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CARB found another emissions-defeating device, this time from Audi

The California Air Resources Board has discovered another emissions-cheating device on an Audi earlier this summer, reports German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. The device is different from the software found in the VW Group's diesel-powered engines, as it alters the way the cars' automatic transmission shifts. The latest device, according to Bild am Sonntag, measures how far the cars' steering wheel is being turned. If the wheel is turned less than 15 degrees, indicating that the vehicle is being tested in laboratory conditions, a program in cars with certain automatic transmissions changes the way the gearbox shifts. The change in the transmission allows the engine to produce less carbon dioxide than when driving in normal conditions. When the wheel is turned more than 15 degrees, the program automatically turns off, claims Bild am Sonntag. The paper reports that Audi took the software out of its vehicles, which was used in both diesel- and gasoline-powered vehicles in Europe and the US, earlier this May after CARB discovered the program on one of the automaker's older cars. Several engineers that were connected with the emissions-cheating device have already been suspended, reports Bild am Sonntag. As the German newspaper points out, the device, which is fitted to certain Audis with an automatic transmission, is different from the cheat devices found on the automaker's 3.0-liter TDI turbodiesel V6 engine and Volkswagen's 2.0-liter turbodiesel motor, even those were also designed to beat emissions tests. The 3.0-liter engine is found in the Audi Q7, Volkswagen Touareg, and Porsche Cayenne models. Audi didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. Related Video: News Source: Bild am Sonntag via ReutersImage Credit: Reuters / Michaela Rehle Government/Legal Green Audi Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal

Major automakers urge Trump not to freeze fuel economy targets

WASHINGTON — Major automakers are telling the Trump administration they want to reach an agreement with California to avoid a legal battle over fuel efficiency standards, and they support continued increases in mileage standards through 2025. "We support standards that increase year over year that also are consistent with marketplace realities," Mitch Bainwol, chief executive of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing major automakers, will tell a U.S. House of Representatives panel on Tuesday, according to written testimony released on Monday. The Trump administration is weighing how to revise fuel economy standards through at least the 2025 model year, and one option is to propose freezing the standards through 2026, effectively allowing automakers to delay investments in technology to cut greenhouse gas emissions from burning petroleum. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not formally submitted its joint proposal with the Environmental Protection Agency to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. Even so, last week, California and 16 other states sued to challenge the Trump administration's decision to revise U.S. vehicle rules. Auto industry executives have held meetings with the Trump administration for months and have urged the administration to try to reach a deal with California even as they support slowing the pace of reduction in carbon dioxide emissions that the Obama administration rules outlined. One automaker official said part of the message to President Donald Trump at a meeting on Friday will be to consider California like a foreign trade deal that needs to be renegotiated. Automakers want to urge him to get automakers a "better deal" — as opposed to potentially years of litigation between major states and federal regulators. On Friday, Trump is set to meet with the chief executives of General Motors, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and the top U.S. executives of at least five other major automakers, including Toyota, Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG, to talk about revisions to the vehicle rules. Senior EPA and Transportation Department officials will also attend. Environmental groups are eager to keep the rules in place, saying they will save consumers billions in fuel costs. A coalition of groups plans to stage a protest outside Ford's headquarters in Michigan.

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.