1999 Volkswagon Winnebago Eurovan Camper - No Reserve on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Editors' Picks August 2021 | Honda Civic, Mercedes S-Class and more

This month of Editors' Picks saw us award the honor to a couple of redesigned stalwarts like the Honda Civic and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Plus, a new crossover that splits the difference between the compact and subcompact class takes home the prize. On top of this, we'll introduce you to a new term: midcompact. We'll be using this to describe those in-between crossovers that are a tad too small to be considered compact, but too large to neatly fit into the subcompact class. For a few examples of these "midcompact" cars, we'll point you to the Ford Bronco Sport, Kia Seltos and VW Seltos. In case you missed our previous Editors' Picks posts, here’s a quick refresher on whatÂ’s going on here. We rate all the new cars we drive with a 1-10 score. Cars that are exemplary in their respective segments get EditorsÂ’ Pick status. Those are the ones weÂ’d recommend to our friends, family and anybody whoÂ’s curious and asks the question. The list that youÂ’ll find below consists of every car we rated in August that earned an EditorsÂ’ Pick. 2021 Genesis G70 2022 Genesis G70 View 26 Photos Quick take: Genesis hits all the right buttons with its G70. It's attractive, fun to drive and can be had for a fair price. Enthusiasts should give it a shot before taking home one of its German competitors. Score: 8 What it competes with: Alfa Romeo Giulia, Lexus IS, Acura TLX, Infiniti Q50, Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Cadillac CT4, Volvo S60 Pros: Sharp handler, stunning exterior looks, strong engines Cons: Average interior, loses manual option, small backseat and trunk From the editors: News Editor Joel Stocksdale — "I was already a big fan of the Genesis G70. It has brilliant handling, and the twin-turbo V6 is a beast. It's even a bargain against the competition. And Genesis just made it look a lot better. I wish they'd done a bit more to update the interior, but it's still not a bad cabin. Besides, you won't think too much about it when you're hustling down a fun back road." Features Editor James Riswick — "Yes, it is small, but in a sport sedan segment where "sport" means increasingly less, the G70 still delivers (in part because of that smallness).

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

EU formally questions French government assistance of Peugeot's finance arm

Recently, the finance arm of PSA/Peugeot-Citroën was in such debt trouble that it was pricing itself out of the car loan market. The rates it was paying to service its debt, which was rated one step above junk, were so high that it was forced to charge car-buying customers higher rates than they could find elsewhere. This was adding to Peugeot's already impressive woes by sending revenue out the door to competitors.
Two months ago a deal was worked out with the French government whereby the state would provide 7 billion euro ($9 billion USD) in bonds to guarantee the finance arm's loans. The French government could nominate someone to join the Peugeot board, Peugeot would guarantee more French jobs, and on top of that deal, other banks would provide non-guaranteed loans. The government would take no equity stake in the car company.
Although not yet finalized, the arrangement is meant to create some breathing room for Peugeot Finance to lower its interest rates for customers, and a government-nominated board member, Louis Gallois, was recently named to Peugeot's supervisory board. The arrangement was also openly questioned by at least three competitors: Ford, Renault - which is 15-percent owned by the French government after it received state aid - and the German state of Lower Saxony, itself a 15-percent shareholder in Volkswagen.