1984 Limited Edition Wolfsburg Karman Rabbit Convertible on 2040-cars

Auto blog

VW stops diesel sales in Europe

You can't buy a 2016 VW TDI with "cheater software" in the US right now, since the German automaker needs to revamp its diesel cars to legitimately pass emissions tests. That could take months. Sales of affected new VW diesels throughout Europe have now been put on hold as well. Exactly how many cars are affected is unclear, but Reuters says it is a "limited number." In the US, roughly 20 percent of the cars VW sold this year were diesels (until last month, when the diesel share dropped to 11.7 percent. Expect a further drop in October's numbers). In Europe, though, diesels make up about half of the overall vehicle fleet, so stopping sales there will have a much bigger impact. The good news for VW and its related brands is that the only diesels that will no longer be sold are the ones on dealer lots that use the EA 189/Euro 5 engine. The bad news is that that engine is used in a lot of VW products, mostly small and midsize cars. This includes popular vehicles like the Audi A3 and the VW Golf. Larger diesel vehicles use engines that reduce emissions using a urea solution called AdBlue. The smaller EA 189 engine was not built with an AdBlue process, and instead used software to make it seem like the cars were cleaner than they really were. Reuters says the currently not-for-sale vehicles with the EA 189 powerplant will be "upgraded" and then - hopefully - sold. A description of this fix should be made in Europe in November.

Hyundai tops VW and Buick in China, survey says

You may be aware of the long-time competition in China between Volkswagen and Buick, but another brand apparently should be in that conversation too: Hyundai. In a recently published annual consumer survey, the Korean company actually took the top spot to beat out its German and American rivals in second and third, respectively. The results were part of the China Brand Power Index that interviewed 11,500 people around the nation and was paid for by the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. While Hyundai proved popular with voters, its sales haven't necessarily shown that yet. According to Bloomberg, the brand had falling numbers in China for the first quarter of the year. Even Ford outsold the South Korean automaker in the same period, despite scoring lower on the survey. Meanwhile, Audi ranked as the populace's favorite luxury brand, which is hardly a surprise given the Four Rings' strong sales in China. In January alone the automaker saw a 15-percent boost in volume there. Parent company VW's strong performance was somewhat more surprising, though. State media severely criticized the German automaker in March, and customers protested last year for the allegedly poor handling of a recall.

Chief designer Walter de Silva out at Volkswagen

After decades of penning beautiful machines, Volkswagen Group design boss Walter de Silva will retire at the end of November but will still hold an advisory role. He has led the styling for the automotive giant's brands since 2007. The company's statement didn't announce a successor for him. De Silva began his design career at Fiat in 1972 and led styling at Alfa Romeo from 1986 to 1998. He first joined VW Group with Seat but made a big splash at Audi in 2002. His work there included the sixth-generation A6, A5, and the fantastic R8. Later, he created a great take on the classic Leica M9 camera, too. VW praised de Silva's creation of a design culture that spanned its division but still allowed for creativity within each one. "Walter de Silva epitomizes creativity and the Italian sense of beauty and style on the one hand and thoroughness, a systematic approach and discipline on the other," CEO Matthias Muller said in the announcement. De Silva's retirement could bring a major change in the way VW Group organizes its studios, according to Automotive News. The automaker reportedly wants to cut its annual styling budget and might not seek a replacement for him. Walter Maria de Silva takes retirement Head of Group Design established common design culture across all brands while retaining creative autonomy of each individual brand Walter Maria de Silva Walter Maria de Silva Walter Maria de Silva (64), Head of Group Design, is retiring with effect from the end of November. De Silva assumed design responsibility for all passenger car brands within the Volkswagen Group in February 2007. Walter de Silva will continue his links with the Group in an advisory capacity. Walter Maria de Silva was born in Lecco (Italy) on February 27, 1951 and joined the Volkswagen Group 17 years ago when he became Head of the SEAT Design Centre in 1998. He was put in charge of the design of the Audi brand group, including the brands Audi, Lamborghini and SEAT, in 2002. His new design language with Audi was epitomised by the 6th generation of the Audi A6 and Audi A5 Coupe. He was appointed Head of Group Design at Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in 2007. Walter de Silva saw the main focus of his work as design chief in establishing and nurturing a common design culture across all brands, which nevertheless allows each brand to retain a high degree of creative autonomy.