Volkswagen Group Faces Another Huge Fine Over Dieselgate

Volkswagen will pay out $1.2 billion to affected owners of 3.0-liter V6 TDI models.

Slowly but surely, Volkswagen is trying to recover from the damage caused by the disastrous Dieselgate scandal. In the midst of facing lawsuits and prosecution, the manufacturer has been reaching settlements to compensate affected owners. The last settlement saw VW agree to pay out $15 billion to owners of 2.0-liter diesel models. Now, owners of 3.0-liter V6 TDI models are being compensated in another costly settlement.

VW has agreed to pay out $1.2 billion for a program inviting affected owners of 3.0-liter V6 TDI models to either have their vehicles fixed or bought back. Around 78,000 affected vehicles are eligible, including the VW Touareg, Audi A6, A7, A8, A8L, Q5 and Q7, and the Porsche Cayenne. If the fix is approved, owners could receive compensation of between $7,000 and $16,000, plus another $500 if the fix affects the car’s performance. If, however, you request a buyback, you will receive an extra $7,500 on top of the value of the car. These costs could seriously mount up for VW if US regulators don’t approve fixes for affected vehicles, however.

According to AutoNews, the manufacturer could end up paying $4.04 billion if this happens – and that’s without taking the individual owner’s compensation into account. VW also agreed to pay $225 million to offset the extra pollution emitted from the 3.0-liter models on top of the $2.7 billion it’s already paying out for pollution caused by 2.0-liter models. Will VW ever recover from Dieselgate? Well, despite all the controversy VW outsold Toyota last year - though it’s worth noting that this includes all brands under the VW Group such as Audi, Skoda, Seat, Porsche.

Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Grueling Group B Rally

Get the lowdown on one of the most dangerous racing series ever.

Donut Media has done it again with another edition of its excellent “Everything you need to know | Up to Speed” series providing comprehensive histories for car enthusiasts, this time looking back at the most infamous period of the World Rally Championship: the grueling Group B era. One of the most dangerous racing series ever devised, it spawned by far the most powerful rally cars the sport had ever seen, which also led to legendary homologation road car variants like the Ford RS200 and Audi Quattro S1.

These cars were so overpowered that frequent fatalities led to the series being scrapped in the late 1980s four years after it started. As Donut Media explains, Group B started in 1982 as a class where there were practically no car regulations. Group A, by comparison, had a lot of restrictions from the power, weight and cost.

Homologation requirements meant that 5,000 models also had to be mass produced with four seats. In contrast, Group B only required 200 production models, two seats and no restrictions on boost. This of course increased the danger – watch some archive footage and prepare to gasp in awe as these fearless drivers tear through narrow sections of dirt, asphalt and snow while narrowly avoiding unprotected spectators. Sadly, Group B was shortlived and was cancelled in 1986 after fatal crashes forced it to end. As the cars became more powerful and the drivers more daring, a catastrophe was inevitable.

In 1986, driver Joaquim Santos ploughed into a group of spectators in his Ford RS200 during the Portugeese rally while trying to avoid a small group of fans on the road. 31 people were injured and three were killed in the crash. Shortly after, driver Henri Toivonen's Lancia Delta S4 flew off the side of the road during the Tour de Corse rally and burst into flames, killing both him and his co-driver. Group B cars were outright banned in 1987, and rallying was never the same again.