1995 Volkswagen Eurovan Camper Van Camper 3-door 2.5l Winnebago on 2040-cars

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2015 VW Golf R caught getting a flogging on 'Ring

The upcoming version of the Volkswagen Golf R is nearly ready for prime time, if this video of the car flying around the Nürburgring is any indication. The all-wheel-drive R seems to make quick, neat work of the corners we see here, and sounds pretty devilish in the process.
Expectations are that the new Golf R will run a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (what else?), tuned to produce even more than the current car's 256 horsepower. (Some sources have indicated outputs as high as 286 horsepower, with 280 pound-feet of torque. It's still not clear if Volkswagen will bring the six-speed dual-clutch transmission to the US-spec Golf R in this next go-round or if we'll stick to having only... eh... the stick.
In either case - watching the video below will only whet your appetite for the new, highest performing member of the Golf family.

Germany is finally getting serious about self-driving cars

Germany cleared the way for its giant automotive industry to develop and test self-driving cars, when the upper house of its parliament approved on Friday a law setting out the conditions under which they could take to German roads. Under the law, first mooted by Chancellor Angela Merkel last year, a driver must be sitting behind the wheel at all times ready to take back control if prompted to do so by the autonomous vehicle. Germany is home to some of the world's largest car companies, including Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, all of which are investing heavily in a technology seen by transport minister Alexander Dobrindt as the "greatest mobility revolution since the invention of the car." That's not to say that German automakers have been standing still in the face of autonomous technology. VW recently outlined its vision for autonomous vehicles. BMW has already demonstrated self-driving vehicles in the United States, and Mercedes-Benz has partnered up with German auto supplier Bosch on autonomous technology. The new legislation allows German car companies to road-test vehicles in which drivers will be allowed to take their hands off the wheel and their eyes off the road to browse the web or check e-mails while the vehicle handles steering or braking autonomously. The legislation requires that a black box record the journey underway, logging whether the human driver or the car's self-piloting system was in charge at all moments of the ride. This will be crucial for apportioning blame in accidents. The driver will bear responsibility for accidents that take place under his or her watch, under the legislation, but if the self-driving system is in charge and a system failure is to blame, the manufacturer will be responsible. The law will be revised in two years' time in the light of technological developments, with data protection and the use of the data collected during rides a key point that has yet to be fully addressed. Companies around the globe are working on prototypes for self-driving vehicles, but such cars are not expected to be available for the mass market before 2020. (Reporting By Markus Wacket; Writing by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Toby Davis) Related Video: Image Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Government/Legal Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Technology Autonomous Vehicles

Carmakers say they 'can't meet' Euro 6 emissions targets

UPDATE: A previous version of this story listed Euro 6 requirements in kilograms per kilometer. This was incorrect. The correct unit is grams of NOx per kilometer, or g/km. The story has been edited accordingly. Well, the timing of this is not good. In the midst of Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) is claiming it won't be able to hit the stringent Euro 6 nitrogen oxide standards currently slated for the end of the decade. Currently, European legislators are set to begin requiring tougher emissions standards by 2017. Standards would be ramped up until 2020, when all new cars sold across the pond would be required to emit just 0.080 kilograms of nitrogen oxide per kilometer. That's too tough for automakers, though. Citing an "EU insider," AutoExpress reports that automakers are asking for conformity factors, which is a fancy way of saying they want easier standards. The automakers are requesting a conformity factor of 2.75 from 2017 to 2020, and a factor of 1.7 in 2020. What that means is that by 2020, new diesels would be allowed to emit 1.7 times the 0.080 g/km standard, or 0.136 g/km. While that might not be all that bad, if automakers were granted the 2.75 conformity factor, new diesels from 2017 wouldn't even be eligible for today's Euro 5 classification, AE claims. Far and away the most astonishing thing here though, is the way the ACEA is viewing the VW diesel scandal. According to AE, the EU insider said automakers across the pond think there's "a US conspiracy against European diesels." Yep. Volkswagen installed software on millions of vehicles to cheat emissions tests and it's somehow an American conspiracy. That makes loads of sense. To put it simply, automakers don't think their diesels will be able to hit European standards, so they're asking for a break. Whether European legislators go along with it remains to be seen. Related Video: