VW - You sneaky bastards

[Booney]

I've got a Passat with the 2.0TDi engine that may well have the software fiddled with. Be an interesting one to watch pan out.



VOLKSWAGEN CEO Martin Winterkorn has stepped down from the company over the emissions scandal as experts warn of an economic catastrophe bigger than Greece.
The auto behemoth is Germany’s largest car maker and biggest employer, with 270,000 people on staff.
But that is just a fraction of the number that could be affected if the fallout spreads to suppliers and other automakers in Germany — Europe’s largest economy — where nearly a million people are employed by the car industy alone.
“All of a sudden, Volkswagen has become a bigger downside risk for the German economy than the Greek debt crisis,” ING chief economist Carsten Brzeski told Reuters.
“If Volkswagen’s sales were to plunge in North America in the coming months, this would not only have an impact on the company, but on the German economy as a whole.”
The US Environmental Protection Agency says Volkswagen could face penalties reaching $AU25 billion over rigged emissions tests on its cars.
A staggering $28 billion was wiped off the company’s value this week, with some experts wondering whether it will be able to survive.
“That’s why this scandal is not a trifle. The German economy has been hit at its core,” said Michael Huether, head of Germany’s IW economic institute.
The German government has talked down the broader impact, insisting the “highly innovative and very successful industry” would remain an “important pillar” of the German economy.
In a statement announcing his departure, outgoing CEO Mr Winterkorn said he was “shocked by the events” and stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible.
“As CEO I accept responsibility for the irregularities that have been found in diesel engines and have therefore requested the Supervisory Board to agree on terminating my function as CEO of the Volkswagen Group. I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrong doing on my part,” he said.
“Volkswagen needs a fresh start — also in terms of personnel. I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation.”
Mr Winterkorn said the company must continue to seek the truth behind the scandal, saying it’s “the only way to win back trust.”
“I am convinced that the Volkswagen Group and its team will overcome this grave crisis.”

The resignation caps off a horrific few days for the famed German car manufacturer after research by the International Council on Clean Transportation alleged the company used “defeat devices” on diesel cars between 2009 and 2015 to circumvent the results of emissions test. The stunning results were found after simply driving the cars on five routes and finding a huge discrepancy between their testing results and real-life performance.
On Tuesday, Volkswagen admitted 11 million of its cars around the world contained the device, a huge jump from the 482,000 initially identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The company now faces fines that could run into the tens of billions of dollars in the US while other countries are launching investigations of their own. German public prosecutors are also considering launching a criminal inquiry into what went on at the company.
Mr Winterkorn initially admitted Volkswagen had “totally screwed up” and set $10 billion aside to cover the costs of the scandal. However by Wednesday pressure had become to much to bear and he finally stepped down.
The decision led to a bounce in sharemarkets for the company which saw $28 billion wiped off its value this week. Volkswagen said it will announce a new chief executive on Friday.

Nitrogen oxide glasses can cause breathing problems and lung infections in humans and in 2012 the World Health Organisation classified diesel fumes as cancer-causing. They can also damage the environment, naimals and plants and are a key contributor to global warming.
The testing revealed Volkswagen cars were spewing out up to 40 times more pollution than allowed under Environmental Protection Agency limits.
Senior Fellow at the International Council on Clean Transportation John German, who discovered the extraordinary result said they ran the program to show “US diesels are clean”.
Instead, it led to one of the biggest scandals in car manufacturing history which has left the future of the company in doubt and will likely force them to have to recall nearly 500,000 cars including the Jetta, Golf, Beetle and Audi A3 models dating back to 2009.

[westozfalcon]

http://www.news.com.au/technology/innov ... 7563283345


You can bet that fixing this problem will mean winding back the engine power and torque slightly.

I'm sure VW owners will be thrilled about that!

[Dogwatcher]

I was talking to a German soon after this story broke and he's from a family of VW yard owners and retired two years ago.
However, his family is still in it and he said his family was freaking out at what might happen to their business. While I was talking to him, he had a number of phone calls from 'home' and while I couldn't understand German, I could sense there was a fair bit of agitation in those conversations.

[Booney]

http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/volkswagen-audi-and-skoda-confirm-recall-of-91000-cars-in-australia/story-fnjwucvh-1227563283345


You can bet that fixing this problem will mean winding back the engine power and torque slightly.

I'm sure VW owners will be thrilled about that!

10-12% power and 8-10% torque, which, given the diesel is pretty torquey won't matter a hell of a lot, but the loss of power will be less than ideal.

It's expected to increase running costs over all with servicing needed more regularly and fuel economy down.

[heater31]

The old man has a new Amarok.....Only 2012 and earlier models are affected so he is pretty stoked after getting a dud Subaru Forrester before this one.

[Dog_ger2]

Too late guys...

GMH is gone.

Keep buying the crap.

One day we will look back and say, "Where did we go wrong"?

Our polititions sold us out.

All parties were the same.

Bottom line.... "They are all a club"

Now the price of our quality meat is getting out of our reach...

Wake up guys.

Lets not forget about our under employed.

1 hour a week and your taken off the unemployed list...

Where is Acat..?

Comment Leon Biner 5aa.

[MatteeG]

VW = The german version of Great Wall.

[Booney]

VW = The german version of Great Wall.

Yeah, I think you're about as wrong as can be there.

[Psyber]

I'm inclined to think the only issue is making the false claims about economy and environmental credentials.
So if I had a VW I'd just not get it fixed and keep the performance. (Hoping I wouldn't be forced to accept the "fix".)

Last year when I was exploring the smaller SUV options and looked at the in the Skoda, VW, Audi, Porsche conglomerate, I concluded the VW Tiguan was the best buy in the group, although if money were no object I'd have considered the Porsche Macan and the Audi SQ5 and RS3 which were more fun to drive. What did get up my nose was that one could not add one desired upgrade without buying an expensive package that had to go with it - though that was even worse with BMW.

One that did tempt me to spend more on a car when I drove it was the Mercedes GLA45 (AMG version). 0-100kph in 4.5 seconds was fun and the handling was great, but there is no manual transmission option.

However, in the end I concluded I could do without an SUV and bought the Renault Megane RS 265, not concerned about its requirement of 98 octane petrol. After all lead free petrol is actually less polluting than diesel, the fumes of which contain several know carcinogens which are gaseous and not removable by filters or catalytic converters.

[Mr Beefy]

http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/volkswagen-audi-and-skoda-confirm-recall-of-91000-cars-in-australia/story-fnjwucvh-1227563283345


You can bet that fixing this problem will mean winding back the engine power and torque slightly.

I'm sure VW owners will be thrilled about that!

10-12% power and 8-10% torque, which, given the diesel is pretty torquey won't matter a hell of a lot, but the loss of power will be less than ideal.

It's expected to increase running costs over all with servicing needed more regularly and fuel economy down.

Seems to affect petrol fuelled cars as well
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/technology/volkswagen-admits-irregularities-in-co2-levels-for-first-time/story-fni0byb7-1227596865132?sv=974494bc5dd90ec199c540fa93a2e6d5

[Booney]

Just keeps getting worse for them....( and they lost the war )

---------------------------------------

Volkswagen is recalling nearly 92,000 cars in the U.S. to fix mechanical problems that can knock out the power-assisted brakes.

The recall includes the Beetle, Golf, Jetta and Passat models from 2015 and 2016. The cars have 1.8-liter and 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engines.

The German automaker says a part in the camshaft can shear off, causing loss of vacuum in the power brakes. That can lengthen stopping distance and possibly cause a crash. The engines also will go into a reduced power mode to avoid further damage.

VW discovered the problem after getting reports of camshaft failures. No injuries have been reported, but a spokesman would not say if there had been any crashes.

A fix is expected by the end of March. Until then, VW tells owners to keep driving the cars. They should report malfunctioning warning lights or other trouble to dealers.

A spokesman was checking to see if loaner cars would be made available until the repairs are finished.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStor ... s-34960898

[MatteeG]

VW = The german version of Great Wall.

Yeah, I think you're about as wrong as can be there.

I've driven 3 VWs in my life which were dead set ordinary, including a Golf. But the doors sounded good when I closed them...

[dedja]

Now the Japanese have joined the party.

Toyota, Mazda and Honda have admitted to falsifying testing data to regulators, in some cases over many, many years.

More to come …