German Car Cartel Triggers Rat-Out-Race Between Daimler, Volkswagen And BMW

One of the aims of the German car-cartel that became public over the weekend was to avoid “an arms race” of AdBlue tank sizes. Strangely, it turned into a race for who rats out whom first. According to a report in the usually well-informed Sueddeustche Zeitung [German], Daimler was first in coming clean with Germany’s and Europe’s cartel watchdogs, and it could avoid a multi-billion fine. Volkswagen came in second, and could get a 50% rebate on the punishment. BMW, one of the least suspicious in the dieselgate scandal, is kept holding the bag.

In case you haven’t been following the developing story, it became known last Saturday that dieselgate grew out of a cartel of Germany’s Big Five automakers, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, BMW, Daimler. For two decades, said reports in Spiegel Magazin and Germany’s Handelsblatt financial paper, secret working groups hashed out and decided the most important details of the auto business, including the inadequate size of the AdBlue tanks that could not adequately feed their diesel cars’ exhaust treatment. read more »

U.S. regulators to approve fix for more than 300,000 VW diesels –sources

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board will approve later on Thursday a fix for more than 300,000 older Volkswagen AG diesel cars, two people briefed on the matter said. The fix will include hardware and software upgrades, but will reduce vehicle fuel economy ratings by as much as 2 miles per gallon, said the persons, who could not speak for attribution because the decision was not yet public. read more »

Ford Recalls 117,000 Vehicles Over Possible Seatbelt Defect

Seatbelts can prove to be a literal lifesaver in the event of a crash, but they have to work properly for that to happen. For this reason, Ford is recalling nearly 117,000 trucks and SUVs.

Ford announced Wednesday the recall of 116,796 model year 2015 F-150 trucks and E-series, model year 2014 to 2015 Escape SUVs, and 2015 Lincoln MKC vehicles that may contain defective setback, seatbelt or seatbelt buckles.

According to Ford, improperly tempered bolts used to attach the seatback, seatbelt, or seatbelt buckle could fracture. If this happens, the structural integrity of the seat or the seatbelt system could be compromised. read more »

Volkswagen Executive to Plead Guilty in Diesel Emissions Case

A Volkswagen executive accused of helping to cover up the automaker’s diesel emissions fraud has agreed to plead guilty in federal court next week, a development that could bolster the Justice Department’s efforts to prosecute individuals involved in the scandal.

On Tuesday, lawyers for the executive, Oliver Schmidt, a German who was arrested in Miami in January, told a judge for the Eastern District of Michigan that their client had decided to enter a guilty plea at a hearing scheduled for Aug. 4.

Mr. Schmidt, 48, former head of Volkswagen’s environmental and engineering center in Auburn Hills, Mich., has been accused of knowingly providing false information to American regulators who became suspicious about the emissions of Volkswagen diesel vehicles in early 2014.

The following year, Volkswagen admitted that it had rigged diesel models with software — known as a defeat device — that enabled the vehicles to pass emissions tests even though the vehicles were spewing far more pollutants outside testing labs. More than 11 million cars worldwide were equipped with the software, including 600,000 in the United States. read more »

The U.K. Is Banning These Vehicles By 2040

The U.K. government plans to raise pollution taxes and commit to a ban on all new diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles by 2040 as part of a wide-ranging plan to rein in emissions and improve air quality.

The pollution taxes, which would affect drivers on 81 major roads in 17 towns and cities, come in response to a failure to meet European Union emissions standards, the Telegraph reported Tuesday. The government recently lost a lawsuit filed by ClientEarth over breaches of E.U. emissions standards.

Under the plan, local governments with particularly congested roads and poor air quality would take immediate action to remedy the problem through various efforts including changing road layouts, improving public transport, and retrofitting buses to emit lower emissions. read more »

As Emissions Scandal Widens, Diesel’s Future Looks Shaky in Europe

The latest victims of noxious diesel fumes may be the fuel technology itself.

A consumer rebellion against diesel — once the fuel of choice in Europe — is gathering momentum after the region’s antitrust authorities said this week that they were looking into accusations that German carmakers secretly agreed to cut corners on pollution equipment.

A swell of forces that started with the Volkswagen emissions scandal is now engulfing the industry, putting the future of diesel in doubt and, with it, a technology crucial to European automaking. Public opinion is turning as consumers become aware of the health hazards. Sales of diesel vehicles are in free fall. Cities are contemplating outright bans. And government scrutiny is building, with elected officials realizing that diesel has become a political liability.

“The tide has been turning against diesel for some time,” said Peter Wells, a professor at Cardiff Business School in Wales who follows the auto industry. “This will make matters even worse.”

For carmakers, diesel is not just another option that has gone out of style, like tape players or fog lights. Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and others spent decades persuading European buyers that diesel was not only more economical than gasoline, but also more environmentally friendly.

They succeeded. Until recently, diesel accounted for more than half of cars sold in Europe, in contrast to the United States and Asian countries, where diesel has only a sliver of the market. Politicians, especially in Germany, helped by passing legislation that ensured diesel was cheaper at the pump than gasoline. read more »

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