Lawyers for the 85,000 motorists bringing a class action in the UK against VW for its role in dieselgate have questioned whether the technical fix introduced in 2016 can be classified as a second defeat device, in a pre-trial hearing last week. Slater and Gordon, who are leading a consortium of lawyers against VW, represented by Freshfields, raised the point as the dieselgate trial heads towards an important two-week hearing at the High Court in December, four years after the class action was first raised. That trial will be critical to deciding in UK law whether VW fitted a defeat device to the EA189 diesel engine, which powers 1.2m affected VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda models – the first stage of a legal process that could ultimately finish with VW paying out tens of millions of pounds in compensation to owners in 2022. “We have asked VW lots of questions to clarify exactly what the technical fix is doing,” says Gareth Pope, head of group litigation at Slater and Gordon. For its part, VW’s lawyers say the technical fix was completed to standards set by Germany’s automotive technical agency, the KBA, equivalent to the UK’s VCA, and re-engineered the EA189 diesel to the emissions standards it should have had under EU5 regulations. Slater and Gordon is questioning why the technical fix is operating over an ambient temperature range or ‘thermal window’ of 15 deg C to 33 deg C, and below 1000m altitude, suggesting that re-engineered EA189 engines will emit higher levels of pollutants in real-world use outside these conditions. “This information has long been in the public domain and has received media coverage since at least April 2016,” VW told Autocar in a statement. Autocar also understands that VW rejects any suggestion that a ‘thermal window’ can be classified as a defeat device. And given that the EA189 has been re-engineered to the EU5 standard that allows a ‘thermal window’, it seems unlikely that the fix is a second defeat device. However, this detail is significant because it forms part of Slater and Gordon’s case, which must cross three hurdles of proof to be successful, the first being to prove in UK law ‘deceit’ – that VW deceived buyers by selling cars with defeat devices. VW recently settled a class action out of court in Australia affecting around 100,000 cars with damages valued at between Aus$89m (£46.6m) and Aus$130m (£68.2m), equivalent to about $Aus1000 (£524) per owner. Although the Australian court case has no legal bearing in the UK, it suggests VW will find it difficult to win the defeat device legal action in December, but also that damages ultimately will be
Origin: UK lawyers claim VW dieselgate ‘fix’ is second defeat device
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Collector nabs Best in Show at Cobble Beach concours second year in a row
A 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K, winner of Best in Show at the 2019 Cobble Beach Concours dEleganceCobble Beach Concours dElegance A one-off 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K commissioned when new by a Swedish Olympian swimmer earned top honours at Canadas most prestigious classic car event this past weekend, the 2019 Cobble Beach Concours dElegance in Owen Sound, Ontario.The Best in Show win is the second in a row for owner Robert Jepson Jr. of Savannah, Georgia, who last year took the award home with a French coachbuilt 1938 Delahaye.Jepsons Mercedes-Benz was deemed the most elegant of the field of roughly 113 cars, and also won the Peoples Choice award. The event included a variety of pre-war cars, microcars, muscle cars, hot rods and Porsches from Ontario, Quebec and roughly a dozen American states.The cars body was built by Norrmalm in Stockholm for Max Gumpel, who won two medals swimming for Sweden in the 1912 and 1920 Olympics. Among the 6,300-lb cars many notable features are a siren; a hood mascot molded after the Roman goddess Diana; and a special split front bench seat widened so he could ride with two women. (Greta Garbo, in fact, was frequently seen with Gumpel in the car.)Gumpel put his significant influence to use protecting the car from harm and government conscription during the Second World War, but sold it in 1955. The car traded hands and was restored and re-restored numerous times before being bought up by Jepson in 2017. He also subjected the car to an extensive restoration, which helps explain its win at Cobble Beach. The three winners of the 2019 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance Cobble Beach Concours dElegance Walter Eisenstarks 1954 Siata 200CS, one of 11 made and seven remaining, was perhaps the closest rival for the Best in Show title; the South Carolina-based enthusiast took home the award for most outstanding post-war with the Fiat-powered race car.Outstanding pre-war went to a 1917 Locomobile 48 Type M owned by John and Mary McAlpin of Naples, New York. The concours was hosted by Porsche Canada, which showed off dozens of gorgeous old and new Porsche sport cars across two classes and around the Cobble Beach resort; and raised money for the Sunnybrook Hospital Foundation, among other charities.The fundraising efforts included the sale of a guitar by astronaut and car enthusiast Chris Hadfield, who performed a cover of David Bowies Space Oddity on the instrument directly before its auction, for $6,000, Saturday
Origin: Collector nabs Best in Show at Cobble Beach concours second year in a row
2020 Karma Revero GT is a rare second chance in the auto industry
2020 Karma ReveroHandout / Karma Automotive What is it? The hybrid luxury sedan, once known as the Fisker Karma, has been rebranded as the Karma Revero GT. It’s as beautiful as ever, now powered — at least partly — by a BMW engine, and has an even healthier electric powertrain than before. Why does it matter? It’s produced in California, the brand is owned by the Chinese, and it’s styled in Italy. It’s as sexy as a Tesla, almost as emissions-free and has a nicer interior. Who says you don’t get a second chance in the automotive industry? The Revero GT is a true plug-in hybrid, in that its onboard gasoline engine is but a range-extender serving to charge the battery. Think Chevrolet Volt — only this PHEV has power, panache and presence that The General’s barely lamented four-door could only dream about. Besides being sexy — you could slap a Maserati badge on its hind end and no one would be the wiser — the totally revised Revero is now more powerful and more emissions-free. Powered by twin electric motors, the 2020 GT is 133 horsepower more powerful than the original, the all-electric powertrain now good for 536 HP. That’s enough to spring the 2,290-kilogram sedan from rest to 96 km/h (60 mph) in just 4.5 seconds, almost a full second quicker than its predecessor. On the other side of the equation, the 2020’s larger 28 kWh battery is good for 128 kilometres of all-electric driving before the gasoline range-extender kicks in to start recharging the battery. Said range-extending motor has been upgraded as well, the previous model’s GM four-banger traded in for the high-spec turbocharged 1.5-litre inline-three that powers the BMW i8. Details are a little vague regarding the GT’s interior, but it’s noticeably more luxurious and up-to-date compared to the previous model. It’s also chock-a-block with safety gear, with no less than eight air bags and the active safety technology you’d expect, such as blind-spot monitoring, a parking distance monitor, rear cross-traffic alert and forward-collision warning. When is it coming? The second half of this year. Should you buy it? Having driven the 2017 Revero, it was an enjoyable experience despite its almost decade-old technology and dated interior. I quite enjoyed the experience, if not for its outright performance then for the potential, obviously once Karma got around to updating its powertrain and accouterments. That day appears to be now, the new one having everything the original boasted — power, panache, and presence — but with more sophistication and safety. For those looking for luxury electric alternative to a Tesla Model S, the Revero more than deserves a test
Origin: 2020 Karma Revero GT is a rare second chance in the auto industry
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