Dieselgate’s latest drama: claims of increased fuel consumption after emissions ‘fix’

By Miles Branman April 7, 2016

Volkswagen just can’t catch a break, but at this point, the real question is: does it deserve one?

The automaker’s latest setback comes in the form of news from Germany that the planned recall of its emissions-cheating vehicles has been halted due to an increase in fuel consumption. Automotive News Europe states that the “fix” Volkswagen has been applying to 160,000 of its Passat models has been paused, though the company calls claims of greater fuel consumption “speculation.”

Still, the Volkswagen spokesperson has acknowledged that German authorities are investigating these reports. “We have to guarantee that noise and especially CO2 emissions are exactly the same as before the fix,” said the company representative. The Germany Federal Motor Transport Authority was expected to have its investigation wrapped up by March 27, but it appears the issue required further time. A final “yes” or “no” to VW’s resolution will be announced this week or next.

When the agency does approve the fix, Volkswagen will finish the remainder of Passat models before turning to the Audi A4, A5, and Skoda Superb vehicles that also feature the 2.0-liter diesel motor. There are a total of about 2.5 million vehicles in Germany alone that will need modifications before Volkswagen can address the rest of Europe.

Vehicles with 2.0-liter, 1.6-liter, and 1.2-liter Euro 5 diesel engines used manipulated software. Of these, the 2.0- and 1.2-liter engines will get a software upgrade that only takes about 30 minutes, but the 1.6-liter engine will also require installation of a piece of mesh to regulate air flow. This will increase labor time to about an hour.

As a reminder, in the U.S. where Volkswagen’s problems began, the automaker has until April 21 to find a fix that will address about 600,000 vehicles. For VW, the struggle is obviously managing time constraints and finding a fix that won’t create further issues down the road.

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Electric cars are getting pretty cool. While Tesla popularized the concept of a "fun" electric car, these days there are quite a few options out there, like the Kia EV6, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, and even some luxury options from Mercedes and BMW. These cars offer awesome performance and often a sweet design, making them excellent choices for first-time EV buyers.

But with electric trucks, it's a slightly different story. To be clear, they're just as powerful, -- often more so -- than electric cars. But when you're driving a truck, you expect to be able to use that power in different ways, and frankly, electric trucks seem to have a way to go before they'll hold up in those settings.
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The Achilles' heel of every electric truck comes down to hauling: Adding a ton of weight to the load seriously impacts range -- and not in a trivial way. Add a camper or even a lightweight trailer, and you might find that you're getting half of the expected range out of a charge. That means that you'll have to charge up more than every 150 miles, and if you're towing a camper, it's very likely that you're driving further than that. And even lighter loads can have a heavy impact on range.

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Ram EV concept previews truck brand’s electric future

The Ram 1500 Revolution BEV concept was designed around an electric powertrain.

Electric pickup trucks are a hot trend in the auto industry, and Ram is late to the game. So the truck brand of massive automaker Stellantis needed to work hard to stand out.
Unveiled at CES 2023, the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV concept shows what Ram has in mind for its first production electric truck, which is scheduled to arrive in 2024. This concept version combines some features we’ve already seen on other electric trucks with a few clever new ideas. So while it may be revolutionary for the Ram brand, which is new to EVs, it’s more evolutionary when compared to other electric pickups.

Unmistakably electric
The Ram 1500 Revolution has the bulky appearance of a traditional truck, but with proportions that clearly mark it as an EV. With no need to accommodate an engine, the hood is much shorter. This allowed designers to make the cabin four inches longer than today’s internal-combustion Ram 1500 without shortening the bed, Ram claims. The grille is also smaller, although Ram compensated for this with a giant light-up logo and headlights with the same “tuning fork” elements as its current gasoline and diesel truck grilles.
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