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Volkswagen Group previews its wares on eve of Geneva show

The Volkswagen Group is comprised of 11 brands producing 240 vehicles across 49 factories throughout the world. So the best way to show off the range of the VW family is to cram a few thousand journalists and VIPs into a massive makeshift stand to outline the Group's goals, what's in the pipeline and what you'll be able to buy later this year.
To that end, VW pulled out all the stops on the eve of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, bringing along 10 vehicles from across the range. We'll be delving into the details of each over the next two days of show coverage, but before that happens, you can read all about what we saw tonight from the cheap seats after the break.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla charging times compared, VW's 70s hybrid tech

A video shows the difference in Tesla Model S charging speeds with different chargers. The video compares the 60- and 80-kWh versions of the car using a Tesla Supercharger, a CHAdeMo fast charger and Tesla's High Power Wall Connector (HPWC). With the Supercharger, both models charge from to 80 percent in 44 minutes. It's over an hour and a quarter for both cars with the CHAdeMo, but they're about neck and neck in terms of time. The HPWC takes the longest, with the 60-kWh car finishing long before the 85-kWh version. See the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Volkswagen had prototype hybrid technology back in the 1970s. A book called The Complete Book of Electric Vehicles by Sheldon Shacket describes the technology used in Volkswagen's Hybrid-Electric City Taxi prototype, which was based on the Type II microbus. It used the automaker's 1.6-liter air-cooled flat-four (borrowed from the Beetle) along with a Bosch DC shunt electric motor and 11 lead-acid batteries. Interestingly, the hybrid taxi prototype also featured an electric sliding door and a bulletproof bulkhead separating the driver from the passengers. Read more at Jalopnik, and at Green Car Reports. Country music star Lee Brice is going on tour fueled by biodiesel. Partnering with nonprofit environmental organization Reverb, Brice is using the biofuel to travel to college campuses. "We're hoping to offset the environmental impact of the tour by supporting clean energy projects and using buses and trucks fueled with locally produced biodiesel," says Brice, who is personally focused on natural preservation and water conservation. Read more at Domestic Fuel, or at The Boot. Related Gallery Tesla Model S: Quick Spin View 33 Photos News Source: Teslarati, Jalopnik, Green Car Reports, Domestic Fuel, The BootImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Celebrities Green Tesla Volkswagen Alternative Fuels Biodiesel Electric Hybrid Videos recharge wrapup

VW internal investigation finds 'no evidence' against suspended engineers

Volkswagen is still working out the chain of events that led to emissions-evading software being installed in 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide and deciding who was responsible for the treachery. So far, the German automotive giant's internal investigation hasn't publicly named many suspects, and three suspended executive-level engineers have been found not to be culpable in the wrongdoing, according to an anonymous insider speaking to Reuters. VW knows that the software began being installed in the EA 189 engine in 2008. The internal investigation has found that the emissions-evading tech was created because the powerplant was found to fail US standards. Plus, the diesel mill wasn't meeting cost targets, according to Reuters. The automaker responded by suspending over 10 employees, but three top engineers among them might not have been involved. Those put on leave include Heinz-Jakob Neusser from VW, Ulrich Hackenberg from Audi, and Wolfgang Hatz who led Porsche's research and group-wide engine development. The internal detective work hasn't turned up any evidence against these three men. In addition to VW's own inquires, government investigators in both the US and Germany are taking a serious look into the company's actions, too. So far, the automaker is setting aside about $7.3 billion to pay to fix the vehicles with the evasive software. Depending on what authorities find, the costs could grow quickly. Beyond the financial implications, the scandal has led to a serious shakeup in VW's corporate structure. Related Video: