A father and son have been killed after a deep sinkhole swallowed their car on a major Mexican road, officials said. Civil protection rescuers reached the rubble-covered Volkswagen Jetta lying on its roof at the bottom of the hole after working for more than eight hours on the closed section of road. The sinkhole appeared before dawn, at around 6am local time. A crane lowered rescuers into a yawning hole the width of two lanes in the middle of the highway. The initial hole was widened in order to build a ramp for recovery purposes. Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, secretary of the federal Transportation Department, said the sinkhole was apparently caused by the erosion of a drain that runs more than 50ft (15m) beneath the road. At a news conference at the site, Mr Esparza blamed heavy rains during the past three days. He said a preliminary analysis indicated the rain caused a creek to swell beside the road and blocked the drain with trash, contributing to the erosion. According to a statement from the department, the road was recently widened, but the existing drain was not thought to have been affected by this construction. Mr Esparza said later through Twitter that engineers would study the situation to determine responsibility. The Mexico-Cuernavaca road is connects the capital to the Pacific coast resort city of Acapulco.
What Kind of Technology Is Included? Among the advanced safety features are forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and post-collision braking. Smartphone integration comes in the form of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Mirror Link. There's also 10-color ambient cabin lighting, dual-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry/ignition, rain-sensing wipers, LED headlights and taillights, 18-in alloy wheels and heated front seats. A 400-watt Beats audio system is on the options list, along with a digital driver information display, ventilated front seats, power-adjustable driver's seat with memory and a remote start function. When Is It Available and How Much Will It Cost? The 2019 Volkswagen Jetta GLI goes on sale this spring. There will be two usual trim levels, plus the 35th anniversary version. Volkswagen's normal warranty applies, which is 6 years or 72,000 miles. Pricing will be announced around the time it hits dealerships. 28,000, so this might be a useful guesstimate for the 2019 Jetta GLI.
Volkswagen is Germany鈥檚 biggest private employer. They employ approximately 300,000 people across Germany, 60,000 of which are at the main manufacturing plant. Another 600,000 or more are employed worldwide. These jobs along with the company as a whole were in jeopardy when Volkswagen was found to have installed software onto their vehicles that cheated emissions testing on their diesel cars. Volkswagen spent years promoting their 鈥淐lean Diesel鈥?cars as an alternative to electric and hybrid cars, which included the models of Passat, Golf, Beetle, and Jetta. They campaigned heavily to boast about how 鈥済reen鈥?and fuel efficient their cars were, and Volkswagen customers were impressed with the ads and claimed they felt enticed into buying diesel cars because of the environmental benefits and new diesel technology. But in September of 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency discovered these claims were not true. The EPA found the company had installed computer software onto the diesel cars which cheated the emissions testing of the cars. This computer software, nicknamed 鈥渄efeat devices鈥? allowed the cars to sense when it was in a test mode and when it was under regular driving conditions.
The emissions software devices were installed on more than a half million cars in the United States, and approximately 11 million cars worldwide. The EPA sets particular parameters for emissions testing, and the software could recognize the conditions under which testing took place and would 鈥渁ctivate鈥?to control the emissions. When under normal driving conditions, the software would switch off, allowing more pollutants to pass through the exhaust system which improved the fuel consumption and power of the car. But the emissions output of nitrogen oxide was approximately 40 times above the limit set by the EPA. The software also changed the fuel pressure, injection timing, and exhaust-gas recirculation. When nitrogen oxide is released into the air it quickly converts to nitrogen dioxide. It is the most harmful form of nitrogen oxide. It is linked to many respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema. This smog can also end up being washed into the ground in the form of acid rain that can harm wildlife and plants.
