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2015 Volkswagen GTI [w/video]

The 911 Of Hot Hatches Takes The Compact Game To New Levels
North American car buyers get a bit of a slap in the face when it comes to delivery schedules for new the Volkswagen Golf and pumped-up GTI models. We'll just repeat the old chestnut: It's worth the wait... even though it still stinks. This time around, Western Europe is taking deliveries of the new Golf as we speak, and GTI deliveries start between May and July. North America doesn't get the Mk7 Golf or GTI until about July of 2014.
So we approached our first drive of the new GTI with this chip on our shoulder: "You're making us wait? Well, then at least give us the exact car we'll be able to buy. No compromises, mein freund." And so it was that we extracted nearly all of our drive impressions from behind the wheel of what, for the United States, will technically be a model year 2015 two-door Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance with the standard six-speed manual.

Winterkorn not under official investigation in Germany

Prosecutors for the state of Lower Saxony in Braunschweig, Germany, are now saying that former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn is no longer specifically under investigation for his role in alleged fraud related to the automaker's diesel emissions scandal. The lawyers are clarifying that there's no formal inquiry into the exec because there's not yet enough evidence to establish a suspicion of wrongdoing, Bloomberg reports. However, they are still looking into VW's actions. Earlier this week, the prosecutors announced they had begun an initial investigation into Winterkorn for alleged fraud in the emissions regulation evasion. At that time, there were reportedly 12 complaints asking the lawyers to look into the case, including one from VW. Under German law, only a person could be charged for the potential crimes, rather than a whole company. "An initial suspicion must be based on facts, and you must begin an investigation before you can establish the facts," Christoph Schalast, a professor at the Frankfurt School of Finance, said to Bloomberg. Meanwhile in the US, the investigation continues into VW. The Department of Justice has the support from at least two senators to pursue criminal and civil charges against the company. The attorneys general in at least 29 states are also looking into things. Meanwhile, lawyers are building a class-action lawsuit, as well. To help in its defense, the automaker is employing the help of the same firm that defended BP during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Related Video:

VW probes more diesels for emissions issues [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Volkswagen has released an official statement (embedded below) clarifying that neither the Euro 5 nor Euro 6 versions of the EA 288 contain software defeat devices. While this is the case for Europe, a VW spokesperson tells Autoblog: "Remedies and certifications for the vehicles in the United States are still subject to approval from the EPA and CARB." Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal could mushroom to include even more vehicles in Europe because another engine there might be equipped with the cheating software. According to the company, it now needs to check whether early examples of the EA 288 for the Euro 5 standard can also evade tests, Automotive News reports. German regulators find that the later Euro 6 versions of the powerplant are compliant. VW initially said that 11 million EA 189 engines were affected worldwide by the cheating, and it recently included them in a stop-sale order in Europe. However, if the EA 288 diesels also have evasive software, they would only add to the millions of vehicles the company is already recalling there. At the same time, VW is facing a crunch to have a fix ready in time for mandated repairs to start in Germany in early 2016. New software should be enough to make most models compliant, but some of them might need more costly hardware changes. While the effects could be huge for Europe, the EA 288 has been included in VW's stop-sale in the US since Sept. 18. The engine is found on an estimated 67,000 examples of the 2015 model-year 2.0-liter TDI vehicles that the company calls Generation 3, according to spokesperson Jeannine Ginivan to Autoblog. US regulators are also taking a close look at the powerplant for evidence of VW altering its cheating software between engines. If proven, the changes might be evidence of a wider effort within the company to perpetuate the emissions evasion. Related Video: Volkswagen confirms: EA288 engines designed for EU5 and EU6 are not affected • Thorough appraisal of the Diesel emissions issue Wolfsburg, October 22, 2015. Volkswagen confirms today that no software constituting an improper defeat device as defined in law is installed in vehicles with EA 288 EU5 as well as EU6-engines in the European Union. Consequently, new vehicles of the Volkswagen Group offered within the European Union with those engines comply with legal requirements and environmental standards. Volkswagen AG is systematically reviewing this issue worldwide.