VW "Clean" Diesel not really clean

[aminalmutha]

Was this an EPA or CARB spokesperson you heard this from? This is the official stance of the organizations?

Or was this just a person who works in one of those organizations expressing their emotional views on the issue of industry and autos?

CARB... their personal opinion. Verbal, not in writing. Total dick.

 

[wazzuFreddo]

CARB... their personal opinion. Verbal, not in writing. Total dick.

Does this clown own a car? If so, tell him to put his money where his mouth is and go without.

 

[aminalmutha]

No idea. Probably. Drove a state-owned car, I know that much.

 

[Kornholio]

Only 32? I had a rental Focus (bleah) last month that got a combined 38mpg over a thousand miles of mixed driving.

Best I've got was 38 on a trip to The Land. Typical is 32-34 highway. Keep in mind that I have a bit of a lead foot and the car does like to be flogged.

Does this clown own a car? If so, tell him to put his money where his mouth is and go without.

I think you'd be surprised how many people at CARB don't drive. I was stuck waiting on a colleague there a few times because he rode a bicycle to the office from Folsom down the American Bike Trail...dude was a huge bike nut. Didn't own a car and had no driver's license. Anyway, it'd take him roughly two hours each way. :|

 

[ScarySpikes]

Best I've got was 38 on a trip to The Land. Typical is 32-34 highway. Keep in mind that I have a bit of a lead foot and the car does like to be flogged.



I think you'd be surprised how many people at CARB don't drive. I was stuck waiting on a colleague there a few times because he rode a bicycle to the office from Folsom down the American Bike Trail...dude was a huge bike nut. Didn't own a car and had no driver's license. Anyway, it'd take him roughly two hours each way. :|

32 in a FiST is pretty good actually, I test drove one and it was really difficult to not drive everywhere like you are on a race track. That being said it's one of a pretty short list of cars I would consider buying at the moment.


Also, surprising no one at all, BMW's diesels have been found to be in violation of Euro emissions standards. As someone said earlier, every brand does it. VW is just the first to get caught.

 

[augustiron]

Also, surprising no one at all, BMW's diesels have been found to be in violation of Euro emissions standards. As someone said earlier, every brand does it. VW is just the first to get caught.

 

[FlewbyU]

I am talking about the guy who originally approached the law firm with his complaint, his evidence or story, and his idea for the class action. Without him, you wouldn't have anything. He's called the "class representative" or something, right? I think he deserves more than a petty $20K or whatever, which is what I've seen from a few proposed settlements.

Yes, and class representatives generally get much more in the settlement than the other members in the class.

 

[Reli]

Yeah, but it's usually only in the low 5 figures........not 6 as I think it should be

 

[Archimedes]

32 in a FiST is pretty good actually, I test drove one and it was really difficult to not drive everywhere like you are on a race track. That being said it's one of a pretty short list of cars I would consider buying at the moment.


Also, surprising no one at all, BMW's diesels have been found to be in violation of Euro emissions standards. As someone said earlier, every brand does it. VW is just the first to get caught.

I'm not ready to believe the every manufacturer was doing this, but I hope that those that were/are get nailed to the wall just like VW. I hope we see massive fines, massive lawsuit damages and a big impact on their reputation and future business. This is criminal activity and should be penalized severely. I'm very curious to hear whether VW was also in violation in Europe and the larger Asian markets. If so, they might want to just turn out the lights in the factory and hand the keys to the lawyers.

 

[Archimedes]

Yeah, but it's usually only in the low 5 figures........not 6 as I think it should be

But they typically don't do anything but lend their name to the case. It's not like they're running around giving depositions and testifying all over the place. And when/if they do, they get compensated for that.

 

[flying_hun]

I'm not ready to believe the every manufacturer was doing this, but I hope that those that were/are get nailed to the wall just like VW. I hope we see massive fines, massive lawsuit damages and a big impact on their reputation and future business. This is criminal activity and should be penalized severely. I'm very curious to hear whether VW was also in violation in Europe and the larger Asian markets. If so, they might want to just turn out the lights in the factory and hand the keys to the lawyers.

The news stories I've read indicate this is global fraud, not unique to the US market. Also, Winterkorn has a reputation for being a micro-manager, undermining any 'plausible deniability' defense.

 

[Reli]

But they typically don't do anything but lend their name to the case. It's not like they're running around giving depositions and testifying all over the place. And when/if they do, they get compensated for that.

But they're the ones who came up with the idea in the first place.

Granted, in this particular case everyone already knows about it because it's in the media, but I'd wager that most class actions involve esoteric consumer complaints that haven't hit the media yet, so your average attorney would never hear about them if it wasn't for the class representative coming to them and telling them about it and supplying the necessary evidence/records.

 

[Archimedes]

But they're the ones who came up with the idea in the first place.

No, they're not typically the ones that came up with the idea. In many cases, they are professional class action plaintiffs and/or were sought out by the attorneys. In fact, many large plaintiff's firms have rosters of these people.

 

[Kornholio]

32 in a FiST is pretty good actually, I test drove one and it was really difficult to not drive everywhere like you are on a race track. That being said it's one of a pretty short list of cars I would consider buying at the moment.

It's really good when you just set the cruise control and leave it alone.

 

[ScarySpikes]

I'm not ready to believe the every manufacturer was doing this, but I hope that those that were/are get nailed to the wall just like VW. I hope we see massive fines, massive lawsuit damages and a big impact on their reputation and future business. This is criminal activity and should be penalized severely. I'm very curious to hear whether VW was also in violation in Europe and the larger Asian markets. If so, they might want to just turn out the lights in the factory and hand the keys to the lawyers.

A lot of watchdog groups have said that most if not all manufacturers that have diesel options have been doing the same thing VW group does. It makes sense, diesel vehicles sell their because they get great mileage and have good torque. The tools that clean up diesel emissions drop gas mileage and lower engine output.

Also, VW alone owns Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, SEAT, Skoda, VW (and VW commercial vehicles), Ducati, MAN, Scania, and Neoplan. The top end brands are probably going to be ok since they don't use diesel, but I'd bet that most of the diesels in Audis, SEATs, Skodas and all of the commercial vehicles have emissions issues.

 

[Reli]

No, they're not typically the ones that came up with the idea. In many cases, they are professional class action plaintiffs and/or were sought out by the attorneys. In fact, many large plaintiff's firms have rosters of these people.

Interesting but you are assuming that the attorneys came up with the idea for the suit in the first place. What percentage of the time does that happen? I kinda doubt it's the majority.

 

[Archimedes]

The news stories I've read indicate this is global fraud, not unique to the US market. Also, Winterkorn has a reputation for being a micro-manager, undermining any 'plausible deniability' defense.

I agree, but I'm curious if all the regs are as strict as ours or if they may be actually passing the regs elsewhere when in drive mode.

If this a global problem in every market, I think this threatens VW's existence.

 

[Archimedes]

Interesting, but you are assuming that the attorneys came up with the idea for the suit in the first place. What percentage of the time does that happen? I kinda doubt it's the majority.

Are you kidding? The attorney's start chasing plaintiff's and running to the courthouse as soon as there's a whiff of an opportunity for a lawsuit. I guarantee you there were attorney's chasing this within hours of the very first press release about a potential problem here.

 

[Blankpage]

Interesting, but you are assuming that the attorneys came up with the idea for the suit in the first place. What percentage of the time does that happen? I kinda doubt it's the majority.

There's ads on tv all the time from attorneys trying to round up people who have been harmed by a drug side effect. I just assume it was the lawyers that got the ball rolling.

 

[Archimedes]

A lot of watchdog groups have said that most if not all manufacturers that have diesel options have been doing the same thing VW group does. It makes sense, diesel vehicles sell their because they get great mileage and have good torque. The tools that clean up diesel emissions drop gas mileage and lower engine output.

Also, VW alone owns Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, SEAT, Skoda, VW (and VW commercial vehicles), Ducati, MAN, Scania, and Neoplan. The top end brands are probably going to be ok since they don't use diesel, but I'd bet that most of the diesels in Audis, SEATs, Skodas and all of the commercial vehicles have emissions issues.

They've only tested a few makes and haven't yet said they are for sure violating the law or that the method is similar, i.e., with hidden software code.

And as regards VW, remember the commercial vehicles have different emissions standards and, as you said, many of the brands under the VW umbrella sell little to no diesel cars. VW is the big banana in this whole thing.