The German press is reporting that a file (dossier) of research data in the Dieselgate (or what the Germans call Abgas-Affäre) investigation has been stolen from the prosecutors office. The Public Prosecutor is investigating this theft, which is disturbing even though it’s described as more of an annoyance because the file only…
General Motors and LG Corp announced today what they describe as an “unprecedented supplier relationship” in which LG Electronics Vehicle Components will supply most of the components of the Chevy Bolt. Car companies like GM tend to proudly manufacture the majority of car components in their own factories. Indeed, while GM turned to…
My, how the mighty have fallen. Consumer Reports today announced it cannot Recommend the Tesla Model S, despite that car being so utterly excellent that it “broke” CR’s ratings system. That is, Consumer Reports twice did a review of the Tesla Model S which awarded the car the highest ranking of…
We’re now at the electric vehicle adoption stage where people are trying all kinds of crazy things. In this case, a South Africa automotive news site has posted this video giving extremely bad advice for apartment dwellers to charge their electric car. The tactic they recommend, lowering an extension cable out…
Fracking for natural gas (gazelor de sist) is apparently coming back to Romania. During 2013 and 2014, Chevron started exploratory fracking operations in the region of Romania known as Moldova, while facing down intense anti-fracking protests. After several months during which Chevron managed to start drilling, completed an exploratory well, taking…
According to a report published on Wednesday in Der Spiegel, Volkswagen’s Dieselgate scandal was not caused a small handful of people as Volkswagen upper management has claimed. Instead, at least 30 managers responsible were involved in deciding to commit to the Dieselgate fraud, or what Der Spiegel called “Abgasaffäre”. I’ve written…
A draft bill (embedded below) being prepared in the US House Energy and Commerce Committee would increase the penalties for “hacking” cars, and gift automakers with an easy “out” on emissions control regulations. The bill focuses on reforms at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and while it contains a…
Today two different car makers announced expansion of their electric vehicle charging station programs. We applaud any increase in charging station deployments, because there is a crying need to switch to electric drive, and more charging stations is an essential necessary step. However, the charging stations aren’t being deployed for public use, but for…
Tesla Motors is delivering the promised Autopilot mode with an Over-The-Air update scheduled for tomorrow, Oct 15, 2015. Maybe we will look back on October 15 as the first day of the robot dominance of humanity. Maybe this will simply make Tesla’s automobiles that much more attractive, and cement Tesla’s…
There’s more evidence that Volkswagen’s diesel vehicles are just the beginning of faked emissions. A couple weeks ago I’d reported on research from Transport & Environment showing the vast majority of cars sold in Europe give much worse emissions on the road than in the lab. Now, the Guardian has…
Today Volkswagen made the announcement we wanted them to make that will eminently resolve the whole Dieselgate problem. In all the reams of material I’ve written about Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal, Dieselgate, the risk to VW’s electric vehicle plans have been screaming in the back of my mind. Will VW be…
On Sept 18, 2015, the EPA and CARB jointly announced the Volkswagen Group had been caught cheating on emissions tests with its 2.0 liter TDI Diesel cars. The fraud had been perpetrated over a 6 year period during which the cars in question had been lauded as ultra-clean wonder cars.…
Where within Volkswagen was the decision made to cheat on emissions tests? Earlier I’d reported on statements by Volkswagen’s supervisory board suggesting that the top management was not responsible, and that instead pointed fingers at engineers within the company. Upon Winterkorn’s resignation (the previous CEO), the supervisory board explicitly…
In July, the EPA officially opposed proposed copyright rules which would have made it easier for independent researchers to catch Volkswagen’s emissions cheating. Last month, the EPA and CARB accused Volkswagen of cheating on emissions tests by programming VW and Audi 2.0 liter TDI Diesel cars to detect when they’re…
Another open question in the Volkswagen Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal is – Why wasn’t Volkswagen’s fraud caught earlier? We’ve been told the cheating began with VW’s 2009 model year 2.0 Liter TDI Diesel cars, the ones fitted with the EA 189 engine. The cheating was not verified until early September 2015.…
