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Recharge Wrap-up: 2015 Fuel Economy Guide available, how Porsche ships 919 Hybrid

The EPA and Department of Energy have released the 2015 Fuel Economy Guide. Unsurprisingly, the groups say that this year features more fuel efficient and low-emissions vehicles than previous years, and they span a greater variety of vehicle types. The guide also provides "best-in-class" lists, greenhouse gas ratings and estimated fuel costs for each vehicle. The EPA and DOE hope that car buyers will use the guide to help choose cars that are better for the environment and the climate. Check out the guide for yourself or read more in the press release below. To get from one WEC race to the next, Porsche ships its 919 Hybrid LMP1 cars by air. As the team travels around the world - from continent to continent - it must take 35 tons worth of cargo with it, including two LMP1 cars. That means draining fluids, partially dismantling the cars, and fitting everything into a 747. The team also ships items by sea, which requires shipping extra sets of items due to the longer shipping times. "It's all about efficiency," according to Porsche. Read more in the press release below. Terra Motors is unveiling the A4000i electric scooter, which it will sell in Europe, at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. The A4000i, which features smartphone connectivity, will be the company's European flagship model. Terra Motors will begin selling in Italy, and plans to make arrangements to sell in several more countries shortly after. Terra hopes to set up manufacturing in Europe, as well. Also on display at EICMA is the company's Bizmo II electric scooter, which has a driving range of 93 miles on a single charge. Read more in the press release below. Volkswagen is providing a 2015 e-Golf to Stanford University for research. The car will be used to study electric mobility, improvements in the driving experience and people's driving behavior and attitudes toward EVs. "Volkswagen's longstanding relationship with Stanford has allowed us to push the boundaries of automotive research and innovation," says Volkswagen's Ewald Goessmann, "and we look forward to extending our work together to drive advances in electric vehicles." See the video and read more in the press release below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. EPA, DOE Release 2015 Fuel Economy Guide for Car Buyers The U.S.

Porsche says it found 'irregular' software as Germany recalls diesel Cayenne

BERLIN - German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Thursday announced a recall of Porsche Cayenne models equipped with 3-liter diesel engines after finding potentially illegal emissions controlling software in the vehicles. Dobrindt told reporters he was withdrawing certification for the vehicles, which will need to undergo a software update to regain legal status. Sports car maker Porsche AG is owned by Volkswagen, which in 2015 admitted to systematic manipulation of engine management software to cheat emissions tests. Porsche on Thursday said it had discovered "irregular" engine management software during an internal probe into emissions. Porsche also said it had agreed to recall the vehicles to fix the problem. "The producer will of course bear 100 percent of the costs," Dobrindt said. "There is no explanation why this software was in this vehicle." The minister said: "We have examined Porsche Cayenne vehicles of the 3 liter TDI Euro 6 Mark - during tests these vehicles deploy a so-called defense strategy, which isn't activated in real traffic." "In our view that is a kind of test recognition, which we regard as an impermissible deactivation strategy." "Even if there is a modern exhaust gas cleaning system in these vehicles, if this software is nonetheless there it is illegal, does not meet the legal requirements and needs to be removed," Dobrindt said. He also said that Porsche would quickly be in a position to bring the software into conformity with the law. Dobrindt also said there were some 7,500 vehicles of this type certified in Germany and some 22,000 certified in Europe. "We don't know how many are with dealers. These are the cars that fall under the certification ban." The Porsche Cayenne model shares components with a sister model, the Volkswagen Touareg. Asked about Volkswagen's Touareg model, Dobrindt said: "On the technical question, it is assumed that this vehicle has a similar parameter set but identical construction does not mean that the same software was used in it but it is assumed that the same software was used." He said the Transport Ministry was, however, checking that and a hearing with Volkswagen would show whether that was the case or not, adding: "The probability is high." Volkswagen CFO Frank Witter had no immediate comment about the Porsche recall on a VW earnings call also held on Thursday.

Consumer Reports says infotainment systems 'growing first-year reliability plague'

The Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Survey (right) is out, and the top two spots look much the same as last year's list with Lexus and Toyota in first and second place, respectively. However, there are some major shakeups for 2014, with Acura plunging eight spots from third in 2013 to 11th this year, and Mazda replaces it on the lowest step of the podium. Honda and Audi round out the top five. This year's list includes six Japanese brands in the top 10, two Europeans, one America and one Korean.
Acura isn't the only one taking a tumble, though. Infiniti is the biggest loser this year by dropping 14 spots to 20th place. Other big losses come from Mercedes-Benz with an 11-place fall to 24th, and GMC, which declines 10 positions to 19th.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's not traditional mechanical bugs hauling down these automaker's reliability scores. Instead, pesky problems with infotainment systems are taking a series toll on the rankings. According to Consumer Reports, complaints about "in-car electronics" were the most grumbled about element in new cars. Problem areas included things like unresponsive touchscreens, issues pairing phones and multi-use controllers that refused to work right.