News Opinion (Page 81)

VW, led by its crossovers, posted another sales gain in February. For the two months ending in February, the automaker sold nearly a combined six percent.

Has Porsche ditched the diesel? According to a new story making the rounds, it hasn't.

For those looking to power-up their Panamera Sport Tourismos, there's a new kit from the German tuner Techart that takes the already-powerful wagon, beefs it up, and turns up the heat on power so that it becomes a real fire-breather.

No matter what you want and how badly you want it, sometimes you just can't have it. That's the case with the VW Arteon. It's copywriters want the world to believe that coupes have four doors. Here's a news flash: coupes can only have two doors, whether it is here or on the far side of Mars. You can't change it.

When a local turnpike authority decided to replace its toll takers with automated toll technology, it created more than a little confusion as drivers looked for places where they could purchase and load their "toll ticket," transducer.There was also some question about the program kickoff.

After only a couple of years as Hyundai's separate luxury brand, Genesis has been awarded an accolade that other automakers have had to wait many years to achieve. Genesis is the best brand, followed by Audi.

Volkswagen has a new Vizzion for autonomous driving and it will be on display at the Geneva International Motor Show. The I.D. Vizzion, the fourth member of the expanding VW electric vehicle family, is said to be the start of VW's second phase in the automaker's electric vehicle plans.

So, you think auto ads tell the truth? Here's the easy answer, uh-uh; nope, they don't; nah, not even close sometimes, especially if they are talking about four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive.

Have you ever thought about what drives the cost of car repairs? Well, one of the key factors is probably car theft. According to National Insurance Crime Bureau, parts costs were driven up an average of 4.1 in 2016 and the cause was attributed to car theft.

For the last three years, the Good Housekeeping new car awards program has honored Audi with a "Best New Car" award. There's a reason, Audi not only builds quality vehicles, but it also meets the standards established by the program. It makes it a lot easier to buy a Q7 knowing it is a GHC winner.

There are lots of car of the year awards out there, but how do you determine which one is best. Could it bet the work of Consumer Reports whose sleuthing turns in some of the best work in the business? Could it be the gold-standard of awards, the MT Car of the Year Award? Or could it the Good Housekeeping award which combines the work of the Good Housekeeping Institute Lab with the expertise of Car and Driver?

Will the up and coming changes to the Audi A6/S6 include a larger engine? The editors at Motor1 seem to think so. They do make a rather compelling case.

Honda is reportedly ready to reintroduce a name that hasn't been in the lineup for 16 years, the Passport, as a two-row crossover. The first Passport, introduced in 1994, was honestly a proof of concept, as the automaker wanted to see the public's reaction to a Honda SUV. They borrowed a vehicle made by Isuzu, the Rodeo, and rebadged it as a Honda and sold it for eight years. It served its purpose quite well.

According to a report in the New York Times, Volkswagen, Daimler, and BMW funded a study to determine if diesel fumes were carcinogenic. The study was seeking an answer to World Health Organization claims that diesel emissions did cause cancer. The automakers backed away from the report.

Sources talking with Auto Express said that when the Eighth Generation Golf makes its appearance 2021 the e-Golf will go away as the automaker readies the I.D. series for their debuts.

Audi has been selling illegal luxury models in Germany a report in the tabloid newspaper Bild says. According to the story, the automaker has continued to sell the turbodiesels even though it has known the vehicles are illegal and they were selling them and continued to market the vehicles even as the Dieselgate scandal was breaking.

With highway fatalities spiking, officials are seeking the reason. Why are they seeking it? It is because fatalities and injuries were trending down for more than half a century and suddenly they have spiked up. Is this a trend or is it just a short-lived phenomenon?

Volkswagen had a great 2017 and probably hopes to continue its sales success in 2018. Last year, the automaker sold a total of 10.74 million vehicles as it set a new record for sales.

Lamborghini is investing lots of capital and hoping that its Urus, an unknown quantity, meets its expectations. Urus is Lambo's 189-mph luxury performance SUV. The automaker apparently hopes it will tap an untapped market in high-performance luxury SUVs. Will it and will it be worthy of the investment Lambo has made? No one knows the answer.

This was a hard piece to write because it is so senseless. The question is simple: why would anyone key a Lamborghini Huracan Avio so badly that it hurts to view if you are a car enthusiast?

Clearly, the authorities in Clearfield, Utah, have way too much time on their hands. After all, why would officials declare a piece of art to be a nuisance and then demand it be taken down? The artwork in question is a tree-borne VW named Lucy and her owner can't figure out why all the fuss. The whole issue was initiated by an unknown complainant, too. Perhaps, they should get new lives and leave Janis Zettel, alone.

If you listen to all of the tire ads on right now, you probably think the best tires for all-weather driving in the cold and snow are the ones on your tires. It's not true. The best tires are a good set of winter tires backed up by chains.

As 2017 lurches to a close with all of the upheaval that has gone on in the political sphere and some in the automotive space, you have to wonder about something: why is VW considering a two-row Atlas-based crossover? If it couldn't sell Touareg effectively in a blazing hot market for crossovers, then why would the automaker think it could take the Atlas and stuff it into the same role as the Touareg?

Although you may not know it, there is a unique problem that could end up killing or maiming victims of Takata airbag inflators that involves scrapyard salvage and scrapped inflators.

Volkswagen, whose Atlas SUV has been a strong seller in its first seven months on the market, may be expanding the line. The automaker has trademarked a couple of interesting name and there have been hints that a sporty five-seat version in the offing, as well as an off-roading version.

A few months ago, we asked VW why the Amarok isn't offered here. Aside from its diesel power, the automaker told us that it didn't make sense given its marketing strategy. Well, now the pickup was named European Pickup of the Year, 2018 and sales are up as customers are excited. Don't you think that if it was offered in a gasoline version, it might not do well on this side of the ocean? We think so, but, we're not VW.

In October and November, Torque News gained some seat time in Chevy Bolt, Honda Clarity, and Hyundai Ionic. These compact 5-door electric hatchbacks are viable everyday drivers by any measure. Yet, there’s a factor or two keeping Bolt and other segment breaching EVs from going mainstream.

There's an original Santler that is scheduled to be auctioned next week that may not be all there. The model, an 1894, is said to be the oldest car manufacturered in the U.K. Though its authenticity, down to the manufacture date, has been determined, it may not be a total original. Santlers were either steam-powered or powered by rather weak compressed coal gas engines. Instead, this one has a one-cylinder gasoline-powered Benz powerplant, dropped in when it was restored half-a-century ago.

If you think that Audi's engine designators can be a bit confusing, just wait. If you live outside the U.S., starting in 2019, the A8 will introduce the automaker's new 30 to 70 designator scheme that is supposed to spell out an engine's power level. It would be good if it all wasn't relatively relative.

In the halls of Honda, you get what you pay for. From where I sit, a lower MSRP Civic Type-R will generate less performance hatchback for the money.