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Texas sues VW over consumer protection, clean air violations

Texas has filed two suits against Volkswagen, charging that the automaker's emissions rigging violated state consumer protection laws and clean air standards. The lawsuit is part of a probe into the German automaker's diesel scandal being undertaken by 45 states and the District of Columbia. There are also over 250 class action suits that have been filed in US federal courts. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday that his state would seek restitution for consumers, and an injunction and civil penalties to prohibit future violations. Paxton, who himself has been indicted for securities fraud, said in a statement, "When companies willfully violate the public's trust, a penalty must be paid." Paxton said Texans purchased around 32,000 affected vehicles. There are about 49 authorized VW dealerships statewide. The Texas suit is asking for pollution fines of somewhere between $50 and $25,000 per vehicle (quite a spread, we know) for each day the vehicles were in use in the state. Volkswagen admitted in the middle of September that it installed devices designed to defeat government emissions tests on many Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars dating to model year 2009. Globally, 11 million VW group vehicles are affected. The automaker declined to comment to Bloomberg on the Texas lawsuit. Last month, Harris County, which includes Houston, filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against VW, alleging the automaker contributed to air quality problems. You can find PDFs of the two state lawsuits here (the deceptive-practices case) and here (the environmental case). The AP contributed to this report. News Source: Bloomberg Government/Legal Green Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal lawsuit

Car Club USA: CleanMPG Northwest Rally

Car Club USA heads to Los Angeles for the CleanMPG Northwest Rally, where a group of like-minded hypermiling enthusiasts led by Wayne Gerdes attempts to drive from Los Angeles, CA, to Bend, OR, on one tank of fuel. For this challenge, Wayne tapped some of the most accomplished hypermilers in the world, including Guinness World Record holder Bob Winger and Mike Sefton, "the most fuel efficient driver in all of Canada." It doesn't take long for the competition to get heated. "They're not aggressive enough, and it's not going to save them anything by being soft right now," says Gerdes as the group attempts to navigate the Interstate traffic. "Driving in Los Angeles is a hyper miler's nightmare," says Winger. The trip will challenge both car and driver, while putting the latest fuel-efficient tech to the test. Wayne is piloting the Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen TDI, Sefton drives the Audi A3 TDI, and Winger attempts the trek in a Honda Accord Hybrid. It's diesel versus hybrid tech on this fuel-efficient trip of a lifetime. Each Car Club USA episode features a different car club or event from across the US, where passionate owner communities gather to share automotive experiences and embark on incredible adventures. From Main Street cruises to off-road trails, catch all the latest car club activity on Autoblog. Green Audi Honda Volkswagen Alternative Fuels Fuel Efficiency Green Culture Green Driving Driving Diesel Vehicles Hybrid Car Club USA Videos Original Video cleanmpg

Car companies may need to start curbing model proliferation

Looking at the current automotive landscape, especially from German makers, you quickly get the impression that less definitely isn't more. BMW alone offers its 3 Series platform in practically every segment possible, including the regular sedan and 4 Series Gran Coupe, which would seem to be direct competitors. Porsche might be the winner, though, with 20 different variants of the 911 listed for sale on its US website. However, some of this model madness might be reaching an end as companies begin cutting back spending or shifting money to other priorities.
According to Yahoo Finance, the offerings from the German automakers are up 25 percent over the past three years to over 200 models in Europe. The peak is expected to come around 2018 at 230 separate vehicles, according to consulting company PwC.
Amazingly, BMW, which is among the poster children for this model explosion, might be changing its tune. "I'm sure there will be points in the future where we look at certain cars and say, 'Maybe we need to think differently now,'" said head of sales Ian Robertson in an interview, according to Yahoo Finance. The statement certainly sounds shocking coming from a company rumored to have 23 front-wheel-drive vehicles all using a single platform on the way.