58 Beetle, Very Pretty, Runs Nicely on 2040-cars

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Icon goes Derelict on a 1967 VW Bus

Jonathan Ward and Icon have an eye for the little details in everything they make, and that's especially true of the company's Derelict projects. This time they are turning their attention to the '67 Volkswagen Bus. The van might look a little tired at first, but Icon gives the VW a complete makeover to keep it on the road for decades to come. Ward's client for this build had owned VW Buses before but wanted to have a truly usable one. Making that harder, she requested that the final result remain true to the essence of these classic vans. To do that, Icon let the exterior remain almost entirely stock, except for a few minor additions like the roof rack, tent, and a 110-volt outlet hidden at the back. The interior was kept looking original too, but the builders installed custom walnut cabinets and a load of modern upgrades, including air conditioning. The air-cooled boxer engine was also dumped in favor of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder sourced from a Jetta. To really understand just how much is changed, let Ward take you on a complete tour of the overhauled, vintage VW in this clip to show off all of his team's impressive work. Related Video:

2019 Toyota Corolla vs. compact hatchbacks: How they compare

So you've read what we thought about the 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback. Oh, you didn't? Well, click to your left, we'll still be here. Just made some coffee, we're good for a while. Welcome back! Wasn't that riveting? The blue paint sure is bright, eh? Well, now you must be wondering how that new 2019 Corolla stacks up with all the other hatchbacks. And, despite long thinking that hatchbacks were doomed, there are actually quite a lot of them these days. So many, in fact, that we couldn't fit them all in our space-limited comparison chart. So, with apologies to the Hyundai Elantra GT, Kia Forte and the dead-man-walking Ford Focus, these were the cars we chose based on sales and competitiveness: the Honda Civic Hatchback, Mazda3 5-Door, Volkswagen Golf, Chevrolet Cruze and Subaru Impreza. We also included the outgoing Corolla iM for reference. If you think we've left something of interest out, you can always create your own comparison. Performance and fuel economy There is but one king here, and its name is Civic. While the sedan and coupe come with a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter 158-horsepower four-cylinder that's less potent than the Corolla's, the hatchback comes standard with the 1.5-liter turbo that aces the segment in terms of both acceleration and fuel economy. The Golf's acceleration should be comparable, but as you can see, it trails on fuel economy (still not bad, though). The new Corolla ends up being better than the rest with its new 168-hp four-cylinder paired to novel transmissions: a six-speed manual with rev-matched downshifting (!) and a CVT that mimics the actions of a 10-speed automatic. The Corolla does weigh more than everything else, though, so that could hamper its acceleration. Fuel economy data also wasn't announced, but Toyota indicated it would be a bit better than the old Corolla iM. Something akin to the 2.0-liter Mazda 3's numbers seems likely. As for the Mazda, its top two trim levels actually come standard with its bigger engine. In any event, despite its ample power, testing has often showed that the Civic is still the quicker car from 0 to 60 mph. And finally, let's not leave out the two on the end. The Subaru is the only car in the segment that offers all-wheel drive (the Focus RS and Golf R don't count), but is also the segment weakling now that the Corolla iM has been discontinued.

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.