Volkswagen gets busted.

IIRC the 2016 diesels have been held at port as they haven't received EPA certification and will not until VW fixes their 'cheat code'. I'd imagine this probably has significant implications w/ the EU agencies as well.

An interesting aspect to this is that apparently the EPA has been going back and forth on this topic w/ VW for a couple years now. VW's response previously has been that there are other contributing factors during actual road use that caused the higher emissions. It's astonishing that VW continued to utilize a specific test mode calibration in the ECU when they knew they were already under the microscope.

Once word gets out that reflashing the ECU to compliant calibrations is probably going to reduce effective mileage, possibly increase consumption of urea & decrease the service life of emissions equipment, I'm sure owners will flock in for a recall.
 
Tig said:
Yet another reason I'll never own a VW (other than a good ol' Bug, Ghia or bus).
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They've had their ups and downs. Those classic VEEDUBS you mention, while loaded with coolness and nostalgia are all flaming turds and deathtraps. Sure, I would love an old Squareback with a Bernie Bergman built 2290 in it, but it would be strictly a recreational car.

VW shined in the 80s. The 16V cars and Wolfsburg Editions Euro Theme cars were the shit. Take a 16V Sirocco and bolt a Nuespeed throttle body to it and a Monza exhaust, and you had a fierce machine. I saw a cherry, Euro White 16V Sirocco on the road the other day and it brought a huge smile to my face.

The Corrado was an unhinged beast of a car. I hated that it killed off the Sirocco, but damn was that car fast!

The last 15 years since the silver Jetta became the quintessential chick Mobil, they have put out more garbage than good stuff. Terribly inconsistent build quality even across a single model line. What a shame.
 
Terrible. I have one of these TDI vehicles. I've been impressed with it, and have suggested it to lots of people, including people here. Now I feel bad for doing so, as VW was clearly cheating everyone. I can't wait to see how this works out for VW. I hope it costs them a shit ton of money and they are forced to compensate owners/do a buy back. I'm sure I will not get another VW after all this. Should I trust their crash safety ratings? Is the metal actually galvanized under the paint? Who knows? Fuck VW in their meathead faces. I hope a few people go to jail for fucking with the EPA.
 
Considering how much of their US brand image VW has tied to clean diesel tech, and the fact that the TDI accounts for around 25% of their sales, I would say VW's big plans at a massive expansion of US market share is pretty much fucked.
 
Tiltsta said:
Terrible. I have one of these TDI vehicles. I've been impressed with it, and have suggested it to lots of people, including people here. Now I feel bad for doing so, as VW was clearly cheating everyone. I can't wait to see how this works out for VW. I hope it costs them a shit ton of money and they are forced to compensate owners/do a buy back. I'm sure I will not get another VW after all this. Should I trust their crash safety ratings? Is the metal actually galvanized under the paint? Who knows? Fuck VW in their meathead faces. I hope a few people go to jail for fucking with the EPA.
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My wife works for a company that won't be named in this thread that got busted for fudging their MPG. It was AMAZING to see how it was handled at the corporate level. And honestly in their case they were kinda hosed by other parts of their mega company but since they sell the cars here in the US they were left holding the bag. Outside of the nearly $1 billion dollars in fines, free gas cards and other costs to the company I don't think the public really remembers or cares at this point. Not sure the average consumer will care or remember about this VW thing 2 years from now either.
 
Mark Wein said:
Not sure the average consumer will care or remember about this VW thing 2 years from now either.
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I think that if VW responds appropriately, it'll pass. Though, it's going to hard to win back some people who bought TDIs as an environmentally friendly option who are going to see this like unknowingly buying the stick that is used to club baby seals.

Heck, GM/Chevy knowingly sold cars w/ poorly designed ignition cylinders that directly caused fatalities. Hasn't really stopped people from buying their vehicles.
 
Lerxst said:
I think that if VW responds appropriately, it'll pass. Though, it's going to hard to win back some people who bought TDIs as an environmentally friendly option who are going to see this like unknowingly buying the stick that is used to club baby seals.

Heck, GM/Chevy knowingly sold cars w/ poorly designed ignition cylinders that directly caused fatalities. Hasn't really stopped people from buying their vehicles.
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Yeah, you are probably right. I think some of the eco people will not go back to diesel. I was more concerned with how their ECU fix is going to ruin my mileage and acceleration. I figure the 10,000 unregulated diesel trucks I pass every day do more to the NOX levels in one day than my station wagon could in a million years.
 
Lerxst said:
Heck, GM/Chevy knowingly sold cars w/ poorly designed ignition cylinders that directly caused fatalities. Hasn't really stopped people from buying their vehicles.
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Chevy was added to the list of assholes that will never get my business again, just like Toyota. When they knowingly and blatantly lied to the public and covered up their safety failures as people continued to die, they crossed the line.
 
Lerxst said:
I think that if VW responds appropriately, it'll pass. Though, it's going to hard to win back some people who bought TDIs as an environmentally friendly option who are going to see this like unknowingly buying the stick that is used to club baby seals.

Heck, GM/Chevy knowingly sold cars w/ poorly designed ignition cylinders that directly caused fatalities. Hasn't really stopped people from buying their vehicles.
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Even given the pollutant disguised by the device, I wonder just how bad the TDIs are as compared to gas vehicles and hybrids, when all environmental factors are considered, including gas emissions, what to do with hybird batteries, the production of the batteries, etc. As someone who cares about the environment, I would like to see such a comprehensive study. Given the better mileage from diesel, and the fact that there is less refinement involved, I would guess that diesel powered cars might still be a reasonable choice, despite not making the EPA standard on that one item.
 
Radio numbnut this morning was convinced that $18B would put VW out of business.

Not.

Even.

Close.

Bud! .

It would hurt them, but not for long.
 
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sunvalleylaw said:
Even given the pollutant disguised by the device, I wonder just how bad the TDIs are as compared to gas vehicles and hybrids, when all environmental factors are considered, including gas emissions, what to do with hybird batteries, the production of the batteries, etc. As someone who cares about the environment, I would like to see such a comprehensive study. Given the better mileage from diesel, and the fact that there is less refinement involved, I would guess that diesel powered cars might still be a reasonable choice, despite not making the EPA standard on that one item.
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You are the first person, beside myself, that I have heard give this consideration.

I have nothing against hybrid technology yet I have not heard much about the environmental effects of battery production on this large of a scale and battery disposal.

I think I would be safe in saying that old batteries will have a significant impact on the environment. You can recycle them but for how long? And what percentage of the battery is recycled each time?
 
2112 said:
You are the first person, beside myself, that I have heard give this consideration.

I have nothing against hybrid technology yet I have not heard much about the environmental effects of battery production on this large of a scale and battery disposal.

I think I would be safe in saying that old batteries will have a significant impact on the environment. You can recycle them but for how long? And what percentage of the battery is recycled each time?
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Those, and many other factors including the pollutants released through the production of new higher mileage conventional cars rather than keeping older ones repaired and running well are all things to consider. yes, this deception is a bad deal. But I am not sure it means we throw the whole idea of turbo diesel vehicles in the dumpster. I have wondered whether there was a way to combine higher mileage diesel technology with hybrid tech. I suppose ignition of the motors given the glow plugs would have to be addressed, but it seems that such a hybrid car could keep the plugs warmed up. I don't know. But focusing on only one aspect of emissions doesn't solve the problem, I would think.
 
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