Daily Archives: June 21, 2018
Was the Audi Chief Sacked Because Of Emissions Cheating Scandal?
Audi’s chief executive Rupert Stadler stepped down from the management boards of Audi and its parent company, Volkswagen, amid investigations into the emissions cheating scandal that rocked the German company.
Volkswagen’s supervisory board did not suspend Stadler, the company emphasized, but the chief executive asked to step down until allegations against him are clarified. The company held a six-hour meeting on Monday when he was also detained by German prosecutors because he might influence witnesses in the ongoing fraud investigation.
Stadler, 55, is the highest-ranking Volkswagen executive to be arrested in connection to the costly diesel emissions scandal that first went public back in 2015. Last week, the German automaker was asked to pay 1 billion Euros, which Volkswagen did not dispute to show that it is taking responsibility for what happened.
Stadler and some other 19 current or former Audi employees are being investigated for tampering and installing a cheating software in 240,000 diesel cars sold in the United States and Europe. The cars were supposedly installed with a cheating software that would lower emissions only during the test. It would not work during normal car operations.
In a statement, Audi said that it agreed to suspend Stadler “until the circumstances that led to his arrest have been clarified.” He would be considered innocent until proven guilty.
The emissions scandal brought Volkswagen’s shares plunging, and it crushed the confidence of investors, consumers, and regulators in diesel technology. Since the scandal broke, it has already cost Volkswagen more than $30 billion in recalls, penalties, and settlements.
Although the German automaker changed its management and put a major investment in electric cars, it continued to struggle to move away from the issue.
Abraham Schot, Audi Board Member and Sales Chief, was named interim CEO while Stadler remains suspended, according to the statement from Volkswagen. Schot joined the VW Group from Mercedes-Benz Italia back in 2011. He joined the Audi board in September 2017 and is believed to be untainted by the scandal.
Top 4 Facts About The 2019 Volvo S60
After much speculations, the all-new 2019 Volvo S60 finally made its debut at the company’s new plant in Charleston, South Carolina. This is the first time that a vehicle under Volvo’s name will be made on the American soil.
The four-door sedan will also be the first offering from Volvo that doesn’t have a diesel powertrain option and the first to feature electric performance upgrades tuned by Polestar, Volvo’s in-house performance packages experts.
1. Exterior
The S60 segment first made its debut in 2011 and though the first-generation car was sleek and elegant, that is nothing compared to the sporty and more stylish look of the new S60.
For one, it also features “Thor’s hammer.” It has a more conservative design language than other segments in Volvo’s full lineup, and it can be traced in the flow of the body to the rear end, where it has deeper stamps and creases to lower the weight of the car. It doesn’t have the long trunk of the S90, but the style more than made up for it. At the rear end, the Volvo badge was moved from between the taillights to under the rear (compared to the S90).
2. Interior
The S60 has the Sensus, a tablet-style touchscreen found in the XC60 crossover SUV and the V60 wagon. It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. All the sedans in the lineup have the standard active safety features such as the forward-collision warnings with automatic emergency braking, pedestrian, bicyclist and large animal detection.
The S60 is longer with two more inches of rear seat legroom, which is same as the larger V60. The wheelbase is measured at 113 inches with 18 inches of wheels.
3. Powertrain
There are three powertrains available for the S60. There’s the T5 that has a front-wheel-drive system and 2.0-liter turbo-4 that produces 250 horsepower, the T6 with the turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-liter inline-4 that gives out 316 horsepower, and the T8, a twin-engine 2.0-liter inline-4 that’s paired to a rear electric motor that can churn out 400 horses.
4. Prices
The base model, the T5 Momentum version, is priced at $36,795. The top-of-the-line trim can cost as much as $56,000.
TheS60 will be available to order through Care By Volvo. Dealers will have them in showrooms by September.
Top 3 Fuel-Efficient SUV Crossovers Under $25,000
The average price of SUVs in the U.S. is above $30,000, but there are still a few well-equipped and fuel-efficient SUV crossovers that are below $25,000. Most of the vehicles are equipped with an automatic transmission coupled with good crash safety scores and spacious cargo capacities.
2018 Subaru Crosstrek Premium 2.0i AWD: $24,854
The mid-level Premium trim has 17-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, roof rails, heated front seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with orange stitching, automatic headlights, a 6.5-inch touchscreen, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay. Standard to the trim level is an all-wheel drive, though the Premium comes with an off-road and hill-descent control. The Crosstek is rated 27/33 mpg city/highway and it has a 55.3 cubic feet of cargo capacity.
2018 Honda HR-V EX AWD: $24,915
The mid-level EX trim is an all-wheel drive that includes 17-inch alloy wheels, a moonroof, heated front seats, automatic climate control, a proximity key with push-start ignition, LaneWatch (a rear-facing camera mounted on the passenger side-view mirror), a 7.0-inch touchscreen, and Pandora compatibility. It has a rating of 27/31 mpg (28/34 mpg with front-wheel drive) and 55.9 cubic feet of maximum cargo room.
2018 Nissan Kicks SR FWD: $24,630
The Kicks has a top SR trim that includes 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights, roof rails, a 7.0-inch instrument cluster display, a proximity key with push-start ignition, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a 7.0-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and SiriusXM satellite radio. The Kicks is particularly special because the automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross traffic alert come as standard. These are usually not available in other SUV trims at this price range. The subcompact crossover has a rating of 31/36 mpg and can haul a total of 32.3 cubic feet of cargo.
If you want something bigger, you can opt for the base model or the entry-level model of the same segment but one size up. The Honda CR-V, for example, has a cargo space of 75.8 cubic feet. The base model is priced at just $25,245.
