2011 Volkswagen Golf Base Hatchback 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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TRANSLOGIC 150: Volkswagen XL1

How do you build the world's most fuel-efficient production car? Start with the world's most aerodynamic design. The Volkswagen XL1 is capable of 261 miles per gallon thanks to its sleek shape and ultra efficient plug-in diesel hybrid powertrain. The downside is that only 250 will be made and none will be sold stateside. That didn't stop us from taking our turn behind the wheel of this truly revolutionary ride.

Recharge Wrap-up: unofficial Tesla ad, VW will produce Budd-e

An unofficial Tesla commercial pays homage to the automaker's namesake. The video, which shows the Model S driving through a dusty, petroleum-addicted landscape reminiscent of a Mad Max film, features words from a speech by electricity-obsessed inventor Nikola Tesla. While Tesla (the man) talks about advancing technology into the future through electricity, the cars surroundings switch from the barren oil village to a green countryside dotted with wind turbines. See the video above, and read more at Treehugger. Famous rapper Akon is a Tesla fan who wants to power Africa with solar energy. Akon, who once boasted a collection of 28 exotic cars, traded them in for four Teslas, including a Model X. Also, his organization Akon Lighting Africa provides free solar electricity and lighting to communities that need it. Clean Technica talked to Akon about solar power, Tesla and EVs in a video. See the video and read more at Clean Technica, and get more perspective from Teslarati. The Volkswagen BUDD-e EV may be moving to production. The electric vehicle, built on the MEB modular platform with looks borrowed from the Microbus, made its debut as a concept vehicle at CES this year. Volkwagen's Dr. Volkmar Tanneberger tells Car magazine, "You will see a car that looks a lot like this, on the MEB platform, reach production. I can't say exactly when, but 2020 or thereabouts." He also says that the California camper van and Transporter van will continue production with internal combustion engines. Read more from Car. The 2017 Kia Soul EV will have more range. While it is scheduled for some minor updates, upping the electric Soul's driving range from its current EPA rating of 93 miles will hopefully attract more customers than a simple facelift. Autocar spied the next Soul EV testing in some heavy camouflage, but it offered no other details about the range beyond its reported expansion. Read more from Plugin Cars.

VW probes more diesels for emissions issues [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Volkswagen has released an official statement (embedded below) clarifying that neither the Euro 5 nor Euro 6 versions of the EA 288 contain software defeat devices. While this is the case for Europe, a VW spokesperson tells Autoblog: "Remedies and certifications for the vehicles in the United States are still subject to approval from the EPA and CARB." Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal could mushroom to include even more vehicles in Europe because another engine there might be equipped with the cheating software. According to the company, it now needs to check whether early examples of the EA 288 for the Euro 5 standard can also evade tests, Automotive News reports. German regulators find that the later Euro 6 versions of the powerplant are compliant. VW initially said that 11 million EA 189 engines were affected worldwide by the cheating, and it recently included them in a stop-sale order in Europe. However, if the EA 288 diesels also have evasive software, they would only add to the millions of vehicles the company is already recalling there. At the same time, VW is facing a crunch to have a fix ready in time for mandated repairs to start in Germany in early 2016. New software should be enough to make most models compliant, but some of them might need more costly hardware changes. While the effects could be huge for Europe, the EA 288 has been included in VW's stop-sale in the US since Sept. 18. The engine is found on an estimated 67,000 examples of the 2015 model-year 2.0-liter TDI vehicles that the company calls Generation 3, according to spokesperson Jeannine Ginivan to Autoblog. US regulators are also taking a close look at the powerplant for evidence of VW altering its cheating software between engines. If proven, the changes might be evidence of a wider effort within the company to perpetuate the emissions evasion. Related Video: Volkswagen confirms: EA288 engines designed for EU5 and EU6 are not affected • Thorough appraisal of the Diesel emissions issue Wolfsburg, October 22, 2015. Volkswagen confirms today that no software constituting an improper defeat device as defined in law is installed in vehicles with EA 288 EU5 as well as EU6-engines in the European Union. Consequently, new vehicles of the Volkswagen Group offered within the European Union with those engines comply with legal requirements and environmental standards. Volkswagen AG is systematically reviewing this issue worldwide.