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Recharge Wrap-up: BMW i8's Engine of the Year, biodiesel producer guilty

BMW has won International Engine of the Year for the hybrid system in the i8. The i8 PHEV uses a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder gasoline engine with a hybrid drive unit including a 96-kilowatt electric motor. BMW beat Ford's 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine by a small margin to win the award for best overall engine. It also took the award for the 1.4-liter to 1.8-liter category, as well as best new engine. Tesla beat BMW to win the green engine category for the electric powertrain of the Tesla Model S. Read more at Green Car Congress, or see all of the results from the International Engine of the Year Awards. The head of Audi powertain development is quitting as the automaker steps up electrification. Stefan Knirsch has worked at Audi since late 2013, and previously worked at Porsche as the head of quality management and engine development. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine had reported that Knirsch was leaving Audi, which Audi confirmed without giving a departure date or saying if he would be working elsewhere. Audi has been feeling pressure from its competitor Mercedes-Benz, and has been working on improving its EV offerings and autonomous vehicle technology. Read more from Reuters. The owner of a biodiesel company has pleaded guilty to fraud. Philip Joseph Rivkin, aka Felipe Poitan Arriaga, took part in a scheme to defraud the EPA, falsely claiming to be producing millions of gallons of biodiesel. This allowed his company, Green Diesel, to receive renewable fuel credits and sell them to oil companies and brokers. "These crimes are a serious threat to an important program that helps combat climate change," says Cynthia Giles of the EPA. "Companies and individual managers should get the message that there are serious consequences for breaking the rules and undermining the integrity of this program." Rivkin faces over 10 years in prison and $51 million in restitution. Read more in the press release below. Biodiesel Fuel Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Clean Air Act Crimes Connected to Renewable Fuels Scheme Philip J. Rivkin faces more than 10 years imprisonment and $51 million in restitution WASHINGTON – Philip Joseph Rivkin, a.k.a. Felipe Poitan Arriaga, 50, today pleaded guilty to a Clean Air Act false statement and mail fraud as part of his role in a scheme to defraud EPA by falsely representing that he was producing millions of gallons of biodiesel fuel.

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.

Mercedes-AMG developing halo car with new 12-cylinder engine

The SLS AMG was once the jewel of the Mercedes-Benz performance lineup, a commanding supercar the presence of which could be felt a football field away. The AMG GT has taken that crown with its seductive 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine – a veritable bulldog cloaked in an alluring silhouette. But Mercedes was always clear: this was a Porsche 911-fighter. It was even called a "baby SLS." Now it appears in the world of three-starred performance halo-cars, Mercedes may be playing its own Game of Thrones. To be clear, the GT will remain top dog for some time to come, and that lineup "will expand," we're told. A Black Series is still at least a year or more away, and we could see another model in the AMG GT family beyond that. But a recent conversation with a Mercedes-AMG product planner in Austria revealed that a new halo car is in the works, one that will slot above the GT. It will likely draw power from a new 12-cylinder that's now in development, one that will be mated to an electric motor and battery pack. This ultra-hybrid setup could boast the greatest performance of any Mercedes yet. Crucially, it will have better fuel economy, good enough to justify its existence in an increasingly stringent regulatory environment. As for the new 4.0-liter V-8 in the AMG GT, you can expect to see a lot more of it, starting with the E63 AMG, sometime after the next Mercedes-Benz E-Class launches next year. Related Video: