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Volkswagen lays off 500 Chattanooga workers

The redesigned Volkswagen Passat has been a decent seller since its debut in 2011, but sales have apparently dropped off enough that the automaker is trimming some of the employees from its Chattanooga, TN assembly plant. According to Automotive News, Volkswagen will be cutting shifts and laying off 500 contracted workers in response to slowing sales.
Currently, the plant has three teams running 10-hour shifts Monday through Saturday, but starting May 13, this will be reduced down to two teams running 10-hour shifts Monday through Thursday. This will be done to reduce dealer inventory (the article says that VW dealers, on average, have a 97-day supply of Passats) and production capacity (currently running at an annual pace of 170,000 units, which is more than the 150,000 annual units the plant was planned to produce).
This, of course, isn't saying that the Passat has been a failure since VW added 200 full-time employees to the plant in February 2012 to keep up with increased demand. The AN article says that automakers frequently overstaff plants during the launch of a new product - or in this case, a new product and a new plant - but eventually reduce the workers as things run smoother and more efficiently.

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale revealed, Dodge Challenger Black Ghost driven | Autoblog Podcast #796

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor John Beltz Snyder. John has been driving the 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392, while Greg has been making noise in another last call from Dodge, the 2023 Challenger Black Ghost. John, along with Associate Editor Byron Hurd, recently tested the 2023 Honda CR-V and Kia Sportage hybrids for an upcoming comparison review. In the news, Felipe Massa seeks to overturn the 2008 F1 Championship in his favor through legal means; Ford might return to the street-performance truck scene with the F-150 Lobo; Volkswagen has been hinting at something interesting at the Munich show by tweeting a mysterious video of a rabbit (the animal); and while the podcast recording was underway, Alfa Romeo unveiled its beautiful 33 Stradale supercar. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #796 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost Additional reading: 1970 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost hammers for $975,000 at Mecum Spring Classic 2023 Honda CR-V Sport Touring Hybrid vs. 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige Massa vows to fight for Hamilton's 2008 Formula 1 title Ford F-150 Lobo reportedly coming as street-oriented performance truck Volkswagen teases Rabbit in mysterious video Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale supercar revealed with gas and EV versions, gorgeous either way Additional reading: Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is a fast Alfa, developed fast Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Green Podcasts Alfa Romeo Dodge Ford Honda Jeep Kia Volkswagen Truck Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Hybrid Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Supercars

EPA message to automakers: You're on notice

With top administrator Gina McCarthy speaking about the "moral obligation for climate action" on Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would ramp up its oversight of the auto industry in the wake of Volkswagen's emissions cheating. In a letter sent to manufacturers Friday, the agency said it would begin examining cars to see whether they contained defeat devices "in addition to the standard emissions test cycles." "We are putting vehicle manufacturers on notice." Exactly how the agency plans to test for these devices – which are not devices per se, but algorithms contained in millions of lines of software code that govern vehicle functions – remains unclear. Christopher Grundler, the director of the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality, divulged few details in how the agency would uncover so-called defeat devices used by cheaters. "Not today – or actually ever – I'm not going to be describing what new ways we'll be using to detect these defeat devices." Later, he said engineers will have to "come up with some clever ways to do this." The only insight he offered was that the EPA, California Air Resources Board, and Environment Canada would partner on testing more cars for emissions and anomalies. Grundler also said the EPA would diversify its testing fleet. In addition to relying on vehicles provided by manufacturers, the federal agency will now also borrow cars from "private citizens" and utilize rental cars for tests. "We are putting vehicle manufacturers on notice," he said. Joint investigations between EPA and CARB have "been very successful in protecting human health and the environment," said Janet McCabe, the agency's acting administrator in the Office of Air and Radiation. "But we also know, and the Volkswagen violations before us now make it clear, we need to adapt and step up our oversight." That may include an increase in on-road testing in addition to the five emissions tests now more relied upon. The EPA owns and maintains 23 portable emissions-monitoring systems like the one used by West Virginia University researchers who first detected elevated levels of nitrogen oxide emissions from two Volkswagen diesel vehicles. Right now, they're almost exclusively deployed to monitor emission from heavy-duty vehicles, whose NOx emissions "dwarf" the amount produced by light-duty vehicles, which produce less than 2 percent of the total, according to the agency's figures.