2004 Vw Passat Wagon on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Renault to name VW manager Luca De Meo as CEO

PARIS — Renault's board is set to meet later on Tuesday to approve the nomination of Luca de Meo, the former head of Volkswagen's Seat brand, as its next chief executive, two sources familiar with the matter said. The Italian-born executive, who stepped down from Seat earlier this month, is not due to take up his post at the French carmaker until towards July, due to negotiations around his contract, according to one of the sources. Renault declined to comment. De Meo is not expected to face any last minute hurdles in his nomination, and has already won tacit backing from parties including the French government, a Renault shareholder. His appointment fills one of the major gaps left at the firm as it tries to move past a year of turmoil following the 2018 arrest in Tokyo of former boss-turned-fugitive Carlos Ghosn, and reset its strained alliance with Japan's Nissan. Ghosn, who forged and oversaw the Renault-Nissan partnership for almost two decades, has since fled Japan and resettled in Lebanon, from where he has contested the financial misconduct charges against him and said the alliance was at risk of collapse. De Meo, along with Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, brought in last January from tire maker Michelin, will have his work cut out to turn around the firm. Like rivals, Renault is grappling with a downturn in demand, and has said it expects a slight decline in the car market in Europe, Russia and China this year. The firm has also presented 2020 as a make-or-break year for the alliance with Nissan and is under pressure to deliver on cost savings and joint projects. Automakers face pressure to meet stringent new emissions targets with less polluting models, and are also competing to produce innovations such as self-driving cars, which require large investments. De Meo, who speaks French, will be one of a growing handful of outsiders in senior company jobs in France. The 52-year-old started his career at Renault and has worked at Fiat and Audi among other brands. He is credited with revitalizing sales at Barcelona-based Seat, imbuing it with a more sporty image, though his portfolio will be markedly larger at Renault, whose brands include Dacia and Lada. Renault's finance chief Clotilde Delbos has been CEO on an interim basis since last October, when Thierry Bollore, a former Ghosn ally, was ousted by the board. Related Video:     Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Rumormill Volkswagen Renault

2014 Volkswagen Golf GTD is our favorite oil-burning GTI

The 2014 Volkswagen Golf GTD has officially bowed at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Engineers managed to squeeze an additional 14 horsepower and 22 pound-feet of torque out of the familiar 2.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engine, nudging total output to 184 hp and 280 lb-ft for 2014. The figures are good enough to earn the GTD the honor of being the most powerful diesel Golf in Volkswagen history. A start/stop system helps improve efficiency over the previous generation with the new model consuming 56 miles per gallon on the EU cycle. That's up from the 2013 model's 46 mpg. A six-speed manual transmission is standard equipment, though a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox is also available.
The GTD also offers buyers a few aesthetic tweaks to help separate the hatch from its less potent siblings. Those include a more aggressive front fascia, special badges and 17-inch alloy wheels. Expect to find the GTD in one of three exterior colors, including Tornado Red, Black and Pure White. Check out the quick press release below for more details.

How should Volkswagen deal with its diesel problems?

The hounds of hell are bearing down on Volkswagen in the wake of allegations of cheating on diesel emissions testing. In just a single day, Volkswagen's stock has dropped 23 percent and the German government has announced that it is going to investigate a far larger number of vehicles over emissions violations. The American storm is quickly becoming a global one. Volkswagen sells over a million diesel vehicles a year and also has more than 13 percent of the automotive market overall – it was the number one automaker in the world up until the scandal. Yet in a matter of hours, Volkswagen has also become a pariah with potential fines and recalls that may be dwarfed by how the alleged lies and deceit change how governments and consumers view the company. Consumers are really going to be the key to the company's survival. It's those consumers who are really going to be the key to the company's survival. Every single one of them now finds themselves with a product that was sold illegally and may not be registered until recall work is done. What's worse is that Volkswagen doesn't yet have a solution for the emissions issue to offer these customers. It should also be noted that this is not the first time Volkswagen has found itself in violation of EPA emission regulations. Volkswagen is in a world of trouble, so what now? As a car dealer and former financial analyst who took several companies public, I believe Volkswagen can and should consider three points of action that would make an enduring difference in the times to come. 1. Offer affected TDI owners a compelling reason to stay with the brand. Recall work and a cup of coffee at the dealership are not going to be enough to placate current owners. Volkswagen should provide compensation for customers at the earliest opportunity and offer some type of inducement that keeps them within the fold. This shouldn't be the industry's version of a Chuck E. Cheese coupon - a small discount on a new vehicle. Volkswagen needs to offer something along the lines of a strong warranty extension of the entire powertrain (not just the emissions system) or some type of valuable feature upgrade for these vehicles so that owners feel that they have been treated fairly. Perhaps a combination of a brand new navigation system, software upgrades for the infotainment components, or some type of basic free WiFi service would be a healthy act of generosity.