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BMW says its diesels are above board

BMW got yanked into the riptide of the Volkswagen diesel scandal thanks to a report in Auto Bild, which Auto Bild has now clarified. On Thursday the German magazine said that when the International Council on Clean Transportation tested the X3 xDrive 2.0d, the ICCT discovered the diesel X3's tailpipe emissions exceeded the European limit by more than 1,100 percent. The key detail, though, is that apparently at no time did the ICCT find that BMW cheated on any emissions tests. No one has explained why the X3 diesel had such high emissions and the ICCT wouldn't comment on the Auto Bild report. But the mag has issued a clarification asserting that in spite of the excessive emissions, there is no evidence BMW engaged in regulatory subterfuge. Every other BMW vehicle ICCT tested was within compliance, but the organization's report from October 2014 - that no one paid attention to - found that nitrogen oxide emissions in 15 vehicles it tested averaged seven times the European limit. The brand's stock is still suffering from the taint. It dropped almost ten percent the day the report came out before rallying to close at five percent down. But on Monday BMW stock closed at 84.01 euros, and as of writing on Friday it's still trying to fight its way back above 80 euros. With so many people still just trying to find out how widespread the the issue is, and trust rather low, it's likely BMW won't be the one dragged down, fairly or not. Related Video:

Top Gear names BMW i8 Car of the Year, Corvette, Ferrari, Mercedes also win big

The lads at Top Gear have released their listing of the finest cars of the past year, handing the ultimate honor to BMW's revolutionary i8 plug-in-hybrid supercar. "The i8 is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers - and then some," the British mag wrote. The i8, though, was far from the only hybridized car to take victories. James May and Richard Hammond both highlighted hybrids as their personal cars of the year, with May saluting the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Hamster, unsurprisingly, heaping praise on the Porsche 918 Spyder. Jeremy Clarkson, meanwhile, opted to shock many by selecting not only an American car as his best of 2014, but giving the honor to of all things, a Corvette. Clarkson wasn't the only person to honor the USA's iconic sports car, with the new, 650-horsepower Z06 variant being named TG's Muscle Car of the Year. Other big winners include Mercedes-Benz, which TG honored for S-Class Coupe (Luxury Car of the Year), the new AMG GT (Sports Car of the Year) and the not-for-US C-Class Estate (Family Car of the Year). The 458 Italia Speciale A snagged a second win for Ferrari. The best of the rest include the Citroen C4 Cactus, Renault Twingo, Volkswagen Golf R, Lamborghini Huracan and Audi TT. Take a look below for the celebratory press blast from BMW. The BMW i8 wins Top Gear Car of the Year The BMW i8 has been named as Top Gear magazine's global Car of the Year 2014. The plug-in hybrid performance vehicle beat off some stiff competition from a host of other premium and luxury manufacturers to win the overall award. The editorial team of Top Gear commended the BMW i8 for its breadth of abilities. Its 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine combined with an electric motor gives searing acceleration and driver enjoyment but all wrapped in a package that takes BMW's EfficientDynamics philosophy to the extreme courtesy of CO2 emissions less than 49g/km and a 135mpg combined cycle figure. Charlie Turner, Editor in Chief at Top Gear magazine, said: "The BMW is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers – and then some. It's the kind of car we should celebrate, a beautiful vision of the future, delivered now.

Lucid Air, VW ID.4 AWD and Polestar 2 Single Motor driven | Autoblog Podcast #704

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Autoblog Green, John Beltz Snyder. Greg's been driving the Volkswagen ID.4 AWD and the Lucid Air, while John has been in the Mini Cooper Hardtop and Polestar 2 Single Motor. They discuss the big Rivian news of the week, its stellar IPO. They take a question from the mailbag about whether to sell a Tesla Model 3, and they help a listener decide whether to buy a Ford Maverick or some other pickup. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #704 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 What we're driving2022 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro 2022 Lucid Air 2022 Mini Cooper Hardtop 2022 Polestar 2 Single Motor Rivian's IPO Mailbag: To sell or not to sell a Tesla Model 3 Spend My Money: Ford Maverick FX4 or something else? Transcript 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: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.