Dieselgate continued: SEC charges VW and its ex-boss with fraud

Volkswagen TDI diesel vehicles owned by Phil Grate and family, Seattle, WashingtonAmazingly, the diesel emissions case against Volkswagen in the U.S. is still gaining steam. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged VW and its former CEO Martin Winterkorn on Thursday with defrauding investors, according to wire-service reports. READ MORE: Gauging VW's progress on second diesel-settlement anniversary (Updated) The charges...

Germany fines BMW over diesel emissions

2009 BMW X5 xDrive 35dGerman automakers have been under a microscope when it comes to emissions from their diesel cars, which were formerly bestsellers in Europe. After Daimler, Volkswagen, and German supplier Bosch paid billions in fines and several Audi managers have been arrested over installing diesel-emissions cheat devices, German prosecutors have handed down a...

Diesel lawsuit proceeds against Mercedes-Benz

2014 Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec 4MaticWhile Volkswagen has reached a historic settlement and had to buy back hundreds of thousands of its diesel cars in the U.S., it isn’t the only automaker to be investigated for cheating on diesel emissions. Fiat Chrysler recently agreed to recall its Ram and Jeep EcoDiesels and pay owners for misleading advertising claims. A third case...

BMW says 85 percent of cars will still have engines in 2030

BMW iX3 Concept front 3/4Once a leader in electric cars, BMW now says it expects 85 percent of its cars still to have internal combustion engines by 2030. Speaking to Australian reporters for GoAuto at the Paris auto show earlier in October, BMW board member for development Klaus Froehlich said, “A very optimistic scenario says 30 per cent of BMWs will be pure...

Algae blooms could be a boon for eco-diesel under DOE-funded project

University of Michigan algae biodiesel projectAlgae-based biodiesel has been hyped in the past as a renewable fuel that can be produced here in the U.S., lowering greenhouse-gas emissions without displacing food crops or taxing water supplies. And yet it still hasn’t arrived in any significant way. There’s no single factor to blame for that, rather a combination of hurdles that no...

Volvo ditches diesel, but will half its cars be electric by 2024?

2017 Volvo S60 and V60 PolestarVolvo says it is going all-in on electric cars in an effort to turn the company into something of a Tesla alternative. To that end, the company has announced that half its cars will be battery electric models by 2024, according to a report in Road & Track earlier this year. It has also dedicated its high-performance Polestar brand to selling...

Report: Former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn criminally charged over dieselgate

Martin WinterkornFormer Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn was charged with defrauding the U.S. in a Michigan federal court Thursday for his role in the widespread VW diesel emissions scandal. The charges were first reported by Reuters. According to the report, the charges were filed secretly in March and made public Thursday. Winterkorn was CEO of Volkswagen when...

Ford releases fuel economy figures for new F-150 diesel

2018 Ford F-150 Power StrokeA full-sized pickup that can get 30 mpg sounds impressive, and it is. Ford has released the fuel economy ratings for the new F150 Powerstroke diesel, and that's the highway rating for the two-wheel drive model. In the city it's rated to get 22 mpg from its turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine, and gets a combined rating of 25 mpg in mixed driving. If...

Why diesel beats solar for disaster recovery in places like Puerto Rico

APR Energy's GE TM2500 Gen 8 mobile gas turbines in Puerto RicoCall it the Ikea mindset. On populated islands, space is at a premium, just like those stereotypical Swedish kitchens you see when you stroll through your local assemble-it-yourself retailer. That space restriction is a major reason fossil fuels remain a better power-generation option than renewables on populated islands that have just experienced...

VW CEO: European subsidies for diesel should end

Matthias MullerOne of the most powerful automotive CEOs in the industry at a company that once found monumental success in diesel-powered cars has delivered a commandment to European governments from atop his throne in Wolfsburg. Thou shalt not subsidize diesel. That commandment, from VW CEO Mattias Müller, is about as predictable as one might expect from...

VW Dieselgate exec Schmidt gets maximum jail sentence: 7 years

Oliver SchmidtA Volkswagen manager who pleaded guilty to deceiving regulators in the United States over the emissions of the company's TDI diesel engines has been sentenced to the maximum penalty of seven years in prison and the maximum fine of $400,000. "This crime ... attacks and destroys the very foundation of our economic system," said federal court judge...

Those fuel-efficient diesels? Actually worse on lifetime CO2, study says

Mercedes BlueEfficiency four-cylinder dieselDiesel-powered cars have enjoyed a comfortable market share in Europe for decades, but their decline in popularity continues following numerous diesel-emission cheating scandals and regulatory crackdowns. As if diesel cars hadn't already had enough negative press, a new study says "fuel-efficient" diesel vehicles actually produce more lifetime...

Regulators approve updates to some Audi, VW, Porsche 3.0-liter diesel SUVs

2015 Audi Q7 TDIState and federal environmental regulators announced Monday they had approved modifications to illegally polluting Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche SUVs fitted with VW Group's 3.0-liter V-6 TDI turbodiesel engine The EPA and California Air Resources Board sent a letter Friday to VW announcing the approved modifications for the 3.0-liter TDI models...