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Ford and Mercedes join Renault in French emissions investigation

The French government is investigating certain models from Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Renault because they allegedly produce more nitrogen oxide than the country's pollution rules allow, according to Automotive News, citing a French newspaper. After VW's emissions scandal, French regulators began checking more vehicles for evidence of defeat devices and excessive real-world pollution. According to Automotive News, the Mercedes S350 allegedly showed inconsistent results across these tests, and a Ford C-Max had NOx levels five times over the limit. The Renault Captur crossover, Espace, and an unnamed utility vehicle also had results that were too high. The French testing for this investigation includes an on-road emissions check that's not part of the EU's normal evaluations, which some automakers claim is unfair. "Unofficial on-road testing has varying conditions and can produce significantly different results," a Ford of Europe spokesman told Automotive News. Renault representatives met with French officials on January 18 to explain the situation. The company later submitted a plan to recall 15,800 examples of the diesel Captur, and said it would offer a voluntary software upgrade for about 700,000 other vehicles, according to Automotive News. Representatives from Ford and Mercedes will meet with the government soon, too. Renault's stock price plunged last week after investors heard that French regulators searched three of the automaker's sites as part of the emissions investigation. The stockholders feared an environmental scandal like the one currently embroiling Volkswagen. There's one major difference – as of now, there's no evidence Renault equipped any of the polluting models with defeat devices. Related Video:

Sunday Drive: Still thankful for supercars

The Thanksgiving holiday meant that last week was pretty short on stories, but apparently our readers are still thankful for supercars. The biggest news of the week was the new Aston Martin Vantage, which is clothed in a new look that Autoblog readers are still very much unsure of. It's a radical departure from past Aston Martin models, and while everyone seems to agree that the profile is lovely, the squinty headlamps are a particular source of contention. Its 503 horsepower and 512 pound-feet of torque cannot be argued with ... oh, and a V12 may be coming soon. Moving along is a nearly new 2006 Ford GT for sale that's expected to fetch around $300,000 at auction. It's so unused that it still has plastic wrap covering the leather interior. The Ango-American theme continues with the McLaren 720S, though not in road-going form. Still, renderings of the upcoming 720S GT3 racer round out this supercar-rich recap. As always, stay tuned to Autoblog for all the latest automotive news that's fit to print. All-new Aston Martin Vantage turns up the volume This 10.8-mile Ford GT could be yours McLaren 720S GT3 race car shown off in renderings Aston Martin Ford McLaren Coupe Luxury Racing Vehicles Performance Supercars aston martin vantage recap sunday drive

Ford offering emergency strobes on Super Duty trucks [w/video]

If you're driving a Ford Super Duty, chances are you've got a job to do. It could be construction or maintenance, or it could be something big you're hauling, but either way, you may need to warn others in the vicinity that you're on the job. Which is why Ford is now offering strobe warning lights on its F-Series Super Duty trucks. The $700 option includes a pair of amber LED strobe lights on the hood (by the base of the windshield), another pair at the back on either side of the high-mounted stop light, and a trim panel with four switches on the center stack inside. The equipment can be factory-installed or dealer-installed after sale, are covered by warranty, require no drilling for installation (to reduce risk of corrosion), are programmable in different patterns and can be seen from up to a mile away at night or a thousand feet during the day. See a demonstration in the video below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.