VW’s dieselgate fix for US cars is ‘far more effective’ than its European one

The car giant is applying an effective - but expensive - change to US vehicles, while tests suggest that the cheaper European software fix makes only a small difference to emissions read more »

VW storing around 300,000 diesels at 37 facilities around U.S.

Volkswagen has taken parking lots to a whole new level in the United States - and will not be emptying them soon.

Volkswagen AG has paid more than $7.4 billion to buy back about 350,000 U.S. diesel vehicles through mid-February, a recent court filing shows. The German automaker has been storing hundreds of thousands of vehicles around the United States for months.

Volkswagen has 37 secure storage facilities around the United States housing nearly 300,000 vehicles, the filing from the program’s independent administrator said. The lots include a shuttered suburban Detroit football stadium, a former Minnesota paper mill and a sun-bleached desert graveyard near Victorville, California. read more »

As Uber death is investigated, its chief faces a crossroads on driverless tech

When Dara Khosrowshahi took over as Uber's chief executive last August, he faced a pile of festering problems. Near the top: The company's troubled driverless-car program, then embroiled in a major lawsuit over trade-secrets theft with arch-foe Waymo, and suffering after a series of defections by top engineers.

He had three options: find outside partners for joint development of driverless technology; drop the internal program altogether and buy the technology off the shelf; or continue to go it alone. Khosrowshahi chose the solo route. read more »

How Volkswagen Walked Away From a Near-Fatal Crash

As the world’s largest automaker, Volkswagen in some ways better resembles an army or a country than a mere corporation. Its flagship factory in Wolfsburg, Germany—a city built from scratch by the Nazis for the express purpose of manufacturing vast numbers of automobiles—spreads over an expanse the size of Monaco and produces more than 3,000 vehicles every day. It is electrified by not one but two Volkswagen coal plants. It is fed by a 3,400-person Volkswagen catering brigade and a sausage-making operation so comprehensive it sells to supermarkets. Here and at more than 100 other factories worldwide, the company’s 12 brands make 355 models in millions of color and trim combinations, employing more than 600,000 people who generate $284 billion in annual revenue.

It’s hard to imagine that such a robust corporate edifice could ever be at risk of collapse, as it was less than three years ago, when Volkswagen AG was consumed by one of the largest scandals in automotive history. The revelation of a systematic effort to cheat on emissions tests—employees wrote software that made diesel cars appear cleaner than they were—brought the company to its knees, ended the career of its long-standing chief executive officer, and shattered a 70-year reputation for engineering-led competence. read more »

Tesla issues its largest recall ever voluntarily over faulty Model S steering

Tesla said Thursday it was recalling a huge number of its Model S sedans around the world over a power steering issue. It told customers in an email that it was a proactive move and none of the company’s other vehicles were affected. read more »