Volkswagen is making slow progress to clean up its Dieselgate mess. The German automaker announced a proposed settlement with plaintiffs and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address the 78,000 affected 3.0-liter TDI V6 diesel engine models that were sold in the states between 2009 and 2016.
Here’s how Volkswagen’s proposed program will play out:
If the settlement is approved and 100 percent of affected VW customers take part in the program, Volkswagen will pay up to $1.2 billion in benefits. That figure represents a potential 100-percent buy-back on all eligible first generation 3.0-liter V6 diesel models and an emissions-compliant repair for every second-generation car.
Assuming the plaintiffs and the FTC approve the proposed settlement at a hearing on February 14, Volkswagen could initiate the program as early as May of this year.
“With the Court-approved 2.0L TDI program well underway and now this proposed 3.0L TDI program, all of our customers with affected vehicles in the United States will have a resolution available to them,” said Hinrich J. Woebcken, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “We will continue to work to earn back the trust of all our stakeholders and thank our customers and dealers for their continued patience as this process moves forward.”
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.
Missing out on the self-driving future is a tough pill to swallow, especially as a car enthusiast. But that is what Tesla handed us on Wednesday, without a hint of mercy.
During its October 21, 2026 earnings call, Elon Musk told investors the Cybercab is meant mainly as a ride service. Further, nearly all of them will be owned and managed by Tesla.