William Maley

I don't think anyone will disagree with this. I'm wondering if Volkswagen will be able to do it quickly.

Ever since Mitsubishi admitted to falsifying fuel economy figures on a number of vehicles in Japan, the automaker has been clear that this didn't extend to other markets. Nissan is double checking this claim. Automotive News reports that Mitsubishi's possible largest shareholder is looking into Mitsubishi's claimed fuel economy numbers in other markets to see if this scandal extended outside Japan. This is part of Nissan's due diligence review before finalizing plans to buy a 34 percent stake in the company. Nissan CFO Joe Peter tells Automotive News that the review hasn't found any skeletons yet, but they aren't finished with the review yet. “That would be an issue that could cause considerable concern,” said Peter when asked about false fuel economy figures outside of Japan. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

Today I learned that eating a lunch with a fair amount of chickpeas will keep you full through most of the day.

Volkswagen's recent shareholder meeting could be best described as discordant as many shareholders spewed venom at various Volkswagen executives - most being laid on Volkswagen AG Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch. Bloomberg reports that shareholders grilled various executives on the handling of the diesel emission scandal. Poetsch received the brunt of the criticism with many shareholders expressing concerns of him overseeing the internal investigation of a mess that began when he was the company's CFO. “You are a conflict of interest personified,” said Markus Dufner, managing director of the German Association of Ethical Shareholders meeting. The meeting also featured shouting, arguing, and shareholders trying to remove Poetsch as the chairman of the meeting (which didn't happen). To be fair to the shareholders, it hasn't been a good week for Volkswagen. On Monday, Reuters learned that German prosecutors were investigating former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn and an unidentified executive on market manipulation before the scandal broke. It was revealed later in the week the unidentified executive was Volkswagen Brand Chief Herbert Diess. Yesterday it was revealed that German financial watchdog Bafin filed a complaint with German prosecutors saying the previous management board should be investigated for how long it took the company to disclose the scandal. So while the fires are dying down on one coast, they are only beginning to heat up on another. Source: Bloomberg, Reuters View full article

After eight months of rumor and speculation, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has made it official; the Dodge Viper will be no more after the 2017 model year. To mark the end of a 25-year life, Dodge has announced five limited edition models. They are as followed, Viper 1:28 Edition ACR: Pays tribute to the current production car lap record (1:28.65) set at Laguna Seca Raceway last October. Comes finished in black with red ACR stripes and a 1:28 Edition exterior sill decal. The Viper's optional extreme aero package and carbon-ceramic brakes come standard. Dodge is planning to build as many as 28 models. Viper GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR: Honors the Viper GTS-R GT2 race car from the late nineties. Painted in Pearl White with Blue Pearl GTS stripes. Comes equipped with the extreme aero package, exterior carbon package, and carbon-ceramic brakes. 100 models are expected to be built. Viper VoooDoo II Edition ACR: Modeled from the 2010 VoooDoo Edition with black exterior and gray stripe and VoooDoo II exterior sill decals. Follows other ACR models with the extreme aero package and carbon-ceramic brakes. 31 models are expected to be produced. Viper Snakeskin Edition GTC: Only special edition model not be based on the ACR trim. Features a Snakeskin Green exterior with a custom snakeskin patterned stripe. About 25 models are expected to be built. Dodge Dealer Edition ACR: Only available at the two highest volume Viper dealers - Tomball Dodge of Tomball, Texas, and Roanoke Dodge of Roanoke, Illinois. Finished in white with a blue center stripe. Gets the extreme aero package and carbon-ceramic brakes as standard equipment. About 33 models are expected to be built. “The Dodge Viper has had a great run, and 25 years after it was first introduced, it leaves the supercar world reaching for the records it continues to set. With more track records than any production car in the world, the Dodge Viper ACR will live on as the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever, the car that has set the benchmark for all that follows in its tracks,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Cars, Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and Fiat – FCA, North America in a statement. Source: Dodge Press Release is on Page 2 Dodge Celebrates 25th Anniversary and Final Year of Viper Production with Five Exclusive Limited-edition Models New 25th anniversary limited-edition models feature exclusive content to commemorate the final year of Viper production 1:28 Edition ACR (American Club Racer) – Celebrating the current Laguna Seca single-lap record of 1:28.65 GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR – One of the most iconic Viper liveries of all-time VoooDoo II Edition ACR – Rebirth of the VooDoo ACR Snakeskin Edition GTC – Inspired by the original Snakeskin, now with unique snakeskin stripe Dodge Dealer Edition – Viper ACR special edition available through Tomball and Roanoke Dodge dealers [*]Each limited-edition Viper model features a serialized instrument panel badge with the model name that can be customized with the customer’s name [*]Customers can begin ordering special edition Vipers on June 24, 2016 [*]The 2017 Viper is available in more than 50 million unique build configurations, including the ACR package, through the “1 of 1” customization program for a truly one-of-a-kind snake American hand-built supercar June 21, 2016 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The Dodge brand is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Dodge Viper with five limited-edition models that commemorate the final year of Viper production and highlight several of the most iconic special edition Vipers of the past. “The Dodge Viper has had a great run, and 25 years after it was first introduced, it leaves the supercar world reaching for the records it continues to set,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Cars, Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and Fiat – FCA, North America. “With more track records than any production car in the world, the Dodge Viper ACR will live on as the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever, the car that has set the benchmark for all that follows in its tracks.” One of the most unique and exotic high-performance machines on the road today, Dodge is honoring the Viper’s rich, colorful and exceptional performance heritage on and off the track by paying tribute to some of the most iconic Vipers in its history. Beginning on June 24 and new for 2017 model year, customers can order their special snake in the following exclusive special edition configurations: Viper 1:28 Edition ACR Pays tribute to the current production car single lap record of 1:28.65 set by champion driver Randy Pobst in a 2016 Dodge Viper ACR at historic Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif., in October 2015 Features black exterior and painted rear wing with red ACR stripes, Extreme Aero Package, Carbon Ceramic brakes, 1:28 Edition exterior sill decal, ACR interior with red accent stitching, serialized instrument panel 1:28 Edition badge, along with a custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door As many as 28 units of this new special edition configuration will be built for the 2017 model year Looking back in Viper history: Using the same track record theme, Dodge previously produced 33 units of the 2010 Viper ACR 1:33 Edition to tout its previous track record of 1:33.915 set by SRT dynamics engineer Chris Winkler at Laguna Seca Raceway in November 2009 Viper GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR Designed to pay tribute to one of the most distinguishable and iconic Viper paint schemes of all time – the white and blue combination of the 1998 Viper GTS-R GT2 Championship Edition Features Pearl White exterior with Blue Pearl GTS stripes, Extreme Aero Package, Carbon Ceramic brakes, Exterior Carbon Package, unique red Stryker badge decal, GTS-R exterior sill decals, USA flag B-pillar decals, ACR interior with red accent stitching, Header Red seat belts, serialized instrument panel GTS-R badge and a custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door As many as 100 units of this new special edition configuration will be built for 2017 Looking back in Viper history: 100 units of the 1998 Viper GTS-R GTS Championship Edition were produced to commemorate the Viper winning the 1997 FIA GT2 championship Viper VoooDoo II Edition ACR Modeled after the original 2010 Viper VooDoo edition Features black exterior and graphite metallic ACR driver’s stripe with red tracer outline, Extreme Aero Package, Carbon Ceramic brakes, VoooDoo II exterior sill decals, ACR interior with silver accent stitching, serialized instrument panel VoooDoo II badge and custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door As many as 31 units of this new special edition configuration will be produced for 2017 Looking back in Viper history: 31 units of the original VooDoo Viper ACR were built in 2010 Viper Snakeskin Edition GTC Color was inspired by the original 2010 Snakeskin ACR Features new Snakeskin Green exterior with a custom snakeskin patterned SRT stripe, Advanced Aerodynamics Package, GT black interior, serialized instrument panel Snakeskin badge and a custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door As many as 25 units of this new special edition configuration will be produced for 2017 Looking back in Viper history: 31 units of the original Snakeskin Viper ACR were built in 2010 Dodge Dealer Edition ACR Available exclusively through Dodge’s highest sales volume Viper dealers, Tomball Dodge of Tomball, Texas, and Roanoke Dodge of Roanoke, Ill. Features Viper White exterior with Competition Blue center stripe, Adrenaline Red driver stripe, Carbon Ceramic brakes, Extreme Aero Package, ACR interior with red accent stitching and custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door Serialized instrument panel ACR badge As many as 33 units of this new special edition configuration will be produced for 2017 Industry-first ‘1 of 1’ Viper customization program continues Continuing for the 2017 model year is the exclusive Viper “1 of 1” customization program that enables buyers to create their one-of-a-kind “Snake” from the ground up. With 16,000 exterior color options, including matte exterior finishes, 24,000 custom stripe colors, 11 wheel options, 16 interior trims and seven aero packages, three brake packages and four suspension options, there are more than 50 million ways for buyers to customize their one-of-a-kind Dodge Viper. Each “1 of 1” model Viper features a personalized instrument panel badge with customer’s chosen name to commemorate their exclusive design. No two customers can order the same configuration, including color, in the same model year ACR model returns as ultimate street-legal racer The Dodge Viper ACR returns in 2017 as the indisputable “ultimate street-legal race car” with significant aerodynamic and suspension upgrades. Relaunched in 2016, the third edition (1999-2002, 2008-2010) of the Viper ACR has taken the performance car world by storm with more track records than any production car in the world — a total of 13 road course lap records as certified by the Sports Car Club of America. View full article

The current Nissan Leaf offers a max range of 107 miles. But that will pale in comparison with the upcoming Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla Model 3 which will offer a range of 200 miles. Nissan is aware of this and will be addressing this with the next-generation Leaf. Speaking with Autoblog, Nissan's global director of EV and HEV engineering Kazuo Yajima said the next-generation Leaf will feature a 60-kWh battery that should give it an overall range of between 210 to 220 miles. The current Leaf either comes with either a 24 or 30-kWh battery. Yajima wouldn't say when the next-generation Leaf would be introduced, although some believe it will be shown in 2018. Source: Autoblog View full article

While the replacement for the Jeep Compass and Patriot is just around the corner, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has made the decision to extend production of the two models into the 2017 model year. Sources tell Automotive News that FCA has a plan to end production of both models on December 23rd at the Belvidere, Illinois plant. North American production of the replacement model will begin on January 30, 2017, at FCA's Toluca, Mexico. With a month's gap, FCA wants to make sure they have a stockpile of both models until the replacement model starts arriving at dealers on a regular basis. An FCA spokesman declined to comment. As for Belvidere, the plant will be closed from the holiday break to May 14, 2017 to retool for producing the Cherokee. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

Sergio Marchionne is the biggest critic of electric vehicles in the automotive industry. But he seems to be changing his tune (to a point). "I’m not as convinced as some others are about the fact that electrification is the solution for all of man’s ills. We need to experiment as we are doing now with connected cars and mobility as electrification is one of the potential answers," said Marchionne to Bloomberg. Marchionne said the company is contemplating adding full electric vehicles to their lineup including a small city car for Europe and a version of the upcoming Maserati Alfieri coupe. The latter model could be positioned as a rival to Tesla. "I’ve always thought the economic model that supports Tesla is something that Fiat Chrysler could replicate as we have the brand and the vehicles to do it. I think that to use one of our potential cars as an experiment in this area is interesting," said Marchionne. Marchionne also said the company would launch more hybrid vehicles down the road. Source: Bloomberg View full article

Not at the moment. I'm doing some digging to see if there is anything.

Back in April, we reported that the current Dodge Journey would soldier on for another two years due to a change in strategy in FCA's passenger car lineup - outsourcing production of the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart. This caused plans for the next-generation Journey - due sometime this year - to be pushed back. Now, a possible new plan for the Journey has come to light. Automotive News has learned from supplier sources that FCA will shift Journey production from Mexico to Italy when the crossover is redesigned for the 2019 model year. Why Italy? Sources explain that the Journey will share the platform underpinning the Alfa Romeo Giulia, meaning a transition from front-wheel to rear-wheel drive. With production moving to Italy, this would free up production capacity at FCA's North American plants where more trucks and SUVs can be produced. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article

On Friday, Mitsubishi Motors announced that it will set aside 50 billion yen (about $480 million) this fiscal year to compensate buyers for inflated fuel economy figures. Bloomberg reports that the Japanese automaker admitted that 20 vehicles sold in Japan within the past ten years had false fuel economy data. Mitsubishi said in a statement they used “desktop calculations” instead of running actual field tests and used the false data on the twenty models built from 2006 to this year. They also lowered the resistance readings on some models to give better fuel economy numbers. Mitsubishi reiterated they didn't find any false fuel economy data on models sold overseas. The compensation plan will see Mitsubishi pay 100,000 yen (about $955.63) to each minicar owner and pay for the difference in gasoline and taxes separately. Mitsubishi also announced that it expects Japan's transport ministry to approve the recalculated fuel efficiency ratings of its minicars by the end of the month. One more thing: The investigation being done by three former prosecutors into the scandal are expected to present their results sometime next month. Source: Bloomberg View full article

How many models does the entire Volkswagen group sell around the world? 75? 125? How about 340 models. No that isn't a misprint. According to German business paper Handelsblatt, that is the amount all of the brands of the German automaker build. CEO Matthias Müller believes that is too many. "The total number of our today around 340 model variants, we are in the course of reducing," Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller at a press conference last week. But how many models are going on the chopping block? Sources tell Handelsblatt that 40 plus models will be cut. "A decision on how many models will be phased out or ceased has not been taken yet," said a Volkswagen spokesman to Reuters when asked for comment. Source: Handelsblatt (Subscription Required) Reuters View full article

This fall will see the Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback arrive at dealerships. Pricing for the new Cruze variant will start at $22,190 (includes a $875 destination charge). Compared to the sedan, the Cruze Hatch is about $5,000 more. It should be noted that the hatchback isn't offered in the base L or LS trims like the sedan. The more apt comparison would the Cruze LT sedan which begins at $20,695. Comparing the prices of the LT models sees a difference of $1,495. The Cruze Hatchback will use the same turbocharged 1.4: four-cylinder engine with 153 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. No word if the hatchback will get a manual transmission or if it will be just an automatic only model. Compared to the sedan, the Cruze hatchback offers an additional 3.7 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats (18.5 vs. 14.​8 cubic feet). Space increases to 42 cubic feet when the rear seats are folded. Source: Chevrolet Press Release is on Page 2 2017 CHEVROLET CRUZE HATCHBACK STARTS AT $22,190 DETROIT – The all-new 2017 Cruze Hatchback will start at $22,190 when it arrives in dealerships this fall. The price includes the destination charge, but not tax, title and other dealer fees. The Cruze Hatch is the latest addition to the expanding Cruze lineup, which was redesigned for 2016. It will be offered in LT and Premier trims, and with the RS package. Sharing the Ecotec 1.4L turbo and dynamic driving experience of the sedan, the Cruze Hatch offers increased cargo space of up to 47.2 cubic feet (1,189 L). Along with the sedan, it is the most connected car on the road, with segment-exclusive technologies such as 4G LTE with Wi-Fi hotspot, Teen Driver and wireless charging. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility make the most of Cruze’s connectivity with a smartphone. View full article

Honda has quietly announced that the CR-Z would be done after the 2016 model year. Car and Driver received a statement from the automaker that said they will “discontinue CR-Z this year [2016]” as it “significantly expand its sales of electrified vehicles with the addition of two new volume models.” Those models in question are the 2017 Accord Hybrid and upcoming Clarity range. The CR-Z was launched in 2010 as a 2011 model. The vehicle never really found traction in terms of sales. Its best year was in 2011 with 11,330 models sold. In 2015, Honda only moved 3,073 CR-Zs. Part of the reason dealt with the hybrid powertrain. The CR-Z used Honda's IMA hybrid system that produced 130 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque (the CVT saw torque drop to 127). This made CR-Z slow. It didn't help the CR-Z didn't fare so well with fuel economy numbers. The EPA rated the CR-Z manual at 31 City/38 Highway/34 Combined. Source: Car and Driver View full article