Vw Volkswagen Vanagon Transporter on 2040-cars

Auto blog

VW, Suzuki mulling rekindling relationship in face of legal battle

Volkswagen and Suzuki have been undergoing marriage counseling in a bid to avoid finalizing their nasty divorce. The blissful union has been troubled for some time, with Volkswagen claiming that it could affect operational decisions at Suzuki, and the Japanese brand's sniping and constant flirting with a certain Italian temptress causing rifts.
The matter first went to court in 2012, when Suzuki demanded VW get out, and leave its 19.9-percent stake in the Japanese brand in a box to the left. Now, Automotive News is reporting that the company will give the relationship one last shot, according to closed-door dealings between the two in London.
Still, it's understood that VW and Suzuki recognize the benefit of their alliance, and that it'd be in the best interests of the kids both parties to make things work. Spokespeople declined to comment to AN, but the newsmagazine spoke with Frank Biller, an analyst for LBBW in Stuttgart, who said, "Both companies stand to benefit if they can overcome the disagreements over leadership claims."

The not-Subaru crossover wagon | 2017 Volkswagen Alltrack First Drive

Funnily enough, in light of dieselgate, Volkswagen is one of the few brands (along with Volvo and Subaru) to preserve the notion that you don't need a fuel-sucking SUV to meet your life-carrying needs. And, yes, VW's history of addressing off-road desires with all-wheel-drive dates to the mid-1980s with the Quantum Syncro (a.k.a. Passat) and Golf Country – the latter, sadly, never came stateside. The latest offering toward this effort is the 2017 Volkswagen Alltrack. What's an Alltrack? It's a slightly lifted, cladded, and butched-out version of the Golf Sportwagen (yes, formerly known as a Jetta). Not to steal Alltrack's thunder, but starting in 2017 you can also get the standard Sportwagen with 4Motion AWD, which is basically the same running gear for less money. The Alltrack starts at $26,950; the 4Motion Sportwagen starts at $24,930, both with the dual-clutch automatic available at launch. Any discussion of tall wagons brings Subaru immediately to mind, both with the Outback and the Impreza-based Crosstrek. The Volkswagen Alltrack sits between the two in size at 180.2 inches long – 5 more than the Crosstrek and 9.4 inches shorter than the Outback. The 2017 Subaru Outback starts at $25,645, and VW's comparisons focus on the Outback, which is understandable given the similar starting price. A bare-bones Crosstrek starts at $22,245, but quickly gets into Golf price overlap. The Alltrack and the 4Motion Golf Sportwagen are superior daily drivers to the Subaru, whether you're doing an emergency lane change or just trying to merge onto the interstate. Meanwhile, the Crosstrek doesn't have the refinement of the VW. Can we fault Subaru though? It's set a sales record every year in a row since 2010 and is looking at about triple the sales volume of VW's Golf for 2016. So we'll stick to telling you what we think of the Alltrack and let the dealers fight for your dollars. First thing's first. Yes, you can have the Golf Sportwagen and even the Alltrack with a manual six-speed gearbox. The seven-speed DSG automatic is very good, but it's worth noting that any manual gearbox is a rarity these days, especially when we're not talking about a two-seat sports car. You will have to wait until early 2017 for that option, but it also saves you $1,100 off both models. Second, the Alltrack and 4Motion Sportwagens get identical engines. Whether manual or DSG, VW's EA888 turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder is under the hood.

ACEEE strips away VW's green car scores

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) is confirming that the Volkswagen diesel-emissions scandal has put a black mark on its green ratings. As a result, the group is pulling VW diesel vehicles off of its "Green Scores" list because it was recently revealed that VW diesels might be emitting as much as 40 times the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions during normal driving as the official test results show. The ACEEE added that other German makers of diesel vehicles' "Green Scores" are safe, for now. Diesels from VW and the company's Audi division didn't exacatly top the ACEEE's list of greenest vehicles for 2015. That honor went to electric vehicles like the Smart ForTwo ED, Chevrolet Spark EV and Fiat 500E. The Toyota Prius C hybrid snuck in at number 4, while the Nissan Leaf battery-electric took the fifth spot. That said, the VW diesels did perform pretty well, according to the group. "These scores are no longer reasonable estimations of the environmental impact of the Volkswagen diesels. Volkswagen's diesel cars have performed well on ACEEE's annual rankings since 2009, hovering just below our list of the top twelve "Greenest" vehicles with Green Scores in the high 40s," wrote Shruti Vaidyanathan, senior transportation researcher at the ACEEE. "However, a 40-fold increase in on-road NOx would mean that these vehicles did not deserve those high Green Scores." For those curious, the Ram 2500 pickup topped the ACEEE's "Meanest" vehicle of 2015, followed by the Chevrolet G2500 Express/GMC Savana. No diesels showed up on that list of environmentally-damaging vehicles. You can read the ACEEE's statement on VW below. Why we are suspending Volkswagen diesel Green Scores on greenercars.org by Shruti Vaidyanathan, Senior Transportation Researcher On September 18th, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) slapped the Volkswagen Group with a notice of violation (link is external) of the Clean Air Act for circumventing EPA emission standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx). Volkswagen has now acknowledged using so-called "defeat devices" on its diesel cars that turn on full emissions control technologies while in testing mode but allow the vehicles to emit nitrogen oxide levels up to 40 times the certified level during normal operation.