Volkswagen running for cover

[swarfie]

My 2001 VW Transporter 2.5TDI is coming up for sale soon as I have bought a car

Diesel?

How ya going to transport the Bavarian Tractor?

[Voltaire]

Diesel?

How ya going to transport the Bavarian Tractor?

Don't make fun of my sidecar project

[swarfie]

That Ford probably wasn't made in Bavaria

[Stylo]

Guess every dog has it's day , Holden Captiva got a good review here, as an aside.

Pronounced 'Craptiva' in Ozzie evidently,





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWA2Ls1-AaI

[neels]

Guess every dog has it's day , Holden Captiva got a good review here, as an aside.

Pronounced 'Craptiva' in Ozzie evidently,





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWA2Ls1-AaI

No great surprises there. The holden trax gets a mention too, I drove the opel equivalent overseas, what a god awful heap of shit. I suspect their fuel economy figure is partly assisted by the fact that it switches itself off when waiting at the lights, found the button to stop that crap straight away.

[Edbear]

I think I'll stick to my Outlander PHEV.

If towing, I'd go for a turbo Diesel, but for my use, it's got the power of a 3lt V6 and the running costs of a Honda Jazz.

Very comfortable, eerily quiet, roomy, all the bells and whistles you could want and I like it.

[TheDemonLord]

The question is - how is this going to effect HD?

Afterall - they are the biggest diesel vehicle maker in the US

[J.A.W.]

That Ford probably wasn't made in Bavaria

Why would it be? Ford Germany is HQ'd in Cologne, not Munich.. & VW HQ is in Wolfsburg, which is not in Bavaria, either..

& weren't BMW bikes - built in Berlin, anyhow?

[Voltaire]

Why would it be? Ford Germany is HQ'd in Cologne, not Munich.. & VW HQ is in Wolfsburg, which is not in Bavaria, either..

& weren't BMW bikes - built in Berlin, anyhow?

East Berlin I think, here is an early model, I believe they copied them off the Russians.


VW...they used to make them in Berlin.

[Swoop]

.......................

[J.A.W.]

.......................

Yeah, well - at least those ex-Nazi Commies knew how to build a thing 1/2 well, unlike the Commies screwing together Guzzis, Leylands & Ladas..

[pzkpfw]

East Berlin I think, here is an early model, I believe they copied them off the Russians.
...

It was the Soviets who copied German bikes. (And they on sold the designs to the Chinese).

[Stylo]

The flow on effects will be far reaching, this is going to be a doozy.

7/10/15 UK time


The new boss of Volkswagen has warned staff in Wolfsburg that 'painful' cuts are on the way, as the car-making giant tightens it belts to ride out the storm of the diesel emissions scandal. CEO Matthias Mueller told 20,000 staff gathered in production hall 11 at the German HQ: 'It is not possible to quantify the commercial and financial implications at present. That is why we have initiated a further critical review of all planned investments. Anything that is not absolutely necessary will be cancelled or postponed... To be perfectly frank: this will not be a painless process.

Casualties will include all non-core spending, and it is likely that nice-to-haves such as sponsorships, motorsport and even niche new model programmes (Bugatti Chiron hypercar, anyone?) could be cut or put on hold. Mueller stressed that the company was doing all it could to fix the emissions crisis and said that production remained in full swing, as current-generation EU6 diesels are unaffected.

VW has also appointed a new boss of the supervisory board; former finance chief Hans Dieter Poetsch was voted in as the new chairman at an emergency board meeting on Wednesday 7 October.


UK sales figures published on Tuesday 6 October suggest that Volkswagen escaped any downturn in sales in September, traditionally the busiest month for new-car registrations. VW sales were up nearly 4% and overall British sales of diesels also rose by a similar amount. It will be interesting to see if those gains continue in October, as the full scale of VW's problems becomes apparent.



VW emissions scandal: the UK owners' perspective

The Government has confirmed that UK tax rates won't change on Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Seat models affected by the emissions scandal - even if the remedial software fix due in October 2015 adversely affects the cars' CO2 ratings. The news comes as comfort to owners worried their VED and company car tax would rise if tweaked ECUs raised carbon dioxide emissions.

The VW group has announced 1.2 million British cars are affected by the #dieselgate scandal and it is rapidly working on a fix for the EA189 diesel engine family; the company is sourcing ownership details from the DVLA and will write to all affected owners. The UK is more exposed than any other country apart from Germany, which has 2.8m cars needing remedial action.

Volkswagen has already suspended the sale of 4000 cars in the UK, all using the EU5 emissions-standard motor. It continues to sell models with the later EU6 compliant engine, which does not use the so-called 'defeat device' cheat software uncovered in the US.

The full list of affected cars is now public

Audi admitted 2.1 million of its cars ran the 'defeat device' in engines' ECUs, Skoda has 1.2m cars, Seat 700,000, there are 1.8m VW vans - plus the 5m VW cars originally identified. Glass's Guide pricing experts reveal a drop in used VW residual values of up to 3% here, as buyers worry over the iffy software used to bypass diesel emissions tests in the US.

Poll: will scandal affect VW loyalty?

What will happen to my Volkswagen?

Officials are keen to stress this is a service action to 'refit' cars, not a full recall. It's a technicality, but full-blown recalls are reserved in the UK for safety-related issues. VW will write to affected owners and offer a retro-fit upgrade to their diesel car. Owners will take their car to a main dealer and VW will upgrade the ECU to eliminate the problem software free of charge, it claims. But the CEO has now confirmed that some cars will need additional physical engineering changes as well as a software reflash.

Models affected include all Golf Mk6, Passat Mk7, Tiguan Mk1 diesels, which are 'equipped exclusively with type EA189 diesel engines.' Audis affected are some A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, TT, Q3 and Q5 models, it has been confirmed. Skoda and Seat have yet to reveal a full model breakdown, but it is likely to be similar models based on the group MQB architecture.

From Porsche to top VW group job: Matthias Mueller




The new group boss of Volkswagen certainly has his hands full. Wolfsburg announced sweeping boardroom changes on Friday 25 September: Porsche leader Matthias Mueller (above) is the new CEO of Volkswagen AG and has pledged that his first priority is to clean up the company with a major restructure, new personnel and emergency actions to restore faith among the 80 million Volkswagen owners worldwide.

Dr Herbert Diess, CEO of the VW car division, said: 'We are working at full speed on a technical solution that we will present to partners, to our customers and to the public as swiftly as possible. Our aim is to inform our customers as quickly as possible, so that their vehicles comply fully with regulations. I assure you that Volkswagen will do everything humanly possible to win back the trust of our customers, the dealerships and the public.'


The story so far

VW has been embroiled in a storm after US emissions bodies discovered 2.0-litre diesel engines used a hidden special 'cheat cycle' when placed on a laboratory testbed (the cars can tell because the front wheels are spinning on a dynometer while the rears are stationary).

A simple recall story in the US has rapidly escalated into a full-blown global scandal, with American authorities threatening a robust $18 billion fine, VW shares plummeting by a third, Switzerland banning sales of affected diesels (and Italian VW Group dealers following suit, with an eye on potential recall costs) and Wolfsburg hastily committing to the recall of nearly half a million vehicles in the US, and probably more elsewhere in the world. This is a fast-moving story and the latest developments are:
•Former finance boss Hans Dieter Poetsch voted as new VW chairman

•VW confirms all non-essential spending will be cut or suspended
•Government confirms no change to UK car tax if CO2 rises in fix
•Interbrand says VW has dropped 9% in its Best Global Brands report 2015
•UK has 1.2 million affected cars
•Glass's Guide reveals 3% drop in residual value on VW diesels
•Scandal continues to batter VW's share price - down 35% in one week
•Audi admits 2.1 million of its cars used the 'cheat-mode' software
•700,000 Seats included, 1.2m Skodas, 1.8m VW vans
•VW says 5 million of its cars worldwide use the EA189 diesel engine
•EU5 engines only affected; EU6 diesels do not use 'defeat mode'
•'Some employees suspended', unclear which roles have been affected
•Porsche chief Matthias Mueller appointed new CEO of Volkswagen AG
•Reuters reports German prosecutors are investigating ex-CEO Martin Winterkorn
•Group restructured into four divisions: volume, premium, sports, CVs
•'Deluge' of UK Volkswagen owners complaining - newspaper reports
•BMW shares weaken, despite claims its diesel engines are compliant
•CEO Martin Winterkorn resigns on Wednesday 23 September
•See the earlier video statement by Winterkorn here
•Criminal probe by US Department of Justice likely
•More than €13 billion wiped from VW's market value
•VW sets aside €6.5 billion to fix the #dieselgate scandal
•Porsche SE, which owns 32% of VW, says it'll impact its results too
•Engine affected is 2.0-litre TDI Type EA189 in 11m cars worldwide
•US boss Michael Horn: 'We totally screwed up'
•The FT: 'Car industry faces Libor moment'

[Stylo]

This guy doesn't mince his words, he starts firing up at around the 6.05 mark.

Makes some good points ..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VZFP3lW4gU

[AllanB]

So after some weeks of this now has anybody pointed a finger at the emission standards that have to be met? They still pump out shit - they are just using precious metals to absorb it, run very lean engines and come up with annoying electronic shit like cutting the engine when at lights. Do we sleep better at night knowing this?

I'm internet surfing for some cans for the Ducati - do I care if they don't have a cat converter in them? Nah. I was talking to a NZ supplier of one brand - he can get cat ones - but stated all he sells in NZ are non cats........