I don't give a damn if VW sends blood money to Rivian. Joe Biden though can go f' himself for sending my tax dollars in the form of a $6B "loan" to that money pit. Pure fraud.
The big pity is that Rivian didn't go bust like rest of the lame Gucci EVs. Damn ugly too.
Whats telling is that the invested in Rivian to develop EV software. So far the VW software has been a huge bust and a large reason for VW EVs getting towed or catching fire. A real disaster.
Good Lord has VW imploded since F Piech retired. Maybe it's coincidence but going from being a premium brand 900 pound gorilla to an overweight beagle is not a good look. And in the middle of it all, the company operates in maybe the most clown like country in the West. Germany really does hate itself.
Fantastic article by the way. Does anyone acknowledge the gaping hope in carbon payback that is created when a new battery has to replace the old one? And that old battery is replete with hazardous materials that are expensive and time and energy intensive to extract before shipping off to a country with no emissions controls.
EVs are a thermodynamic disaster when studied more closely.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics teaches us that we can only be more efficient as most processes are irreversible. Even a 90 % electric motor cannot overcome all the losses leading up to and running an EV. The batteries are the killer.
This is a great article. It puts facts and numbers under what we already knew about electric cars. The whole transition is built on lack of data, lack of analysis, purposeful ignorance, and straight out lies. The chickens are coming home to roost, just not soon enough. I didn’t realize VW was in such deep trouble, and no way to fix it.
Ya… I think it was the first year. After the 997. Had the PDK which I got at my wife’s request, but I loved it. We live in rural Oregon. Rough roads logging trucks and rain. Not a great place to drive a Porsche.
There was something ironic about VW being hauled over the coals for installing a bit of software offspec and not declaring it, nevermind to pass a test. The automotive safety regulations that were broken is a big no no.
Yet the reason they broke them was to adhere to an arbitrary (and ever decreasing) set of limits based on a field of science that is yet unverified in the real world. And whose application if it were done in a field such as automotive safety, would result in the people doing it going to jail.
First of all, I love a good argument and I feel like we're having one, so thank you for the response. I would posit two things in what will be a long-winded response. My apologies.
1) VW was no different than other German mfrs selling diesels in the States but were the biggest DOJ fish. I have no problem with the idea that VW should have taken their chips and gone home instead of cheating. And the duration of the cheat by them and the rest was awful. However, it is irrefutably the case that EPA created new, shambolic diesel emissions standards and mandated them in three years, a completely unworkable situation for car makers. It couldn't be done without trashing the vaunted fuel efficiency of diesel and without entirely new high pressure systems be put in place right now (which still don't work). Audi, Merc, BMW and VW - the only sellers of diesel passenger cars in the US, couldn't meet the regs while maintaining necessary fleet fuel standards requirements and make engines that wouldn't fail quickly. The proof of this is that there are no car or truck mfrs making reliable diesel engines vehicles, like zero of them fifteen years later. CAFE diesel rules were and are a grotesque joke for sellers and buyers alike despite ongoing engine research. We all pay for this in terrible maintenance challenges for in the US. It didn't need to happen. If EPA wanted to oust diesels it should have barred their sales along with diesel fuels which would of course be illegal. Instead they created a giant mess for owners. I blame car mfrs for the duration of the lie. But the government has all of the blood on its hands from creating impossible conditions in the first place, and reacting in shock at how its actions created the problem. DPFs and DEF was the only way to meet NOx rules and that now means lots and lots and lots of replacement turbos, swirl valves, intake manifolds, EGRs, DPFs, engines, and on and on. VW had its hands in the cookie jar, but singling them out does disservice to the complete story
As for their crime, it was real but largely victimless. VW deserved large fines but owners did not deserve large payouts. How were we hurt? In my case, Merc's actions saved me money on fuel, lots of it. And though I don't like spoiling the air, my Sprinter's EPA mandated DPF/DEF system alone has cost the planet lots of parts manufacturing to replace things that would not catastrophically fail but for the mandated regen system. Maybe the feds should give me the $ instead. My $3500 from Dr Bosch and Mercedes doesn't put a dent in my cost of diesel ownership due to a collusion of disrepute of the EPA, API and also for Mercedes for blinding parts costs. It's funny, we protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits as reprisal for selling potentially life threatening drugs; but we mandate engine killing rules for car companies. Go figure.
2) VW's statements about diesel being their way forward is somewhat undermined by Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, F, GM, and C selling virtually no diesel cars in the US at the time discussed in the court cases. Americans weren't overly interested in diesel anything except light trucks, and those for good reason. In a market with decidedly lopsided rules against diesel why would a mfr make the case that it would be the way forward except as maybe a halo product to burnish the brand? Americans had never had a love of oil burners beyond 1980 Volvo 240s and some Mercs driven by pipe smokers. And the EPA didn't create a market for it the way the EU did through demand engineering. I do get that Volkswagen marketed the hell out of TDI cars in the 2000s with sales ramping to a steady 20% of the fleet of Golfs and Jettas. And I believe that Pichetsreider and Piech touted diesel in the States but it's simply hard for me to believe that they seriously considered it to be the future of Volkswagen NA.
My God if you read this I'm impressed. I dig your Sub!
I read above and agree with just about everything you have said. Please note that the objective of the article was to point out how VW has self-destructed with two catastrophic decisions in a row, and how it mirrors German Industry and the German energy transition, which also has been a catastrophe. If you want to sell cars in the USA, well, no matter how illogical and ridiculous the rules are, which they are, one must follow the illogical rules.
A great point of yours amoung your others:
"And though I don't like spoiling the air, my Sprinter's EPA mandated DPF/DEF system alone has cost the planet lots of parts manufacturing to replace things that would not catastrophically fail but for the mandated regen system. Maybe the feds should give me the $ instead."
The Second Law of Thermodynamics agrees your above statement. "For everything we order, typically by burning fossil fuels, more disorder is created elsewhere." What is the ultimate cost of all these contrapions and contrivances?
As you may have pointed out, the main problem with diesel is the carcinogenic particulates in the exhaust. Particulates are insidious and in may cases far worse than a gas. This is because they lodge in tissues and sit there. I can grudgingly live with a DPF and downstream DEF as a trade-off to have a diesel. EGR is a bad thing as garbage is forced back into the engine which clogs and contaminates and leads to prematurely worn out engines.
I like the Merc Sprinter with the 5 cyl. I have driven one and they can be very good!
VW is headed to BK, Will the German Government bail them out like the Federal Government bailed out GM? I have owned a VW manufactured Car from 1977 through 2021, Their cheating on the Diesel Emissions was the final straw I loved their Diesels but they had a real problem in their High Pressure Fuel Pumps which failed with horrible consequences with way too much frequency to trust them ever again. Toyota is the only company that understands reality and has avoided the stupid push into EV's which will never be ready for Prime time.
I had the Audi Q7 TDI and was going to turn it in for the cash but just before I did the HP fuel pump failed cost me $6000 to get it back running so I could turn around and sell it back to VW. When I researched it I was stunned by how many stories I came across of people who had the exact same thing happen. The Bosch company had to make the Pumps because they make almost all of the diesel fuel components in addition to engineering the hack in the software.
Those VW fuel pumps exist only because of EPA CAFE regs which are complete nonsense. EPA picks winners and losers depending on what super cool energy is determined to be the right one. My Sprinter suffers every conceivable malady because of the mind numbing stupid systems in place to reduce the last 10% of NOx.
Hello Chris, we are the same page regarding over regulation and the demise of reliable old school diesel.
My understanding is that the high pressure fuel pump failures in VW products are related to diesel fuel sensitivity and lack of lubricity in a lesser fuel.
My problem arose after a Valero fuel up. Post that, I had heard about Valero quality issues and water in the fuel causing the seizures.
But lots of mfr have problematic HP fuel pumps among other fuel and lubrication related issues. Running engines at extremely high compression ratios, and high pressure common rail injection with turbo is great for mileage but not so much longevity. The lack of lubricity due to ever more stringent fuel standards (thank you CARB) also creates jeopardy for everyone. As an adjunct, fuel dilution is a huge problem in every diesel I know of and several gas engines. My Kia Telluride is developing the problem and it's likely a slow death march that Kia won't admit.
I love the incremental improvements in ICE technology, but I would be happy driving pre-common rail injection, high compression cars for the rest of my days. Have you looked into the terrible base stocks and lack of TBN in modern oils? That's a good time right there.
I change my oil every 5000, usually buy a kit from Blauparts. High quality German oil or Rotella T6. I run fuel cetane and lubricity additives, but not oil additives, as I don't want to upset the chemistry of the existing oil additive package.
My Ram 1500 Ecodiesel Guido Motori 6 has not blown up yet 🤞despite EGR and other garbage being recycled back in, and fuel dilution...others have had lesser luck.
I haven't deleted because I have an extended warranty, and a new motor is $26K.
Nice to hear, I'm glad you've got a configuration that works. I started monitoring oils via Blackstone after a Merc reman engine was put in at 170K. Data sheets on Euro oil particularly are replete with solid info and I haven't put modern diesel spec oil in since the engine swap. Only ACEA A3 with high boiling point, VI, stability and NOACK. These things are so hot during regens that lubricity takes a nosedive, so I stick with Gp 4 and 5 oils. My favorites are Liquimoly synth motorcyle oils and a couple of Amsoils with high TBN and SAPS. Every Blackstone report is fantastic and not a hint of dilution after 70K miles.
What a horrible game we all play to keep these things rolling instead of sick in a mechanic's bay.
They played their cards as well as they could. Staring at the fines, they saw an opportunity to use them to build EV charging infrastructure and markets. They also quickly realized that they could produce the safest, best, (and maybe profitable) EVs on the market. So all the chips went into that bet.
They faced two options in the wake of Dieselgate. They could fade away with ICE cars. Or maybe become the world's leading producer of EVs (and so become the world's leading car producer). They went for Option 2. At least, if they were to go down, they would go down swinging.
Wr bought a VW in 2019 and are enthralled by it. It is a technological masterpiece, looks great in the driveway, and cost $20K. It would have been interesting to see what they could have done along the lines of Toyota.
How do you make lemonade from a $30 billion lemon (diesel penalties)? I think that is the question that EVs tried to answer.
We paid a couple thousand bucks for the 100K mile platinum warranty. For the price of the car, that was a no-brainer. So we can enjoy the car, even if something expensive breaks.
It sounds like we have/had different versions of the same model, the "estate wagen" small station wagon. What a perfect name. Noble, useful, sensible, handsome, and capable of roaring like a fighter jet when called upon. The Johann Kurtz of cars. (One of them, anyways.)
Our gas version regularly gets 45 mag on the highway. 525 miles 'til empty when you fill it up.
VW has one card left in its hand, maybe, and that is hybrids. A Porsche hybrid held the lap record at Nurburgring lap record for a while. Porsche and Audi both have plug-in hybrids for sale now. These really are the sweet spot of performance and practicality.
Thanks for the comment Jeff, they certainly have the engineering as you point out. The execution? Well, now they are up against the wall. Lots of lost opportunities and monies.
The depiction of VW's decreeing that diesel was the way forward in America is simply not true as is laying all of the diesel fiasco's blame on Volkswagen's doorstep. Piech and his managers at VW did not plan a glorious American comeback via diesel. Volkswagen in the 90s was well aware that it could not compete on cost with the Japanese and while US sales of its Golf and Jetta were reasonable they didn't knock anybody's socks off in Wofsburg. The half assed plan in the C suite was to position the company as an upmarket player in a non-luxury brandscape, but few people felt the luxury vibe enough to make a dent in Toyota, Honda, Ford and Chevy sales. Diesel was an adjunct of the idea that VW was different, better and luxurious. Listen to that clatter!
As to dieselgate, VW was already in the States selling TDi cars when CAFE decided on its draconian reductions in NOx in the mid 2000s. In a short 3 year period passenger car and light truck diesel regs went from being much more lax than EU standards to bring absurdly (as in a row ital f' you to diesel drivers) stringent. At the same time fuels had to drop sulphur dramatically which sucks since sulphur is pretty useful in fuels. Oils changed for the worse as well. Yay big government!
So Volkswagen could not begin to meet both fuel economy and tailpipe emissions standards in the US because they were effectively mutually exclusive. They cheated in response instead of spending billions of $ removing them from the US market. Surely that's cowardly but understandable. Does anyone care that Merc and Audi cheated too? Of course not because actually having good information in a low information society is counterproductive and the others weren't trotted out by the DOJ before a public firing squad like VW was. We needed a shiny villain and it was Volkswagen. The real jackasses in this story are the ideologues running America's federal agencies - EPA and Interior along with CARB.
As an aside, everybody should know that the extortionate payments to buyers of diesel Golfs and Jetta (and me for my Sprinter) was rationalized as pain and anguish money because I didn't save the planet with my diesel as I was promised when I bought it. What a stupid, irrational, and ultimately obsequious view of a damned car buyer. People only foolishly buy EVs to save Mother Gaia. Diesel owners just like the fuel mileage.
Chris, this is an alternative and interesting perspective that you espouse and I welcome it. Respectfully, I don't agree. Please consider below.
I have skin in the diesel game, having owned a VW TDI wagon, 2 Porsche Cayenne diesels, and currently a RAM diesel, I have been disappointed with the VW diesel emissions scandal and fall out. I had to to have all my vehicles recalled and reflashed.
In contrast, I suggest that much of what you say flies on the face of conventional wisdom and court testimony with regards to the prosecution and testimony of the VW executives who planned the diesel deception with Bosch.
The VW conspiracy with Bosch was an incredibly dumb decision, and unnecessary. VW should of just made emissions compliant diesels and gone hybrid with ICE.
Toyota seems to have made the right decision and resisted the EV disasters now faced by every other car manufacturer worldwide.
It's ultimately about greed and arrogance and poor decisions.
Lying and cheating to reach a goal is not a proper way to conduct business, and VW thus crippled itself and damaged many others worldwide.
Two friends of mine have electric pickup trucks, big beasts, a perfect combination of virtue signaling and conspicuous consumption.
And they can haul leaves in those electric pick-ups to maximize range I bet!
VW recently saved Rivian from bankruptcy with a $5.8 billion "investment". Hard to believe.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a61421276/volkswagen-rivian-investment-development/
I don't give a damn if VW sends blood money to Rivian. Joe Biden though can go f' himself for sending my tax dollars in the form of a $6B "loan" to that money pit. Pure fraud.
Thanks for stopping by Chris, Dat True 😁.
The big pity is that Rivian didn't go bust like rest of the lame Gucci EVs. Damn ugly too.
Whats telling is that the invested in Rivian to develop EV software. So far the VW software has been a huge bust and a large reason for VW EVs getting towed or catching fire. A real disaster.
Good Lord has VW imploded since F Piech retired. Maybe it's coincidence but going from being a premium brand 900 pound gorilla to an overweight beagle is not a good look. And in the middle of it all, the company operates in maybe the most clown like country in the West. Germany really does hate itself.
An erudite comment describing the current state of Deutschland!
😉
Fantastic article by the way. Does anyone acknowledge the gaping hope in carbon payback that is created when a new battery has to replace the old one? And that old battery is replete with hazardous materials that are expensive and time and energy intensive to extract before shipping off to a country with no emissions controls.
Hello Chris, thank you for your comments.
EVs are a thermodynamic disaster when studied more closely.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics teaches us that we can only be more efficient as most processes are irreversible. Even a 90 % electric motor cannot overcome all the losses leading up to and running an EV. The batteries are the killer.
This is a great article. It puts facts and numbers under what we already knew about electric cars. The whole transition is built on lack of data, lack of analysis, purposeful ignorance, and straight out lies. The chickens are coming home to roost, just not soon enough. I didn’t realize VW was in such deep trouble, and no way to fix it.
Thanks for stopping by Lee! I hope Porsche doesn't suffer too much from this.
Me too. I sold my 2018 911. I’m not inclined to buy another one, but I sure miss it sometimes.
2018 911, that was a nice car. 991.1?
Ya… I think it was the first year. After the 997. Had the PDK which I got at my wife’s request, but I loved it. We live in rural Oregon. Rough roads logging trucks and rain. Not a great place to drive a Porsche.
There was something ironic about VW being hauled over the coals for installing a bit of software offspec and not declaring it, nevermind to pass a test. The automotive safety regulations that were broken is a big no no.
Yet the reason they broke them was to adhere to an arbitrary (and ever decreasing) set of limits based on a field of science that is yet unverified in the real world. And whose application if it were done in a field such as automotive safety, would result in the people doing it going to jail.
Such is the power of cultish dissonance.
Dieselgate was US war on industry and consumers. VW had a very good engine destroyed by leftist hubris, stupidity and malfeasance. Sad.
How about a 280 mpg diesel hybrid? VW could woulda shoulda!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car#:~:text=The%20Volkswagen%20XL1%20(VW%201,being%20both%20roadworthy%20and%20practical.
👍....
Except for the high pressure fuel pumps, Yes!
First of all, I love a good argument and I feel like we're having one, so thank you for the response. I would posit two things in what will be a long-winded response. My apologies.
1) VW was no different than other German mfrs selling diesels in the States but were the biggest DOJ fish. I have no problem with the idea that VW should have taken their chips and gone home instead of cheating. And the duration of the cheat by them and the rest was awful. However, it is irrefutably the case that EPA created new, shambolic diesel emissions standards and mandated them in three years, a completely unworkable situation for car makers. It couldn't be done without trashing the vaunted fuel efficiency of diesel and without entirely new high pressure systems be put in place right now (which still don't work). Audi, Merc, BMW and VW - the only sellers of diesel passenger cars in the US, couldn't meet the regs while maintaining necessary fleet fuel standards requirements and make engines that wouldn't fail quickly. The proof of this is that there are no car or truck mfrs making reliable diesel engines vehicles, like zero of them fifteen years later. CAFE diesel rules were and are a grotesque joke for sellers and buyers alike despite ongoing engine research. We all pay for this in terrible maintenance challenges for in the US. It didn't need to happen. If EPA wanted to oust diesels it should have barred their sales along with diesel fuels which would of course be illegal. Instead they created a giant mess for owners. I blame car mfrs for the duration of the lie. But the government has all of the blood on its hands from creating impossible conditions in the first place, and reacting in shock at how its actions created the problem. DPFs and DEF was the only way to meet NOx rules and that now means lots and lots and lots of replacement turbos, swirl valves, intake manifolds, EGRs, DPFs, engines, and on and on. VW had its hands in the cookie jar, but singling them out does disservice to the complete story
As for their crime, it was real but largely victimless. VW deserved large fines but owners did not deserve large payouts. How were we hurt? In my case, Merc's actions saved me money on fuel, lots of it. And though I don't like spoiling the air, my Sprinter's EPA mandated DPF/DEF system alone has cost the planet lots of parts manufacturing to replace things that would not catastrophically fail but for the mandated regen system. Maybe the feds should give me the $ instead. My $3500 from Dr Bosch and Mercedes doesn't put a dent in my cost of diesel ownership due to a collusion of disrepute of the EPA, API and also for Mercedes for blinding parts costs. It's funny, we protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits as reprisal for selling potentially life threatening drugs; but we mandate engine killing rules for car companies. Go figure.
2) VW's statements about diesel being their way forward is somewhat undermined by Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, F, GM, and C selling virtually no diesel cars in the US at the time discussed in the court cases. Americans weren't overly interested in diesel anything except light trucks, and those for good reason. In a market with decidedly lopsided rules against diesel why would a mfr make the case that it would be the way forward except as maybe a halo product to burnish the brand? Americans had never had a love of oil burners beyond 1980 Volvo 240s and some Mercs driven by pipe smokers. And the EPA didn't create a market for it the way the EU did through demand engineering. I do get that Volkswagen marketed the hell out of TDI cars in the 2000s with sales ramping to a steady 20% of the fleet of Golfs and Jettas. And I believe that Pichetsreider and Piech touted diesel in the States but it's simply hard for me to believe that they seriously considered it to be the future of Volkswagen NA.
My God if you read this I'm impressed. I dig your Sub!
Chris,
I read above and agree with just about everything you have said. Please note that the objective of the article was to point out how VW has self-destructed with two catastrophic decisions in a row, and how it mirrors German Industry and the German energy transition, which also has been a catastrophe. If you want to sell cars in the USA, well, no matter how illogical and ridiculous the rules are, which they are, one must follow the illogical rules.
A great point of yours amoung your others:
"And though I don't like spoiling the air, my Sprinter's EPA mandated DPF/DEF system alone has cost the planet lots of parts manufacturing to replace things that would not catastrophically fail but for the mandated regen system. Maybe the feds should give me the $ instead."
The Second Law of Thermodynamics agrees your above statement. "For everything we order, typically by burning fossil fuels, more disorder is created elsewhere." What is the ultimate cost of all these contrapions and contrivances?
As you may have pointed out, the main problem with diesel is the carcinogenic particulates in the exhaust. Particulates are insidious and in may cases far worse than a gas. This is because they lodge in tissues and sit there. I can grudgingly live with a DPF and downstream DEF as a trade-off to have a diesel. EGR is a bad thing as garbage is forced back into the engine which clogs and contaminates and leads to prematurely worn out engines.
I like the Merc Sprinter with the 5 cyl. I have driven one and they can be very good!
The last paragraph was a mistake that I can't take out. Oops.
Insightful analysis! Great finds on the memory-holed studies. It's hard to watch the slow(ish) motion (engineered) crash of all these economies.
Hi Suzanne, happy new year and thank you for the comment!
TC
VW is headed to BK, Will the German Government bail them out like the Federal Government bailed out GM? I have owned a VW manufactured Car from 1977 through 2021, Their cheating on the Diesel Emissions was the final straw I loved their Diesels but they had a real problem in their High Pressure Fuel Pumps which failed with horrible consequences with way too much frequency to trust them ever again. Toyota is the only company that understands reality and has avoided the stupid push into EV's which will never be ready for Prime time.
Reality Speaks, thank you for the comment brother.
My TDI ate a fuel pump and it smoked the entire fuel system and it bent a rod due to a clogged injector.
Quite common unfortunately.
I was glad to get rid of that thing and broke even after a check from VW.
Stay in touch.
TC
I had the Audi Q7 TDI and was going to turn it in for the cash but just before I did the HP fuel pump failed cost me $6000 to get it back running so I could turn around and sell it back to VW. When I researched it I was stunned by how many stories I came across of people who had the exact same thing happen. The Bosch company had to make the Pumps because they make almost all of the diesel fuel components in addition to engineering the hack in the software.
Those VW fuel pumps exist only because of EPA CAFE regs which are complete nonsense. EPA picks winners and losers depending on what super cool energy is determined to be the right one. My Sprinter suffers every conceivable malady because of the mind numbing stupid systems in place to reduce the last 10% of NOx.
It's all BS.
Hello Chris, we are the same page regarding over regulation and the demise of reliable old school diesel.
My understanding is that the high pressure fuel pump failures in VW products are related to diesel fuel sensitivity and lack of lubricity in a lesser fuel.
My problem arose after a Valero fuel up. Post that, I had heard about Valero quality issues and water in the fuel causing the seizures.
But lots of mfr have problematic HP fuel pumps among other fuel and lubrication related issues. Running engines at extremely high compression ratios, and high pressure common rail injection with turbo is great for mileage but not so much longevity. The lack of lubricity due to ever more stringent fuel standards (thank you CARB) also creates jeopardy for everyone. As an adjunct, fuel dilution is a huge problem in every diesel I know of and several gas engines. My Kia Telluride is developing the problem and it's likely a slow death march that Kia won't admit.
I love the incremental improvements in ICE technology, but I would be happy driving pre-common rail injection, high compression cars for the rest of my days. Have you looked into the terrible base stocks and lack of TBN in modern oils? That's a good time right there.
I change my oil every 5000, usually buy a kit from Blauparts. High quality German oil or Rotella T6. I run fuel cetane and lubricity additives, but not oil additives, as I don't want to upset the chemistry of the existing oil additive package.
My Ram 1500 Ecodiesel Guido Motori 6 has not blown up yet 🤞despite EGR and other garbage being recycled back in, and fuel dilution...others have had lesser luck.
I haven't deleted because I have an extended warranty, and a new motor is $26K.
Keep rolling! 💪
Nice to hear, I'm glad you've got a configuration that works. I started monitoring oils via Blackstone after a Merc reman engine was put in at 170K. Data sheets on Euro oil particularly are replete with solid info and I haven't put modern diesel spec oil in since the engine swap. Only ACEA A3 with high boiling point, VI, stability and NOACK. These things are so hot during regens that lubricity takes a nosedive, so I stick with Gp 4 and 5 oils. My favorites are Liquimoly synth motorcyle oils and a couple of Amsoils with high TBN and SAPS. Every Blackstone report is fantastic and not a hint of dilution after 70K miles.
What a horrible game we all play to keep these things rolling instead of sick in a mechanic's bay.
https://www.blauparts.com/
Ravenol is excellent low rent LiquiMoly, which is nectar.
Amsoil legendary for many reasons including ZDDP!
They played their cards as well as they could. Staring at the fines, they saw an opportunity to use them to build EV charging infrastructure and markets. They also quickly realized that they could produce the safest, best, (and maybe profitable) EVs on the market. So all the chips went into that bet.
They faced two options in the wake of Dieselgate. They could fade away with ICE cars. Or maybe become the world's leading producer of EVs (and so become the world's leading car producer). They went for Option 2. At least, if they were to go down, they would go down swinging.
HNY Jeff, that's a good glass half full take on it. There was a 3rd option methinks.
They could have gone hybrid like Toyota, who they were competing against, and would of been in great shape today.
Let's hope Germany and VW recovers for the workers sake.
Wr bought a VW in 2019 and are enthralled by it. It is a technological masterpiece, looks great in the driveway, and cost $20K. It would have been interesting to see what they could have done along the lines of Toyota.
How do you make lemonade from a $30 billion lemon (diesel penalties)? I think that is the question that EVs tried to answer.
How about a 280 mpg diesel hybrid? VW could woulda shoulda!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car#:~:text=The%20Volkswagen%20XL1%20(VW%201,being%20both%20roadworthy%20and%20practical.
Yep. I liked my 45 mpg TDI that could do front wheel burnouts and haul stuff.....until the fuel pump went out and dieselgate.
Incidently, VW developed an insanely high mileage diesel hybrid at one time...too bad they didn't make a legit version of it!
We paid a couple thousand bucks for the 100K mile platinum warranty. For the price of the car, that was a no-brainer. So we can enjoy the car, even if something expensive breaks.
It sounds like we have/had different versions of the same model, the "estate wagen" small station wagon. What a perfect name. Noble, useful, sensible, handsome, and capable of roaring like a fighter jet when called upon. The Johann Kurtz of cars. (One of them, anyways.)
Our gas version regularly gets 45 mag on the highway. 525 miles 'til empty when you fill it up.
That warranty is a good idea 💡.
I have extended mine with my Stellantis products.
VW has one card left in its hand, maybe, and that is hybrids. A Porsche hybrid held the lap record at Nurburgring lap record for a while. Porsche and Audi both have plug-in hybrids for sale now. These really are the sweet spot of performance and practicality.
Thanks for the comment Jeff, they certainly have the engineering as you point out. The execution? Well, now they are up against the wall. Lots of lost opportunities and monies.
Hopefully they will recover!
Is it true that a lot (all?) US charging stations are diesel powered?
The energy mix to charge an EV comprises a significant fraction of fossil fuels including diesel and coal.
Right, but I’ve read that the actual charging stations sometimes have diesel “backup” generators on site.
Yes, definitely. I have seen them in Texas of all places.
There really is no way to get around fossil fuels based on energy density, storage and transport. Nuclear could help though!
If it hadn’t been for Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima!
Exactly. And looking past the trees being cut down and mines operated to make way for battery production seems telling..
The depiction of VW's decreeing that diesel was the way forward in America is simply not true as is laying all of the diesel fiasco's blame on Volkswagen's doorstep. Piech and his managers at VW did not plan a glorious American comeback via diesel. Volkswagen in the 90s was well aware that it could not compete on cost with the Japanese and while US sales of its Golf and Jetta were reasonable they didn't knock anybody's socks off in Wofsburg. The half assed plan in the C suite was to position the company as an upmarket player in a non-luxury brandscape, but few people felt the luxury vibe enough to make a dent in Toyota, Honda, Ford and Chevy sales. Diesel was an adjunct of the idea that VW was different, better and luxurious. Listen to that clatter!
As to dieselgate, VW was already in the States selling TDi cars when CAFE decided on its draconian reductions in NOx in the mid 2000s. In a short 3 year period passenger car and light truck diesel regs went from being much more lax than EU standards to bring absurdly (as in a row ital f' you to diesel drivers) stringent. At the same time fuels had to drop sulphur dramatically which sucks since sulphur is pretty useful in fuels. Oils changed for the worse as well. Yay big government!
So Volkswagen could not begin to meet both fuel economy and tailpipe emissions standards in the US because they were effectively mutually exclusive. They cheated in response instead of spending billions of $ removing them from the US market. Surely that's cowardly but understandable. Does anyone care that Merc and Audi cheated too? Of course not because actually having good information in a low information society is counterproductive and the others weren't trotted out by the DOJ before a public firing squad like VW was. We needed a shiny villain and it was Volkswagen. The real jackasses in this story are the ideologues running America's federal agencies - EPA and Interior along with CARB.
As an aside, everybody should know that the extortionate payments to buyers of diesel Golfs and Jetta (and me for my Sprinter) was rationalized as pain and anguish money because I didn't save the planet with my diesel as I was promised when I bought it. What a stupid, irrational, and ultimately obsequious view of a damned car buyer. People only foolishly buy EVs to save Mother Gaia. Diesel owners just like the fuel mileage.
Chris, this is an alternative and interesting perspective that you espouse and I welcome it. Respectfully, I don't agree. Please consider below.
I have skin in the diesel game, having owned a VW TDI wagon, 2 Porsche Cayenne diesels, and currently a RAM diesel, I have been disappointed with the VW diesel emissions scandal and fall out. I had to to have all my vehicles recalled and reflashed.
In contrast, I suggest that much of what you say flies on the face of conventional wisdom and court testimony with regards to the prosecution and testimony of the VW executives who planned the diesel deception with Bosch.
The VW conspiracy with Bosch was an incredibly dumb decision, and unnecessary. VW should of just made emissions compliant diesels and gone hybrid with ICE.
Toyota seems to have made the right decision and resisted the EV disasters now faced by every other car manufacturer worldwide.
It's ultimately about greed and arrogance and poor decisions.
Lying and cheating to reach a goal is not a proper way to conduct business, and VW thus crippled itself and damaged many others worldwide.
How about a 280 mpg diesel hybrid? VW could woulda shoulda!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car#:~:text=The%20Volkswagen%20XL1%20(VW%201,being%20both%20roadworthy%20and%20practical.