TTAC News Round-up: Volkswagen Has A Better Slogan and Attitude, BMW Has Less Money, And Honda's Bringing All The Turbos

And Volkswagen going on charm offensive

At a meeting of 2,000 managers in Dresden, Volkswagen executives said they would be more humble and transparent in their dealings after the company was criticized for being slow to react and standoffish, Reuters reported ( via Automotoive News).

Volkswagen group communications chief Hans-Gerd Bode told reporters that he understood frustrations with the automaker, but said the group never hid anything.

“I can assure you that we certainly did not, at any point, knowingly lie to you,” Bode told reporters, according to Reuters. “We have always tried to give you the information which corresponded to the latest level of our own knowledge at the time.”

That would include vehemently denying ousted CEO Martin Winterkorn was on his way out when he was; denying 3-liter diesels had an illegal “defeat device” when they did; and waiting three months to have their first, official press conference.

So again to the people from the automaker: “Volkswagen.”

BMW agrees to $20M fine for botched Mini recalls

BMW agreed Monday to a consent order and a $20 million fine for its delay in recalling Mini Coopers that failed side impact crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

BMW will pay $10 million to the federal agency and spend $10 million to overhaul its crash reporting system. The automaker could be fined an additional $20 million if it doesn’t comply with terms of a consent order negotiated between the automaker and NHTSA.

“NHTSA has discovered multiple instances in which BMW failed its obligations to its customers, to the public and to safety,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. “The Consent Order NHTSA has issued not only penalizes this misconduct, it requires BMW to take a series of steps to remedy the practices and procedures that led to these violations.”

According to the statement, the Mini 2-Door Hardtop Cooper failed to meet side-impact requirements in a crash test. Regulators ordered BMW to conduct a recall to bring those cars into compliance by adding more weight and side-impact protection. When regulators tested the fixes in July 2015, NHTSA discovered that the automaker didn’t actually recall the cars.

BMW to NHTSA: “Volkswagen.”

Make way for the turbonator, make way for the turbonator

Honda is adapting its 1-, 1.5- and 2-liter turbocharged engines for use around the world to replace naturally aspirated engines, one of its chief engineers told Wards Auto (via Jalopnik).

“We have three new gasoline engines — 1-liter, 1.5-liter and 2-liter — which are being adapted to regional needs in North America, Europe and China, all markets where emissions regulations are becoming increasingly stringent,” Keiji Ohtsu told Wards. “In addition, we are focusing on weight reduction, changing V-6 to inline-4 engines and inline 4s to 3-(cylinders).

Ohtsu said Honda’s 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four would eventually give way to the 1.5-liter turbo four.

So, yeah. Honda is probably bringing over the 1-liter turbo three for the Fit, which they didn’t want to talk to us about in October.

“Volkswagen!”

Light, sweet, cheaper-than-ever crude

The national average for a gallon of gasoline is under $2 for the first time since the recession according to AAA.

That’s due to weak global demand and a slowdown in holiday driving, according to the agency. Gas prices are expected to stay low for most of the next few months, before rising slightly before the busy summer travel season.

If it weren’t 20 degrees outside, I’d ask Santa for a Hellcat.