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Autoblog Minute: VW 'tip of the iceberg' in diesel emissions scandal

Some are calling Volkswagen just the tip of the iceberg in the diesel emissions scandal. Autoblog's Adam Morath reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Some are calling Volkswagen just the tip of the iceberg in the diesel emissions scandal. I'm Adam Morath and this is your Autoblog Minute. Here in the U.S. the EPA found defeat devices on certain Volkswagen vehicles. Across the pond however concerned environmentalist groups including [00:00:30] Transportation & Environment say that the issues could be more widespread in Europe. Nico Muzi, a spoken for Transportation and Environment was quoted in the Automotive News as saying: "Volkswagen is just the tip of the iceberg..." Muzi goes on to claim that cheating is widespread, and that results produced from European emissions tests, which are not administered by a government agency, show differences in data that "...are so much, it can't be explained." Clean vehicle manager at Transport & Environment Greg Archer spoke to Bloomberg Business about the need to reform emissions testing in Europe: [00:01:00] [Bloomberg Video Clip] While it's clear that automakers are engineering vehicles and software to perform well on emissions tests, the real question is whether or not other OEMs, besides Volkswagen, are using defeat devices to cheat the tests, either here or in Europe. For Autoblog, I'm Adam Morath. Green Volkswagen Emissions Diesel Vehicles Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video vw diesel scandal

VW confirms Audi's emissions test transmission anomalies

Just a week after reports that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) found an emissions cheat in some Audi automatic transmission software programs, parent company Volkswagen has come clean. As reported by Reuters, VW's response to an article by Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung stated that the adaptive shift functionality can "lead to incorrect and non-reproducible results." Adaptive shift programs alter the characteristics of a vehicle's transmission to suit different driving styles. Gentle driving will result in earlier shifts and lower engine revs, while hard-charging on the pedals and steering will make the transmission more responsive and hold gears longer. That adaptation can change over time or even on a short-term basis. And it can save fuel. The difference in this case is that is seems that the Audi transmissions were specifically programmed to detect emissions test conditions. As we explained in a previous article, one of those test conditions is keeping the wheel straight. Turning more than 15 degrees shuts the test mode off. According to Reuters, the US government is trying to determine whether this classifies as an emissions cheat device, although VW, Audi, and the EPA have not commented on the record. This latest accusation is separate from the larger VW diesel emissions scandal. Related Video: Image Credit: Getty Editorial Government/Legal Green Audi Volkswagen Emissions vw diesel scandal

VW going turbo-only in 3 to 4 years

This really was a matter of when, rather than if. Volkswagen will apparently be the first manufacturer to phase out naturally aspirated engines in favor of turbocharging its full slate. VW is kind of responsible for ushering in this push towards small-displacement, turbocharged engines that's taken the industry by storm. When it dropped its direct-injection, 2.0-liter turbo in the 2005 GTI it demonstrated that strapping an iron long to an engine can enhance the powertrain as a whole. VW made fuel economy gains, while also giving a linear, non-laggy turbo experience that it has replicated, model-after-model, to this day.
Speaking with The Detroit News, Volkswagen's executive Vice President of Group Quality, Marc Trahan, told the paper that, "We only have one normally aspirated gas engine, and when we go to the next generation vehicle that it's in, it will be replaced. So three, four years maximum."
Really, it's hard to get teary-eyed about either of these engines going away. VW has access to smaller powerplants that could easily match the performance of the 2.5 five-cylinder and the 3.6 V6, while gobbling up less fuel and providing a better driving experience. What we are sad about is that a similar statement about the extinction of NA engines came from the Vice President of Powertrain Engineering at Ford, Joe Bakaj. We'd certainly get teary-eyed over a world without Ford's excellent 5.0-liter V8.