Alloy Wheels Cruise Control Cd Player Factory Warranty Off Lease Only on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Volkswagen NMC production guise caught in China

Chinese car site Autohome has what are said to be the first pictures of the Volkswagen New Midsize Coupe concept in production form. VW's NMC was just introduced at the Beijing Motor Show, while background chatter indicated it would go on sale in China, Autohome says that production version will be built at the Shanghai-Volkswagen plant in Ningbo, and the retail guise could be introduced at the Guangzhou Motor Show in November and go on sale that same month.
Assuming this is the production car, its main lines have made the jump from the concept but with less fine detailing, a silver hue and with conventional VW wheels it's lost a little bit of oomph. Still, a few checkmarks on the option sheet can fix most of that, the shape remains handsome and the 2.0-liter turbo underhood keeps performance peppy and mileage frugal enough. You can head to Autohome for a couple more photos of a sedan we'd be happy to make room for over here.

Ex-Fiat exec: VW diesel scandal will hurt plug-in hybrids

It doesn't sound right at first blush, but former Fiat executive and noted diesel-powertrain expert Rinaldo Rinolfi thinks that plug-in hybrid sales may be more impacted by the VW diesel-emissions scandal than diesel sales. Rinolfi, who worked for Fiat for 40 years, told Automotive News Europe, said that the Euro 6 emissions rules that went into effect in 2015 have already increased diesel-engine production costs enough to raise prices and ultimately flatten demand. By the end of the decade, diesel-vehicle sales will settle in at a 40-percent market share of new European vehicles, and that was going to happen with or without the scandal. "Every carmaker has found ways to achieve fuel consumption and emissions results that have progressively diverged from the real driving conditions." - Rinaldo Rinolfi Makers of plug-in hybrids have more to lose, though, because every PHEV maker has figured out a way to keep emissions figures artificially low, Rinolfi said. Under New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) standards, PHEVs can be tested part of the time with the electric motor in action, meaning emissions get driven down to 30 percent to 40 percent less than real-world figures. With the VW scandal pushing regulators to use real-world figures, those PHEV emissions numbers are expected to rise substantially. To a lesser extent, hybrid emissions figures are also tested as artificially low. "Over the years, even without defeat devices, every carmaker has found ways to achieve fuel consumption and emissions results that have progressively diverged from the real driving conditions the customer experiences," Rinolfi said in the Automotive News Europe interview. Rinolfi is a little sunnier about compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, estimating that CNG emissions are as much as 25 percent lower compared to conventional vehicles. As for battery-electrics, he's not so optimistic, estimating that there needs to be at least a tenfold improvement in energy efficiency for EVs to be truly competitive with conventional vehicles. "I've been waiting for a true breakthrough for the past 25 years, but I've not seen it yet," Rinolfi said about EVs in the Automotive News Europe interview. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News Europe-sub.req.Image Credit: Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters Green Fiat Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles Electric Hybrid diesel emissions scandal nedc

Tesla tires turning on Stretchla Vanagon EV conversion project

It is one thing to say you are going to Frankenstein a Tesla Model S with a pair of Siamese-twinned Volkswagen Vanagons and quite another to actually start taking your newly-acquired, smashed-up electric sedan apart in an effort to bring it back to life. Otmar Ebenhoech is doing just that, and having no small successes along the way. The Stretchla project, as it is being called, has officially started and our protagonist has put together another bit of video to document his progress and let us know about some of the different challenges he's encountered and conquered. While our original post about this endeavor featured video of the stretched Vanagon's drivetrain removal, this latest installment focuses on the Model S. Otmar received the Tesla in less-than-operable condition. Otmar received the Tesla in less-than-operable condition and has been tackling some of the basic problems one might expect to encounter: lots of error messages and an electrically disconnected battery pack. Without the aid of a manual or technical diagrams, he's removed the battery pack and discovered why it wasn't sending power to the car. Scroll below to watch the ten-minute presentation and celebrate some initial victories. You can also check out the official Stretchla blog for more photos and updates, including the most recent one that discusses how he talked himself into paying (*spoiler alert) $42,000 for a wrecked, non-functional electric car, along with more recent struggles with the steering rack. Hit us up in the comments to let us know what kind of trouble you would get into with a Model S drivetrain of your own. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.