Prestige! Navi! Pano! Keyless! Every Option! Carfax Certified! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

German prosecutors investigating Audi for emissions scandal

After weeks of investigation into Volkswagen by prosecutors in Braunschweig, Germany, attorneys in Ingolstadt will also begin an examination into Audi's potential role in the emissions scandal. They reportedly received multiple criminal complaints that requested an inquiry, including one from Audi, according to Bloomberg. The prosecutors in Ingolstadt want to focus on people within the automaker that are responsible for emissions. However, the investigation is still too early in the process to identify any specific suspects. The German lawyers might also eventually combine their cases, but they remain separate for now. "Braunschweig took those parts that are clearly located at Volkswagen and asked us to keep the elements limited to Audi," a spokesperson for the Ingolstadt attorneys told Bloomberg. Audi has 2.1 million vehicles worldwide with Volkswagen Group's emissions-cheating four-cylinder diesel, including an estimated 13,000-14,000 of them in the US. The Environmental Protection Agency also recently filed a second violation notice against the 3.0-liter TDI V6 that was used in several of the company's models here, and the automaker responded with a stop sale for them. VW Group's carbon-dioxide emissions cheating in Europe also reportedly involves some Audi models. In that case, engineers admitted to artificially improving test results to achieve the cuts that the automaker requested.

VW execs didn't think diesel problem would be so serious

Volkswagen Group has admitted that former chairman Martin Winterkorn received two memos about the diesel scandal in 2014. Top execs ignored the problem because they didn't think it was a serious issue. VW disclosed these details to counter allegations in a German shareholder lawsuit that alleged the automaker violated the law by withholding the info from investors. A memo on May 23, 2014 first advised Winterkorn about emissions cheating. A memo on May 23, 2014, first advised Winterkorn about the study from the International Council on Clean Transportation, which identified the emissions cheating. According to VW, the document was part of the exec's weekend mail, and the company's investigation didn't discover whether Winterkorn actually read it. A rumor last month alleged this memo existed. Another memo for Winterkorn on November 14, 2014 was about several defects, including the diesel engines. The document estimated it would cost 20 million euros ($22 million US at current rates) to fix the problem. The chairman learned about the issue again on July 27, 2015, during a meeting on product issues. "Mr. Winterkorn asked for further clarification of the issue," according to VW's statement. Things got serious at the end of August 2015. Things got serious at the end of August 2015 when technicians explained the diesel issue to the legal department. VW came clean to the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency on September 3. A memo told Winterkorn the next day, which was also previously alleged. According to this investigation, management didn't believe the diesel problem would affect the stock price, and they estimated the cheating might cost at most a few hundred million dollars in fines. The execs were clearly wrong. The share price dropped after the scandal broke last September, and the problems have started to affect its divisions. According to Reuters, Audi reported it suffered 228 million euros ($249 million) in costs in 2015 from the emissions issue and repairing Takata's faulty airbag inflators. Volkswagen still doesn't know the exact costs of the scandal, but the automaker's law firm, Jones Day, plans to release a report in the second half of April to explain the whole affair. By that time, we might also know how VW plans to fix the problem because a judge recently gave the company until March 24 to outline a fix for the 2.0-liter TDI. CARB started evaluating a repair plan for the 3.0-liter TDI in early February.

Subaru WRX STI vs. Audi S3 in compact AWD dustup

It's not every day that a Subaru and an Audi can be reasonably compared head-to-head; the two brands tend not to compete directly in their respective segments. However, the latest WRX STI and the S3 Sedan offer the perfect chance to find out if the working-class Scooby can beat its upper-crust competitor.
The UK's Auto Express gets behind the wheel of these two all-wheel drive performance sedans, or saloons as the Brits call them. Across the pond, both of them are rated at an identical 296 horsepower, but the Subaru edges out the Four Rings on torque. Like in the US, British buyers have to pay a little more to get the Audi, but it comes with a nicer interior and more brand cachet, if that means anything to you.
The video starts out with a fairly standard road test comparing the two of them back-to-back - all fairly subjective. But then Auto Express takes the trip to the drag strip, and the results there are much more conclusive. There's a definite winner when they cross the line, but you have to scroll down to see which of these turbocharged models with rallying heritage wins out.