Fans of three pedals should shift their attention away from Audi showrooms for the 2019 model year. The automaker issued a statement on Friday that in response to weak demand it will no longer offer a manual transmission model in its U.S.-market lineup beginning next year. Audi also confirmed that it will pull the no-cost 6-speed manual option from its A4 …
Volkswagen’s Latest Pop-Top Camper Van Has Everything, including the Kitchen Sink
For those avid voyagers who think that the regular Volkswagen California camper van isn’t enough for their needs, there’s a new, even bigger VW pop-top called the Grand California. Based on the larger Crafter commercial van rather than the smaller Transporter, this bigger van is for those who want to live a larger van life. Bigger inside in nearly every dimension, the …
Audi’s latest infotainment system is a smarter driving companion
Audi is bringing in major updates to their MMI infotainment system. The new infotainment system, called MMI Touch Response, has done away with the rotary dial found on the previous version; there are now two displays instead of one. The top 10.1-inch main screen handles navigation, media and most of the car’s settings and the new, smaller 8.6-inch display takes care …
VW and Renault promise electric car sharing services
Automaker-run EV sharing services are still novelties now, but they could be plentiful before long. Both Volkswagen and Renault have announced plans for electric car sharing services in a bid to promote sustainable mobility. Volvo and Porsche already have subscription services available. BMW and Mercedes also work with outside companies to provide car sharing services in select cities. VW’s We platform will offer on-demand EVs …
Daimler ordered to recall over 200k cars amid diesel cheating allegations
Germany’s transport minister says the government is ordering automaker Daimler to immediately recall 238,000 vehicles equipped with software that turns off emissions controls under certain conditions. German weekly Bild am Sonntag said up to 1 million cars contained software to cheat emissions tests on diesel vehicles. Car makers use software to manage exhaust emissions filtering and engine performance. A device can …
Dodge’s 840-horsepower Challenger SRT Demon roars off into the sunset
The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon took the world by storm with its 840-horsepower Hemi V8. But the Demon was never intended to be more than a limited edition car on the lineup, and now the last one has rolled off the assembly line. The last Demon will be auctioned off with the last Dodge Viper in a promotion appropriately named The Ultimate Last …
Ford Announces End of Fusion, Taurus, C-Max to Focus on SUV’s and Trucks
Just two years from now, a mere 10 percent of the vehicles rolling off Ford assembly lines and into North American showrooms will be sedans and sports cars like the Focus or Mustang. The rest will be pickups, SUVs and commercial vehicles — more lucrative models that the company hopes will secure its future as change tears through the global auto industry. …
Now California’s DMV can allow fully driverless car testing
Automakers can now start testing fully driverless cars on California’s roads, despite recent crashes in California and Arizona involving autonomous driving technology. According to the state DMV’s new regulations that became effective on April 2nd, it can now issue three types of autonomous vehicle testing permits. The first kind is the original one it approved years ago, which needs a driver behind the wheel, …
FordPass dongle adds LTE, WiFi and app control to older cars
One aftermarket solution that makes older cars a little bit smarter is a dongle that plugs into the car’s onboard diagnostics, or OBD, port. Last January, Ford introduced a new gadget it would test in a pilot program that added connected functionality to older cars, the SmartLink. It functions as a 4G WiFi hotspot, adds an LTE hot spot, gives the driver access to information …
Hyundai’s Kona Electric SUV boasts a 292-mile range
Hyundai’s newly bolstered EV strategy might be off to a good start. It just unveiled the Kona Electric, an adaptation of its crossover SUV that promises to combine both ample space with meaningful performance. The less expensive variant will pack a 133-horsepower, 291-pound-foot electric motor mated to a 39.2-kWh lithium ion battery, which Hyundai estimates will provide for 186 miles of range by European measurements …