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2015 VW e-Golf gets cheaper Limited Editon, starts at $33,450*

Typically when an automaker announces a new limited edition of one of its models, it comes at a premium. Maybe the extra cost turns out to be worth it due to bundled options, but there's almost always a cost. But not with the new Volkswagen e-Golf Limited Edition. For this model, VW has gone the opposite direction by cutting equipment out of the electric hatchback and charging less for it. Compared to the SEL Premium model, the Limited Edition of the e-Golf drops the alloys in favor of 16-inch steel wheels, halogen headlights in place of LEDs, cloth upholstery instead of leatherette, and drops the heat-pump system. As a result, the e-Golf costs $2,000 less, priced at $33,450 (*before delivery) and available to lease for $229 per month. For that, you still get the electric motor with 199 pound-feet of torque, 24.2 kWh lithium-ion battery and 7.2 kW onboard charger and class-leading energy consumption. VOLKSWAGEN ANNOUNCES A NEW TRIM LINE FOR THE FULLY-ELECTRIC 2015 e-GOLF - e-Golf Limited Edition model goes on sale with a starting price of $33,450 - Drivetrain consists of 24.2 kWh lithium-ion battery and an electric motor with 199 pound-feet of torque; 7.2 kW onboard charger is standard - Standard fast charging capability allows up to 80 percent battery charge in 30 minutes - EPA estimated fuel economy rating of 116 combined MPGe puts e-Golf at top of the 2015 EPA Compact Size Class - A great value, with a host of features that include KESSY® Keyless access with push-button start, navigation system, LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL) with C-shaped light signature, and more Herndon, VA – Volkswagen of America, Inc., today, announced that a lower-priced version of the fully-electric 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf will go on sale at participating dealerships. The 2015 e-Golf Limited Edition is priced nearly $2,000 less than its SEL counterpart at $33,450, without compromising performance, quality, or versatility. The e-Golf Limited Edition is also available at a monthly lease price of $229, plus applicable fees. The e-Golf Limited Edition is built on the same sporty Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform as the rest of the award-winning Golf family. It is powered by a compact electric motor and a 24.2 kWh lithium-ion battery (built in-house at the Volkswagen facility in Braunschweig, Germany), and offers 115 horsepower and class-leading torque of 199 pound feet.

Ford Mustang Mach-E fails Sweden's moose test

The infamous moose test has claimed another casualty. This time it's the Ford Mustang Mach-E AWD Long Range, which was tested in an electric four-way alongside the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Skoda Enyaq iV (an electric utility vehicle closely related to the Volkswagen ID.4 that is sold in the United States). According to the Swedish testers at Teknikens Varld, Ford's electric car not only failed to hit the speed necessary for a passing grade, it didn't perform well at slower speeds, either. To pass the outlet's moose test, a car has to complete a rapid left-right-straight S-shaped pattern marked by cones at a speed of at least 72 km/h (44.7 miles per hour). The test is designed to mimic the type of avoidance maneuver a driver would have to take in order to avoid hitting something that wandered into the road, which in Sweden may be a moose but could just as easily be a deer or some other member of the animal kingdom elsewhere in the world, or possibly a child or car backing into the motorway. Not only is the maneuver very aggressive, it's also performed with weights belted into each seat and more weight added to the cargo area to hit the vehicle's maximum allowable carrying capacity. The Mustang Mach-E only managed to complete the moose test at 68 km/h (42.3 mph), well below the passing-grade threshold. Even at much lower speeds, Teknikens Varld says the Mach-E (which boasts the highest carrying capacity and was therefore loaded with more weight than the rest of the vehicles tested in this quartet) is "too soft in the chassis" and suffers from "too slow steering." Proving that it is indeed possible to pass the test, the Hyundai and Skoda completed the maneuver at the 44.7-mph figure required for a passing grade and the Tesla did it at 46.6 mph, albeit with less weight in the cargo area. It's not clear whether other versions of the Mustang Mach-E would pass the test. It's also unknown if Ford will make any changes to its chassis tuning or electronic stability control software, as some other automakers have done after a poor performance from Teknikens Varld, to improve its performance in the moose test. Related video:

VW joins Daimler's protest of new A/C refrigerant as EU deadline for compliance passes

The case of Dupont and Honeywell's refrigerant R-1234yf is doing the exact opposite of keeping things cool. The two chemical companies have spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing R-1234yf to replace R-134a, the new refrigerant shown to be 99.7-percent kinder to the environment than the one it is meant to succeed. Part of that development has been years of testing by governments, outside safety agencies and automakers to approve the chemical for use in cars. It passed the protocols necessary for the European Union to declare that new and significantly revised cars from 2013 onward needed to use R-1234yf, and mandated that every car as of 2017 must use it.
Enter Daimler AG. The automaker created a head-on collision test with a B-Class at their Sindelfingen test track that would lead to the pressurized refrigerant being sprayed on the engine. The result in 20 out of 20 test was that the refrigerant burst into flames as soon as it hit the hot engine, while Daimler says that R-134a does not catch fire in the same test. Another unexpected result of the R-1234yf test was the release of hydrogen flouride, a chemical far more deadly to humans than hydrogen cyanide, emitted in such amounts that it that turned the windshield white as it began to eat into the glass.
Said a Daimler engineer in a Reuters piece, "It was scarcely believable. The most complicated lab tests conducted using the most sensitive measuring instruments around found nothing and all we do is drive a car around a couple of times, open a tiny hole in the refrigerant line and the next thing you know the car is on fire." So Daimler said it wouldn't use the refrigerant, and it recalled the cars it had already shipped with R-1234yf.