2014 Volkswagen Jetta Se on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Are more diesel scandals about to erupt?

More automakers may soon be embroiled, like Volkswagen, in diesel emissions scandals. According to the Daily Kanban, either the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) or the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) will soon announce from 10 to 15 more cases of automakers cheating national diesel emissions rules. The outlet says three of the incidents are attributed to Opel. Studies conducted by the DUH, the University of Applied Sciences in Bern, Switzerland, and the UK's Leeds University found that Opel's diesel Zafira, Corsa, and Vectra models emit more NOx than European regulations allow when tested in ways that go beyond the European testing protocol, such as when done on a four-wheel rolling road instead of a two-wheel rolling road. Opel said the accusations had no merit. Specifically on the Zafira, the DUH asked Opel about the emissions findings, and Opel said that no General Motors software contains any measures to enable cheating. Opel then tested a Zafira of its own "both on a two- and a four-wheel roller dynamometer," finding that "The emission behavior determined in each case does not differ from one another." That makes this a case of he-said-she-said for the moment. The Daily Kanban's sources say the cheating methods "range from the crude to the highly sophisticated," with those at the latter end complex enough to render Volkswagen's methods "pedestrian." As for any automakers who might be named, the matter of real-world emissions exceeding a legal limit doesn't mean a carmaker has designed systems that cheat, it might mean the company designed the car to pass a test. Related Video: News Source: Daily KanbanImage Credit: PATRICK PLEUL/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Green Volkswagen Opel Emissions Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal icct

Skoda Octavia vRS is just the thing for your pumped-up neighborhood

Skoda, oh Skoda. You're just so cool. Maybe it's the fact that it's a brand that we don't get in these United States, but Skoda's rebadged Volkswagens, in particular the new Octavia vRS shown here, are just different enough from the hum-drum VWs on our shores that the Czech brand seems strangely desirable. Maybe we're just craving forbidden fruit.
This short, minute-long spot covers the new vRS in a world of excess, where strollers ride on 26-inch wheels, lawnmowers feature V8 engines and ice cream cones are the size of toddlers. As things often go in these ads, the Octavia vRS draws the eyes of passerby that are seemingly use to things far more ridiculous than a reasonably priced Czech sedan. In reality, the Octavia should be fairly familiar to American buyers. It uses the same 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-pot found in the Volkswagen GTI and Jetta GLI, with 217 horsepower, and sits on the same platform as the Audi A3 and Volkswagen Golf. Take a look at the full spot, below.

Autoblog Podcast #370

Episode #370 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Michael Harley and Craig Fitzgerald of BangShift and Boldride talk about the 2015 Jeep Renegade, the Consumer Reports list of Cars to Avoid, and the Geneva Motor Show, which opened today. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #370: Topics: 2015 Jeep Renegade Worst Cars of 2014 Geneva Motor Show preview In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Volkswagen Jetta SE 2014 SRT Viper 2015 Subaru WRX Hosts: Dan Roth, Michael Harley Guests: Craig Fitzgerald Runtime: 01:28:37 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Jeep Renegade - 27:28 Cars to Avoid - 41:46 Geneva Motor Show - 59:54 Q&A - 01:11:04 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Geneva Motor Show Jeep Subaru Volkswagen Concept Cars worst cars