VW – Page 3330 – I wish I had more to offer

Toyota revises its ambitions down

The turbulence remains topical for the Japanese automotive giant Toyota, which has long been the world’s number one, but now figure on the third step of the podium behind the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors and Volkswagen alliance. The Japanese group lowered its forecast of annual net profit on Wednesday. A decision following the fall of 29% of… Continue reading Toyota revises its ambitions down

China’s CATL, Honda plan to co-operate on EV battery development

TOKYO (Reuters) – Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd and Honda Motor have signed an agreement to co-operate on jointly developing lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles, as China’s top EV battery maker expands its tie-ups with Japanese automakers. CATL said on Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Honda under which it would guarantee… Continue reading China’s CATL, Honda plan to co-operate on EV battery development

Polestar will reveal its first all-electric car on February 27th

Polestar Polestar was hyping up its first all-electric car even before its first car of any kind was ready, but now it’s finally prepared to show its hand. The company has announced that it’s revealing the Polestar 2 through a live online event on February 27th at 7AM Eastern. Sorry, that means no in-person looks… Continue reading Polestar will reveal its first all-electric car on February 27th

Compact Sports Cars in Peak Form: The New Audi TT RS Coupé and the New Audi TT RS Roadster

Audi Sport hones the top model of the TT model series: With an even more dynamic look, the new TT RS (combined fuel consumption l/100 km: 8,1 – 7,9 [29.0 – 29.8 US mpg]; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 183 – 181 [294.5 – 291.3 g/mi]*) showcases with confidence what it has to offer. Its… Continue reading Compact Sports Cars in Peak Form: The New Audi TT RS Coupé and the New Audi TT RS Roadster

Purchase of energy storage specialist Maxwell: So Tesla makes the race for the super battery exciting

Christophe Gateau / dpa Tesla Model 3 in a showroom Has three weeks ago Tesla-Boss Elon Musk His company actually one vigorous austerity measures including job cuts prescribed, Musk wants to reduce the production costs of the Model 3 – and so bring the promised Model 3 entry-level version for $ 35,000 on the market.… Continue reading Purchase of energy storage specialist Maxwell: So Tesla makes the race for the super battery exciting

VW has to take back diesel car

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On their own

Volvo excels, Audi and Porsche flop in January registrations

A number of premium car makers saw big drops in new car registrations in January, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Audi and Porsche suffered notable losses compared with the same period last year, recording falls of 27% and 42% respectively. Those figures contrasted with a significant year-on-year increase of nearly… Continue reading Volvo excels, Audi and Porsche flop in January registrations

Diesel lawsuit proceeds against Mercedes-Benz

2014 Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec 4Matic
While 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, against Mercedes-Benz Bluetec diesels, just won approval by a court in New Jersey and can now proceed.

Previously dismissed for lack of plaintiffs' standing, on Friday chief judge Jose Linares of the U.S. District Court of New Jersey ruled that a class-action suit can move forward against Mercedes-Benz. It alleges that Mercedes used an emissions-cheating device in its Bluetec diesels similar to those Volkswagen admitted to using in its diesel settlement.

The suit involves perhaps 100,000 Mercedes-Benz Bluetec diesel luxury cars and SUVs and Sprinter commercial vans from model years 2009 to 2016.

READ MORE: Mercedes-Benz gets its own diesel emission cheating questions now

The legal complaint alleges that the cars emit as much as 83 times as many oxides of nitrogen in highway testing as the legal limit allows. Nitrogen oxides are linked to smog, which in turn is linked to respiratory illnesses such as asthma.

It also claims that the cars exceed federal limits on particulate emissions which have been linked to cancer, and most recently to dementia, according to a report in the Washington Post.

According to the complaint against Mercedes, the company’s diesels exhibit essentially the same behavior as VWs did, detecting when the cars were undergoing emissions testing, and only operating emissions controls to their fullest effect during the tests.

2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC, upstate New York, April 2013

Mercedes may have used different strategies to detect when the cars were undergoing emissions testing as well, such as only operating the emissions systems when the engine was at certain temperatures and disabling them when the car was on either a steep up or down hill, for example.

With the emissions controls disabled, the complaint alleges, the cars gained more power and got better fuel economy.

Such software strategies are considered “defeat devices” under EPA emissions regulations.

DON'T MISS: No buybacks: FCA settlement for Ram pickup, Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel owners

As with Volkswagen, the complaint alleges that Mercedes worked with German supplier Bosch, which supplied the hardware and software for the emissions control systems in the diesel cars.

Bosch also provided hardware and software in the recalled Jeep and Ram, and settled that case. Chrysler had to take its diesel vehicles off the market in 2017, though they were later recertified and sold in 2018. In separate cases, Chrysler and diesel-engine supplier Cummins recalled five years' worth of heavy duty Ram trucks, and the Justice department allowed Chrysler to settle a criminal complaint over its light-duty Ram and Jeep EcoDiesel models.

CHECK OUT: New emails show FCA knew of diesel cheats as early as 2010: report

The affected Mercedes cars include the GLK, GL, and GLS SUVs, and C-Class, E-Class, and S-Class sedans from 2009 to 2016. Daimler, Mercedes' German parent, which sells Mercedes-Benz cars and Sprinter vans, showed in its annual report for 2017 that it was under investigation by both the EPA and the DOJ in the U.S.

2014 Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec – First Drive, August 2013

When contacted for comment by Green Car Reports, Mercedes-Benz spokesman Robert Moran said in an emailed statement: “We believe that these claims are without merit, and we are pleased that the court recognized the deficiencies in some of plaintiffs’ claims. We intend to continue vigorously defending against the remaining claims. The court’s decision today merely addressed certain legal aspects of plaintiffs’ claims and did not decide whether the plaintiffs’ can ultimately prove their claims, whether the plaintiffs’ allegations are true, or whether their claims have merit.”

The court found that certain state-level legal arguments don’t apply, but allowed most of the plaintiffs' arguments to proceed.

Werner Weresch: Hück-Vize becomes new head of works council at Porsche

Werner Weresch In the future, he will be leading Porsches employee. (Photo: picture alliance / dpa) Stuttgart Werner Weresch is slightly off the far right outside on the stage in Zuffenhausen’s parent plant, as Porsches eloquent Worker leader Uwe Hück his Change in politics explained. The trained car mechanic with the Schnauzer is smaller and… Continue reading Werner Weresch: Hück-Vize becomes new head of works council at Porsche