Volkswagen (Page 12)

As the Justice Department begins its informal review of the automotive business practices of Germany's Big Five, it seems that the timing of this turn of events may have as much to do with who was first in the mad-dash to number one.

According to a news report, the Justice Department has launched an informal review of German reports of major collusion among the country's major carmakers. The report appeared in the influential German magazine Der Spiegel.

Volkswagen's leaders hurriedly called a meeting of its supervisory board to look into allegations that the European Commission is probing reports of cartel-like actions on the part of automakers on diesel emissions.

Volkswagen's marketing campaign for the I.D. electric series is becoming clear as the automaker has slated the I.D. hatch, Crozz and Buzz to take on Tesla Model 3.

Volkswagen is moving past Dieselgate in most of the world as sales continue to increase in June. The automaker reported that for the half-year, ending in June, the automaker delivered 2,935,100 vehicles, an increase over the same period last year.

After years of sluggish sales, Volkswagen has decided to kick the upscale, mid-sized crossover out of the lineup. Its replacements are already there, the three-row crossover Atlas and the long Tiguan, another three-row crossover. The current Tiguan, shown above, will remain as a sales partner to the long Tiguan, as the Tiguan Limited.

The VW Andretti Global Rallycross team continued its winning ways with a 1-2 finish for drivers Scott Speed and Tanner Foust, pilots of the Beetles that took the event. The win helped VW to extend its lead for the manufactuer's championship while Speed regained sole possession of second place in driver points following first place Foust.

Volkswagen's recall of 450,000 SUVs that have been affected by failing parts could be just the tip of the iceberg. With industry consolidation, it is quite possible that as many as 13 other carmakers and suppliers could also be facing their own set of callbacks.

Volkswagen has avoided a major cost hit as the automaker, just beginning to recover strongly from its self-inflicted emissions scandal, has found that a software upgrade can cause of problem with the braking systems of 766,000 models worldwide.

June was a good month for Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi. The VW brand saw that the Dieselgate scandal was fading as their sales were up 15 percent in June. Audi celebrated its 78th straight monthly sales increase, led by sales of the Q7.

Buyers will find an interesting change in VW marketing philosophy if they are looking for a new Tiguan in a few weeks. When they are both available, the long Tiguan and the compact model will be sold side-by-side. The compact will be called the Tiguan Limited.

When the new long Tiguan appears in dealer showrooms this year and when the Atlas gets into the hands of buyers each will be carrying two important messages for VW.

A key former Volkswagen manager, indicted by the U.S., has been told to stay close to home in Germany or he may face arrest and extradition to the U.S.

Just when you thought you'd seen the last Dieselgate news story along comes another one. This time, though, it is just the culmination of a story that began in January where six execs and former managers were charged with conspiracy and violating environmental laws. Now, the U.S. has issued five international arrest warrants as it seeks five of the six charged. The sixth was arrested in the U.S. as he awaited a flight out, following a Florida vacation.

Volkswagen was one of two automakers to have brands rated in the top 14 of the annual J.D. Power Initial Quality Study. Using a large base of 80,000 vehicles, the study rates new-car quality in eight important areas.

Facing adversity Saturday that knocked one of its two entries out of the competition at the Ottawa Air and Space Museum, the VW Andretti Red Bull World Rallycross team still managed three podium finishes during a weekend of racing. On Sunday, the second day of a doubleheader, Tanner Foust and Scott Speed, the team's drivers had a 1-2 finish. Foust had a podium finish Saturday.

Volkswagen late last week introduced its sixth-generation Polo. At the introduction, a key VW sales official told a blogger for Cars and Concepts that there are no plans to bring it to the U.S. Does it make sense to keep it out?

As the Red Bull Global Rallycross pulls into Ottawa for this weekend's proceedings, VW Andretti team drivers Scott Speed and Tanner Faust look to improve on their so-far successful season. At the moment, Speed is leading the championship point hunt, followed by Faust.

Volkswagen has, at least, revealed the pricing of the new, longer Tiguan. Though the automaker still is selling the shorter version, it is available alongside the new, longer version. The longer version is about 11 inches longer than its stablemate and is available with three-row seating.

Though there have been rumblings that Volkswagen's mid-sized pickup was headed for the U.S., that is not the case, says the automaker. Meantime, the overseas aftermarket provides VW Amarok buyers with a wide variety of canopies, window screens and tints, like the U.S. aftermarket. And, for the same reason, to allow buyers to tailor their pickups to make them unique.

Volkswagen continued to keep its global pace in May with growth of 3.5 percent. For the month, the carmaker delivered 513,500 vehicles. Tiguan proved strong in Europe.

The Volkswagen Andretti GRC World Rallycross team had a good weekend at Thompson Motor Speedway in Connecticut. Scott Speed, the championship points leader, scored two second place finishes (he was stuck in the middle and had to do some fancy driving to obtain his place on the podium. His teammate Tanner Foust cruised through proceedings Saturday and was doing very well Sunday when he lost a wheel, just three laps from the finish line in the Final.

Volkswagen sales continued to gain ground in May as the automaker reported a total sales increase for the month of 4.3 percent.

The GRC road show moves into New England this weekend where the third edition of the specialized race series continues. The VW Andretti team hopes to see its drivers, Scott Speed and Tanner Foust, improve on their latest finishes. Speed and Foust lead championship driving points.

Regulators sent VW a less-than-enthusiastic critique of its initial spending plan to curb California pollution.

Everyone likes to think their car is cool and now 2017 VW Jetta owners know their car really are cool. KBB has named the 2017 Jetta one of the 10 coolest cars on the road for under $18,000.

The weekend stop at Louisville turned into a thriller as VW Andretti Rallycross team holds onto third-place win and four-place finish.

Volkswagen has recalled 84,000 2012-14 Passat diesels to repair heat shields that are too short to protect half-shafts. The grease may become hot enough to run and if it comes in contact with a hot surface there may be a fire. The recall will begin in July.

Off to a successful one-two finish in the first GRC tour stop in Memphis, the VW Andretti team is optimistic that their momentum will carry them to a second win at this weekend's inaugural Louisville rallycross event.

Lamborghini's Huracan GT3 is off to a fast start in the Blancpain Series. With three victories under its belt, the Volkswagen subsidiary is looking forward to the next event in a couple of weeks.