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Lamborghini and Bentley may hold off on SUVs so VW can conserve cash

After surveying the European economic scene, Volkswagen may have decided now is not the time to launch utility vehicles with Bentley and Lamborghini badges. Bentley officials say they will continue to push for support for the EXP 9 F and Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelman has said planning for the Urus will continue until VW tells it to stop.
That decision could come on November 23, when VW's board will vote on the company's budget for equipment, factories and vehicles. With VW's sales slowing and the Euro economy slumping further, some industry watchers say the company is more likely to build its cash reserves than to introduce super-expensive luxury SUVs or crossovers.
"Such vehicles are anything but obligatory during a crisis," says Frankfurt-based Equinet AG analyst Tim Schuldt in a new Automotive News Europe story. "Delaying their launch would be no drama but help save costs."

VW going turbo-only in 3 to 4 years

This really was a matter of when, rather than if. Volkswagen will apparently be the first manufacturer to phase out naturally aspirated engines in favor of turbocharging its full slate. VW is kind of responsible for ushering in this push towards small-displacement, turbocharged engines that's taken the industry by storm. When it dropped its direct-injection, 2.0-liter turbo in the 2005 GTI it demonstrated that strapping an iron long to an engine can enhance the powertrain as a whole. VW made fuel economy gains, while also giving a linear, non-laggy turbo experience that it has replicated, model-after-model, to this day.
Speaking with The Detroit News, Volkswagen's executive Vice President of Group Quality, Marc Trahan, told the paper that, "We only have one normally aspirated gas engine, and when we go to the next generation vehicle that it's in, it will be replaced. So three, four years maximum."
Really, it's hard to get teary-eyed about either of these engines going away. VW has access to smaller powerplants that could easily match the performance of the 2.5 five-cylinder and the 3.6 V6, while gobbling up less fuel and providing a better driving experience. What we are sad about is that a similar statement about the extinction of NA engines came from the Vice President of Powertrain Engineering at Ford, Joe Bakaj. We'd certainly get teary-eyed over a world without Ford's excellent 5.0-liter V8.

Recharge Wrap-up: Volkswagen adopts CCS Combo plug, Tesla adds Trip Energy Prediction

Volkswagen plans to use CCS Combo plugs as standard for all future plug-in vehicles. The CCS fast-charging allows cars to charge to 80-percent capacity in as little as 15 minutes for cars like the Cross Coupe GTE. This could be a boon to prospective customers, as studies have found plug-in hybrid drivers plug in more frequently than originally expected. Plug-in drivers seem to want to perform as much driving as possible using electricity alone, and VW's plan to adopt the CCS Combo plug could help drivers achieve that. Read more at Green Car Reports. Tesla's 6.1 Firmware update for the Model S includes a Trip Energy Prediction feature. The new feature takes into account things like elevation, speed and predicted driving behavior to estimate the amount of energy used and how much range will be left in the battery after a route is programmed into the navigation system. It can let the driver know if a round trip can be made, and if the driver will need to charge before heading out. The feature updates itself in realtime throughout the drive as well, responding to how much energy is actually being used. Read a rundown of Trip Energy Prediction at Teslarati. The dates for National Drive Electric Week have been set for Saturday, September 12 through Sunday, September 20, 2015. The grassroots celebration of EVs is organized by Plug In America, The Electric Auto Association and the Sierra Club. "We're revved up for National Drive Electric Week 2015, which will offer the public, the media, and policymakers a great opportunity to come check out many of the 20-plus plug-in vehicles on the market," says Sierra Club EV Initiative Director Gina Coplon-Newfield. Last year, more than 90,000 people participated in 152 cities worldwide. Read more in the press release below. National Drive Electric Week 2015-DATES ARE SET SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan., 20, 2015-Dates have been set for the fifth annual National Drive Electric Week: Sat., Sept. 12 through Sun., Sept. 20, 2015. Events will encompass two weekends to give planners maximum flexibility and consumers plenty of opportunity to attend. "This promises to be an exciting year for plug-in vehicles," said Tom Saxton, Plug In America's chief science officer. "The BMW i3 will be on the road for the first full year, we expect deliveries of the Tesla Model X, an updated Chevy Volt, and greater overall sales growth than we saw last year.