Brad Boyer: Inside the Volkswagen Diesel Scandal
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
If you’re not cheatin, you’re not tryin. That is a tongue in cheek commentary used primarily about sports teams and players but recently, Volkswagen seems to have adopted that as its mission statement for its “formerly known” as Clean Diesel vehicles. VW has admitted it had software on the diesel cars that detected whether the car was being emission-tested or being operated on the actual roads. It was based on steering wheel position, wheel motion and other sensor information. The vehicles in question were all sold between 2009-2015.
With nearly 50% of the VW’s sold in the Northwest being the diesel TDI’s, it has a big impact here. While the largest impacted vehicle was the Jetta TDI, the other nameplates, Golf, Beetle, Passat and Jetta Sportwagen were also impacted. The Audi A3 TDI sold from 2009 to 2013 is also on the list. Ironically, the VW Golf family was tapped as “Car of the Year” at last year’s Detroit Auto Show in a big part because of its impressive TDI products. VW had dominated the diesel marketplace in recent years by offering fun to drive; high torque diesels that still got well over 40 miles per gallon and burned “clean”. Mazda was attempting to introduce a diesel in the US marketplace but put that plan on hold as it couldn’t generated the mpg numbers and still pass the emissions standards. It would have been at big competitive disadvantage to VW’s staggering numbers. The TDI’s numbers were almost too good to be to true and over the last couple weeks, it was proved why.
In 2007, German fuel-system and emissions components supplier, Bosch, warned of the illegality of tampering with the software to circumvent the rules. In 2011, VW engineers also alerted top management of the impropriety but a culture of fear at the automaker led to some disastrous decision making. There was a fix, as Bosch pointed out in 2007 and that was to use an exhaust gas treatment with a urea-based system. The cost would have been just $335 per vehicle which is a far cry from the billions it will cost today.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAnyone who owns these vehicles will play a bit of a waiting game as the German automaker finds a solution. It has already set aside over $6 billion to handle the recall which affects nearly 11 million vehicles. VW issued a statement which assured drivers the vehicles are safe to drive and they are working to find a remedy that addresses the emissions requirements and also satisfies VW’s client base. That client base, however, is already lining up for class action suits that could cost the automaker billions more. With the stock already taking a loss of 25% and the impeding lawsuits and fines, there are some real concerns about the company’s long term viability.
The question is if it’s safe for everyone else to drive the TDI’s. The cheating allows the VW and Audi diesel engines to emit 40% higher level than allowed of nitrogen oxide Nox. Nox is odorless but contributes to many health issues including aggravating heart disease and asthma as well has many other repertory ailments. On an isolated basis, the Nox does dissipate but on a big scale, envision Los Angeles smog and that gives one an idea of what Nox contributes. According to the NY Times report and the Green Car Reports, considering the number of vehicles sold since 2008 in the VW scandal in the United States, it is estimated that nearly 46,000 additional tons of nitrogen oxide was emitted. Given VW’s estimate of 11 million vehicles affected worldwide, some estimate the total of extra nitrogen oxide to be somewhere between 330-990 tons.
While most car manufactures have gravitated to hybrid and electric powerplants to meet the higher mileage requirements and consumer demands, VW aggressively boasted their clean diesel offering was a much more fun and efficient alternative. This certainly could be the end for diesel passenger vehicles in the United States and an even more aggressive move to electric plug in options.
In an interview with the UK publication Auto Express, Elon Musk, Tesla Motors CEO, stated, “any car company that doesn’t go electric will be out of business”.
VW, in an effort to maintain any semblance of brand loyalty is offering a $2000 incentive to any current VW owner that purchases or leases any new gasoline or hybrid model. VW CEO Mark McNabb said, “The heart and soul of this brand relies upon the devoted customers and dealers that drive our products on a daily basis”
VW is also is rolling over its September incentives that range from $2000 to $4000 additionally depending on the model.
Brad Boyer is owner of Carcierge, a car concierge company providing expert assistance on anything car-related.
