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2017 Porsche Macan receives delayed CARB certification

Customers waiting for delivery of their 2017 Porsche Macans will soon receive their vehicles after several weeks of delays. The California Air Resources Board certified the performance crossover for sale Monday. Several outlets reported the certification had been held up in the aftermath of parent company Volkswagen's diesel woes, as regulators are now making much more thorough inspections of the vehicles. Without certification, Porsche could not deliver those vehicles to customers in 13 states that abide by CARB certification, including California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida, several of the largest markets for luxury automobiles in America. Not only did dealers need to stop sale of Macans they had on their lots, but an unknown number could not be released from port. Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) imports its vehicles through ports in Jacksonville, FL, Davisville, RI, Houston, TX, and San Diego, CA. A spokesman for Porsche told Autoblog the issue has been resolved, and that the Macans received certification Monday. "Shipping has already been initialized," spokesperson David Burkhalter wrote. Pressed for details on the circumstances behind the delay, he said the process was simply "now the normal business procedure for certification." The Macan is a pivotal model for Porsche, particularly in the US market, which accounts for 22 percent of its worldwide sales. Last year, the Macan was the second-best selling Porsche model in America. Its 13,533 units sold trailed only the 16,473 Cayennes purchased by US buyers. Diesel models of the Cayenne manufactured between 2013 and 2016 contained the defeat devices at the center of Volkswagen's emissions cheating, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The company offers the Macan with a range of turbocharged six-cylinder engines ranging in output from 340 to 400 horsepower. While a diesel version is not offered in the United States, Porsche has now started importing a less powerful, but more accessible (and slightly more fuel-efficient) version with a 2.0-liter turbo four. Related Video:

Xcar considers the Porsche 911 GT3's PDK

Porsche ruffled some feathers when it unveiled the latest 911 GT3 a couple of years ago with a dual-clutch transmission instead of an old-school manual. The rationale was (and remains) that the PDK makes the enthusiast's Elfen faster than it would be with a stick. The purists scoffed, but Zuffenhausen held firm – and even did the same with the even more hardcore GT3 RS. In its latest video, the boys at Xcar set out to find out if the GT3 with its fancy automated gearbox is as good as the previous model (or as good as the current model could be) with a manual – and took in some of the track toy's other trickery while they were at it. Check out the video above to find out what conclusion they reached.

Mark Webber hospitalized as Porsche takes first WEC victory, Toyota wins championship [UPDATE]

It was a mixed bag for the Porsche team at the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo this weekend – the last race of its first season in the FIA World Endurance Championship. On the one hand, the German team took its first win since launching its LMP1 effort at the start of this season. On the other, its star driver suffered a massive crash that left him in the hospital. The crash occurred with less than half an hour to go when Mark Webber, who was running sixth in the #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid, lost control at Turn 14 at the Interlagos circuit – the same spot where he crashed his Jaguar F1 car during the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix – and crashed tail-first into the barrier. Both Webber and Matteo Cressoni (driver of the #90 Ferrari 458 Italia with which Webber collided) were evacuated to the trackside medical center and were then taken to the nearby Hospital Bandeirantes. Both were reportedly conscious throughout but are undergoing further testing, described as being in "satisfactory" condition by the FIA medical official on the scene. The occurrence of the crash so close to the end of the race, and the time it took to clear the wreckage, meant there was not enough time for a restart, so the race was completed under the safety car. But when the field did cross the finish line, it was the #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Mark Lieb that took the checkered flag – marking the first time that Porsche has won an endurance prototype race since 1989. Of course, that solitary victory was not enough for Porsche to take the title, which went to the Toyota TS 040 driven by former F1 drivers Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson, who finished the race in second place ahead of the Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro driven by the retiring Tom Kristensen and his co-pilots Lucas di Grassi and Loic Duval. Top honors for the season in LMP2 went to Sergey Zlobin for SMP Racing in the Oreca-Nissan, while Ferrari took the GT title. UPDATE: Mark Webber released the following statement on his condition: "I'm quite sore this morning, am pretty bruised and have got a stinking headache. I've got no recollection of the accident or how it happened. The team is looking into the details to find out more.