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Volkswagen breaks 40-year-old sales record in 2012

The last time Volkswagen moved this many vehicles in America in one year, Richard Nixon was still a President in good standing, Let It Be was a radio hit and each car wearing the VW badge boasted an air-cooled engine. That's right, with a grand total of 580,286 vehicles sold in the US last year, the VW Group has broken its own four-decades-old sales record by 2,899 vehicles.
Of that 580k total sold, 438k were Volkswagens and 139k were Audi products - increases of 35.1 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively, in year-over-year sales. The ultra-premium members of the VW group also fared well; Bentley delivered 2,315 vehicles for a 23.3-precent increase, and Lamborghini delivered 520 units for a 52.9-percent jump. Bugatti, we're told is "right on track."
Jetta (pictured) sales paced the marque with 170k models sold, and Passat also finished very strong with sales of 117k total. Tiguan also racked up its best year on file, with 31,731 models shifted.

More German automakers may be afoul of US emission standards

Volkswagen has plenty of smoke to share, and that may mean fire for other German automakers that make diesel vehicles, says Automotive News. Earlier this month, European Federation for Transport and Environment said that BMW, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and General Motor's Opel division are among other automakers that may have equipped their vehicles' diesel engines with similar software as VW's. That software was found to reduce emissions while a car is being tested for emissions and shuts down emissions-control systems during normal use. The European environmental group used data from the International Council on Clean Transportation. Automotive News notes that the European environmental group put out its own report earlier this month, before the VW scandal broke loose, but the report was pretty much overlooked. Now, VW is under fire after it was discovered that 2.0-liter diesel engines in the VW Jetta and Golf, and Audi A3, may be programmed to game the emissions system. VW sold almost a half-million diesel vehicles in the US during the past six years. Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz told Automotive News that the issue that befell VW doesn't apply to their diesel vehicles. Earlier this week, Volkswagen admitted its car ran the sneaky software, while the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started a probe on the company. VW is setting aside more than $7 billion to pay for the alleged violations. Meanwhile, US taxpayers may have spent as much as $51 million a year to pay for subsidies related to VW's diesel vehicle sales in 2009 alone, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Everyone but VW and Tesla has recalled their Takata airbags

Takata's massive airbag inflator recall affected over 32 million vehicles from 11 automakers in the US, but two companies buying the supplier's parts haven't been affected so far: Volkswagen and Tesla. There are 887,055 VWs and 184,926 Teslas using Takata's inflators with ammonium-nitrate propellant, a new accounting shows, according to Automotive News. That doesn't necessarily mean the models need to be recalled. These figures came from a report that Takata prepared for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which listed all of the vehicles it supplied with ammonium nitrate-fueled inflators. The substance is believed to be linked with the components' rupturing, along with manufacturing defects and humidity. "We're not asking because we've got reports of problems; we just need to figure out what the universe is," NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge said to Automotive News. Takata reportedly told Tesla that the inflators in its EVs are not affected with these problems, and VW is investigating a case in June where a side airbag allegedly burst in a 2015 Tiguan, Automotive News reports. The government is also still researching the precise cause of the parts' ruptures. If the investigation finds ammonium nitrate to be a factor, the vehicles could need recalled. During a Congressional hearing Takata vice president Kevin Kennedy admitted that ammonium nitrate could be among the factors of the ruptures, but the company has continued to use the chemical in its inflators. Takata is now working to transition to a different propellant. Related Video: