1973 Volkswagen Thing on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Top Gear names BMW i8 Car of the Year, Corvette, Ferrari, Mercedes also win big

The lads at Top Gear have released their listing of the finest cars of the past year, handing the ultimate honor to BMW's revolutionary i8 plug-in-hybrid supercar. "The i8 is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers - and then some," the British mag wrote. The i8, though, was far from the only hybridized car to take victories. James May and Richard Hammond both highlighted hybrids as their personal cars of the year, with May saluting the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Hamster, unsurprisingly, heaping praise on the Porsche 918 Spyder. Jeremy Clarkson, meanwhile, opted to shock many by selecting not only an American car as his best of 2014, but giving the honor to of all things, a Corvette. Clarkson wasn't the only person to honor the USA's iconic sports car, with the new, 650-horsepower Z06 variant being named TG's Muscle Car of the Year. Other big winners include Mercedes-Benz, which TG honored for S-Class Coupe (Luxury Car of the Year), the new AMG GT (Sports Car of the Year) and the not-for-US C-Class Estate (Family Car of the Year). The 458 Italia Speciale A snagged a second win for Ferrari. The best of the rest include the Citroen C4 Cactus, Renault Twingo, Volkswagen Golf R, Lamborghini Huracan and Audi TT. Take a look below for the celebratory press blast from BMW. The BMW i8 wins Top Gear Car of the Year The BMW i8 has been named as Top Gear magazine's global Car of the Year 2014. The plug-in hybrid performance vehicle beat off some stiff competition from a host of other premium and luxury manufacturers to win the overall award. The editorial team of Top Gear commended the BMW i8 for its breadth of abilities. Its 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine combined with an electric motor gives searing acceleration and driver enjoyment but all wrapped in a package that takes BMW's EfficientDynamics philosophy to the extreme courtesy of CO2 emissions less than 49g/km and a 135mpg combined cycle figure. Charlie Turner, Editor in Chief at Top Gear magazine, said: "The BMW is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers – and then some. It's the kind of car we should celebrate, a beautiful vision of the future, delivered now.

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:

Last VW bus ever made arrives at final destination

A Brazilian politician tried to save it, unsuccessfully, so the final Last Edition Volkswagen Type 2 Kombi was produced on December 20, 2013 and now resides in a vintage museum at Volkswagen's Commercial Vehicles HQ in Hanover, Germany.
The Volkswagen Microbus was built for 56 years, starting in September 1957. Brazil was the last country still assembling it, but new safety regulations in the country requiring airbags and ABS on all cars spelled the end. When that politician introduced a bill that would pardon only the 'Bus from a death sentence, it couldn't garner the required number of votes for passage. The South American country takes the Kombi production title, though, with 1.5 million of the 3.5 million total made in the home of Copacabana beach and the girl from Ipanema.
The VW Bus is dead. Now perhaps we can turn our attentions to the still-not-totally-settled matter of the Bulli...