The latest news!
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The Obama administration passed legislation that will require gas mileage of 35.5 mpg by the year 2016 for automakers. The new requirement of 35.5 mpg is combined for cars and trucks. This is an increase of 10 percent set forth by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For the first time, the NHTSA has also issued rules for vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. Each automaker will have their own fuel efficiency target based on the vehicles they produce. If an automaker produces more smaller cars, their target will be higher than an automaker that produces more trucks. In the long-term, Obama stated the new rules will save 1.8 billions barrels of oil over the life of his program. During his election, energy has been one of Obama's main targets.
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Toyota has stopped selling its flagship Lexus, the plush LS sedan, for about three weeks while it waits for parts to fix the car to reach dealers. A recall notice was issued on the LS on Friday. Though the stoppage won't mean much to Toyota in terms of the number of LS cars it sells -- it's a small-volume product -- the move is an enormous blow to its pride. The LS is the pinnacle of the Lexus brand, a big car with every feature that Toyota could dream up attached to it. The current version was the first with an eight-speed transmission and was first with a feature to parallel park itself automatically. Prices range up to $108,000.
The stoppage results from the recall Friday of about 3,800 LS models in the U.S., ranging from the LS 460 to the super-luxe LS 600h L, to fix the steering. Worldwide, the recall affects more than 11,000 cars. If a driver makes a sharp turn in the LS, the steering wheel may not return to its original position.
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Tesla and Toyota are joining forces to bring affordable electric cars and parts to the masses. In a deal announced last Friday, both companies "intend to cooperate on the development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support." Toyota is agreeing to purchase Tesla stock improving Tesla's chances with other funding sources. Toyota will get access to Tesla's battery technology. Tesla and Toyota announced that Toyota would be purchasing $50 million of Tesla common stock when the company tendered it's initial public offering (IPO). According to the Albuquerque News, that will give Toyota a 2.5 percent share in Tesla. This is less than the five percent capitol stock that New Mexico Business Weekly stated that Blackstar Investco LLC, an affiliate of Germany-based Daimler AG owns of the company.
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Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Golf, GTI, New Beetle, New Beetle Convertible, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, Passat, Passat Wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2010 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic Stabilization Program. This is important because the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at www.vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.
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