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Skoda launching two new CNG-powered vehicles in Europe in June

Skoda's second- and third-ever production compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles aren't exactly speed burners, but they are efficient. The Czech automaker, which is owned by Volkswagen, will introduce its Octavia G-TEC and Octavia Combi G-TEC models to most of Europe next month. Skoda's first CNG model was the Citigo, which debuted in 2012. The Octavia models will have a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine that will deliver about 109 horsepower. Quickness isn't these cars' virtue, as their 0-60 mile per hour acceleration time will be almost 11 seconds. But they can go as far as 826 miles on their tanks of gas and CNG, enough to go from Prague to Rome in one shot, in case anyone was curious. Or nuts. The move by Skoda makes sense, as the CNG market in Europe has long been far further along than it is on this side of the pond, where CNG has primarily been used to move delivery trucks, but it's now available in pickups form Chrysler, Ford and General Motors as well as passenger cars from Chevy and Honda. The Skoda Citigo has moved almost 2,000 units since its debut, with 1,300 vehicles sold last year alone. That car can go as far as 385 miles on CNG and gasoline combined, which is impressive but not quite as bladder busting as the Octavia models. Check out Skoda's press release below. SKODA continues its CNG offensive with the new SKODA Octavia G-TEC Launch of the new SKODA Octavia G-TEC and new Octavia Combi G-TEC in June First SKODA Octavia with natural gas drive as standard; 97 g CO2/km High-performance technology: bivalent turbo engine 1.4 TSI/81 kW The ultimate in fuel economy: up to 1,330 km with natural gas and petrol SKODA Citigo G-TEC has enjoyed market success since 2012; only 79 g CO2/km Natural gas is the environmentally-friendly, cost-effective alternative Mlada Boleslav, 19 May 2014 – Expanding its environmentally-friendly model range, SKODA is renewing its emphasis on compressed natural gas vehicles. The new SKODA Octavia G-TEC and the new SKODA Octavia Combi G-TEC will be given their market premiere in June. This will increase the brand's CNG range to three models. Since the end of 2012, the little natural gas-drive Citigo has been successfully touring the European markets. "With the new Octavia G-TEC and the Octavia Combi G-TEC, our model range is becoming even more environmentally-friendly," says Dr Frank Welsch, SKODA Board Member for Technical Development.

Brand new cars are being sold with defective Takata airbags

If you just bought a 2016 Audi TT, 2017 Audi R8, 2016–17 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, or 2016 Volkswagen CC, we have some unsettling news for you. A report provided to a US Senate committee that oversees the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reported on by Automotive News claims these vehicles were sold with defective Takata airbags. And it gets worse. Toyota and FCA are called out in the report for continuing to build vehicles that will need to be recalled down the line for the same issue. That's not all. The report also states that of the airbags that have been replaced already in the Takata recall campaign, 2.1 million will need to eventually be replaced again. They don't have the drying agent that prevents the degradation of the ammonium nitrate, which can lead to explosions that can destroy the airbag housing and propel metal fragments at occupants. So these airbags are out there already. We're not done yet. There's also a stockpile of about 580,000 airbags waiting to be installed in cars coming in to have their defective airbags replaced. These 580k airbags also don't have the drying agent. They'll need to be replaced down the road, too. A new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time. If all this has you spinning around in a frustrated, agitated mess, there's a silver lining that is better than it sounds. So take a breath, run your fingers through your hair, and read on. Our best evidence right now demonstrates that defective Takata airbags – those without the drying agent that prevents humidity from degrading the ammonium nitrate propellant – aren't dangerous yet. It takes a long period of time combined with high humidity for them to reach the point where they can rupture their housing and cause serious injury. It's a matter of years, not days. So a new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time – and six years seems to be about as early as the degradation happens in the worst possible scenario. All this is small comfort for the millions of people who just realized their brand-new car has a time bomb installed in the wheel or dashboard, or the owners who waited patiently to have their airbags replaced only to discover that the new airbag is probably defective in the same way (although newer and safer!) as the old one.

The best cars we drove this year

Six hundred and fifty. That's roughly how many cars pass through the hands of Autoblog editors every year, from the vehicles we test here at home, to the cars we drive on new product launches, testing roundups, long-term cars, and so on. Of course, our individual numbers vary due to several reasons, but at the end of the day, our team's repertoire of automotive experience is indeed vast. But let's be honest, some cars certainly stand out more than others. So as the year's about to turn, and as we're readying brand-new daily cat calendars for our cubicles, our editors are all taking time to reflect on the machinery that made this year so special, with one simple, open-ended question as the guide – a question that we're asked quite frequently, from friends, family, colleagues, and more. "What's the best car you drove this year?" Lamborghini Huracan When I review the list of everything I drove in 2014, picking an absolute favorite becomes almost impossible. I mean, how does one delineate between the joy offered by cars as different as the Alfa Romeo 4C, Volkswagen Golf R, Mercedes-AMG GT S and even the humble-yet-wonderful Chevy Colorado? Okay fine, I'll just pick the Lamborghini. I drove the Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 on a racetrack, in the mountains, and along southern coast of Spain. It felt like the king of the car jungle in all of those places, sucking the eyeballs of observers nearly out of their heads as it drove by, and almost melting my brain with its cocktail of speed and grip and intense communication. It feels a little easy to say that the one new supercar I drove this year was also my favorite, but the fact is that the Huracan is one of the finest cars I've driven during my career, let alone 2014. Judge me if you must. – Seyth Miersma Senior Editor Rolls-Royce Wraith There are a couple of ways to look at the question, "What's the best car you drove this year?" In terms of what was so good I'd go out and buy one tomorrow, that'd be my all-time sweetheart, the Volkswagen GTI. Or if I'm just talking about sheer cool-factor, maybe something like the Galpin GTR1, BMW i8, or Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG. But instead, I'm going to write about the sheer opulence of being the best of the best. The hand-crafted, holier-than-thou, shut-your-mouth-when-I'm-talking-to-you supremacy. I'm picking the Rolls-Royce Wraith. I drove the Wraith for a week in April, and was really, really impressed. This car does everything, perfectly.