded DiessÂ’s support from the powerful Porsche and Piech family that calls the shots. Back in December, VW overhauled its management board, stripping Diess of some responsibilities while tasking him to turn around Cariad. While thereÂ’s been a lot of re-arranging since then, Diess didnÂ’t manage to make the issues go away. Discord at Cariad has pushed back the rollout of important new models including the electric Porsche Macan, a high-volume sport utility vehicle for the division thatÂ’s planning an initial public offering in the fourth quarter. AudiÂ’s new line of Artemis EVs has been delayed by around two years to 2027. And VWÂ’s ultra-luxury brand Bentley may not be able to go all-electric by the end of this decade as planned because of the software issues, Automobilwoche reported earlier this month. “Taking over the ship at Cariad seems to have been DiessÂ’s downfall,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent auto analyst based in Berlin. VWÂ’s solutions to challenges tend to reflect its status as an industrial behemoth: itÂ’s able to throw lots of money and people at its problems. But modernizing the company for the digital age is going to take bringing in talent and building skillsets outside its traditional zones of expertise. Drivers increasingly demand intuitive user interfaces and services that could create new revenue streams, if done correctly. “Software is the key to the future,” TeslaÂ’s Elon Musk tweeted when one of his followers asked about VW switching CEOs. Diess certainly didnÂ’t lack ambition.

Volkswagen Jetta getting new 1.4L turbo four

In yet another example of engine downsizing, Volkswagen has announced it is slotting a new 1.4-liter turbo four into the Jetta. The smaller, forced-induction engine will replace the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four in the Jetta S and the 1.8-liter turbo four in the Jetta SE, bringing with it direct injection and improved fuel economy. The 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine is from the EA211 family. It's made of aluminum and features a compact single-scroll compressor, an intercooler integrated into the injection-molded induction pipe, exhaust manifold integrated into the head, variable intake and exhaust valve timing, direct fuel injection, dual overhead cams driven by a toothed belt, and a 10.0:1 compression ratio. All that adds up to 150 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, mated in the Jetta to either a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy figures have yet to be certified, but are projected to come in at around 39 miles per gallon on the highway with the automatic, representing 13- and 7-percent improvements over the units it replaces. The EA211 is Volkswagen's new global small gasoline engine family, manufactured principally by Skoda in the Czech Republic. It's set to replace the old EA111 series, offering higher efficiency in a more compact and adaptable package. The Jetta Hybrid already uses essentially the same engine paired with an electric motor, and is being adapted to three-cylinder formats as well. INTRODUCTION OF NEW 1.4T ENGINE REINFORCES VOLKSWAGEN'S LEADERSHIP IN TURBOCHARGED, DIRECT INJECTION TECHNOLOGY Aug 4, 2015 Fitment of EA211 engine in Jetta models extends implementation of intelligent downsizing to 97 percent of Volkswagen vehicles sold in the U.S. market Traverse City, MI — Volkswagen pioneered the use of small displacement; highly efficient turbocharged and direct-injection engines in the U.S. Volkswagen first used this combination of turbocharging and direct injection in this market in its TDI® Clean Diesel engines in the Passat in 1996 and extended it into the gasoline field in the 2006 Jetta GLI and GTI models. Since then, the Volkswagen EA888 four-cylinder engine has set the benchmark for small-displacement turbocharged engines, beginning with the 2009 CC, while the EA288 TDI has set the standard for diesel engines in the North American market since it first appeared in the 2009 Jetta TDI Clean Diesel.

EU formally questions French government assistance of Peugeot's finance arm

Recently, the finance arm of PSA/Peugeot-Citroën was in such debt trouble that it was pricing itself out of the car loan market. The rates it was paying to service its debt, which was rated one step above junk, were so high that it was forced to charge car-buying customers higher rates than they could find elsewhere. This was adding to Peugeot's already impressive woes by sending revenue out the door to competitors.
Two months ago a deal was worked out with the French government whereby the state would provide 7 billion euro ($9 billion USD) in bonds to guarantee the finance arm's loans. The French government could nominate someone to join the Peugeot board, Peugeot would guarantee more French jobs, and on top of that deal, other banks would provide non-guaranteed loans. The government would take no equity stake in the car company.
Although not yet finalized, the arrangement is meant to create some breathing room for Peugeot Finance to lower its interest rates for customers, and a government-nominated board member, Louis Gallois, was recently named to Peugeot's supervisory board. The arrangement was also openly questioned by at least three competitors: Ford, Renault - which is 15-percent owned by the French government after it received state aid - and the German state of Lower Saxony, itself a 15-percent shareholder in Volkswagen.