Volkswagen’s CEO, Martin Winterkorn announced that he will be stepping down as head of the German automaker group. “As CEO I accept responsibility for the irregularities that have been found in diesel engines,” he said in a statement.
The “irregularities” he speaks of refer to the “defeat device” discovered in certain diesel VW and Audi vehicles engineered to recognize the car is in the middle of an emissions test, and alter its output for a more favorable result.
On September 18th, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to Volkswagen AG when it came to light that certain Audi and VW four-cylinder diesel models were engineered to cheat on emission test results.
“Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
A statement from the Executive Committee of Volkswagen AG’s Supervisory Board says that they “recognize not only the economic damage caused, but also the loss of trust among many customers worldwide.” The statement goes on to note that Winterkorn had no knowledge of the manipulation of emissions data and that they are “expecting further personnel consequences in the next days.”
“The process of clarification and transparency must continue. This is the only way to win back trust,” Winterkorn concluded. In the wake of other scandals involving other major auto manufacturers, VW’s battle to earn back trust will be a steep hill to climb.
No word yet on who will replace Winterkorn, temporarily or otherwise. We’ve reached out to the EPA inquiring what penalties Volkswagen will face and how they intend to enforce them. We will update this story as we gather more news.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
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.