Earlier quoted context omitted.
My dad used to joke that if you wanted sneakers that were not made by child labor, your best bet was whichever manufacturer last got into trouble for it because of all the extra scrutiny. That this level of fatalism about immoral acts exists is a failure of society as a whole. I suspect that all of those who got rich either knowingly or being willfully ignorant about emissions cheating walked away completely unpunish…
I always found it odd that Americans have no problem with child labor at home, so long as it’s confined to movies and entertainment. We even have special laws just to make it legal when every other form of child labor is outlawed. It’s absolutely not the same as a sweatshop, but hollywood has a long track record of ruining children’s lives for profit.
Voltswagen of America
301–310 of 632 posts
Re: Voltswagen of America
#302I previously owned a VW, but swore on my life that I'd never buy another one after the emissions cheating scandal. There are plenty of reasons why a VW likely wont be my next choice, but I'm softening my stance a bit. What they did was absolutely reprehensible, but I later learned that the more accurate story is that they bore the brunt of media attention for something that nearly every auto manufacturer was later fo…
Re: Voltswagen of America
#303I previously owned a VW, but swore on my life that I'd never buy another one after the emissions cheating scandal. There are plenty of reasons why a VW likely wont be my next choice, but I'm softening my stance a bit. What they did was absolutely reprehensible, but I later learned that the more accurate story is that they bore the brunt of media attention for something that nearly every auto manufacturer was later fo…
Same boat here, I had a VW and sold it about a year and half ago. I will not be buying one again, they've lost me. But also, I don't really appreciate what any of the car manufacturers have been doing (location tracking, internet connectivity, subscription services, etc). Since I sold the VW, I haven't bought a car, and am currently without a car. I don't plan on buying one anytime in the near future.
Re: Voltswagen of America
#304Got a Subaru Outback 10 days ago. After I saw this, I told my wife that will probably be the last vehicle we buy that is not at least a plug-in hybrid. We had also test-driven a Toyota Avalon Hybrid, but the Subaru was a much better value and had more vertical trunk space, AWD, and every safety/convenience feature we could imagine getting (and some we weren't even aware of) without buying a $70k+ Lexus/BMW/Mercedes.…
I wish Subaru didn't go all-in on touch for critical controls like climate and radio. It may be the #1 reason I don't look to them for my next vehicle.
Re: Voltswagen of America
#305Hmm did they release their April 1 joke too early by mistake?
Re: Voltswagen of America
#306Earlier quoted context omitted.
My dad used to joke that if you wanted sneakers that were not made by child labor, your best bet was whichever manufacturer last got into trouble for it because of all the extra scrutiny. That this level of fatalism about immoral acts exists is a failure of society as a whole. I suspect that all of those who got rich either knowingly or being willfully ignorant about emissions cheating walked away completely unpunish…
it's almost impossible to effectively regulate externalities in a global economy. Local regulators are not inclined to care about products sold overseas and all products compete with the lowest common regulatory framework. All it takes for child labor to enter into the supply chain is one bad regulator and a couple levels of outsourcing. The final "complete" product becomes nearly impossible to audit.
It really is not. Take the EU, for instance. They have the biggest internal market in the world. They can effectively dictate many things unilaterally that companies have to comply with under pain of being locked out of a multi-trillion dollar market (and indeed they do, with things such as health and safety standards, etc.). There's nothing stopping then from properly pricing externalities of pollution for instance, or of mandating that clothes companies pass a workplace standards audit irrespective of where their factories are located. This isn't done because of lack of will.
Re: Voltswagen of America
#307Earlier quoted context omitted.
My dad used to joke that if you wanted sneakers that were not made by child labor, your best bet was whichever manufacturer last got into trouble for it because of all the extra scrutiny. That this level of fatalism about immoral acts exists is a failure of society as a whole. I suspect that all of those who got rich either knowingly or being willfully ignorant about emissions cheating walked away completely unpunish…
Instead of posting uninformed speculation, you can just Google it… > In 2017, the U.S.-based VW executive Oliver Schmidt, who oversaw emissions issues, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $400,000, the maximum possible under a plea deal the German national made with prosecutors after admitting to charges of conspiring to mislead U.S regulators and violate clean-air laws. The US has charged nine people, a…
Re: Voltswagen of America
#308If this isn't a joke, it actually does make sense. Easier to pronounce in english. Means electric car... the growth category. Why not? "Volkswagen" is big enough that the name just means the company/product. But, it isn't really good brand name for an anglo market. You either can't pronounce it, or the literal connotation makes you a little uncomfortable.
Re: Voltswagen of America
#309Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same boat here, I had a VW and sold it about a year and half ago. I will not be buying one again, they've lost me. But also, I don't really appreciate what any of the car manufacturers have been doing (location tracking, internet connectivity, subscription services, etc). Since I sold the VW, I haven't bought a car, and am currently without a car. I don't plan on buying one anytime in the near future.
Me too, only owned a used old Toyota (pre ABS and OBDII) since and right now nothing. The VW I leased was a 2014 so I just managed to miss out on the era of rearview cameras though
Re: Voltswagen of America
#310Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same boat here, I had a VW and sold it about a year and half ago. I will not be buying one again, they've lost me. But also, I don't really appreciate what any of the car manufacturers have been doing (location tracking, internet connectivity, subscription services, etc). Since I sold the VW, I haven't bought a car, and am currently without a car. I don't plan on buying one anytime in the near future.
Me too, only owned a used old Toyota (pre ABS and OBDII) since and right now nothing. The VW I leased was a 2014 so I just managed to miss out on the era of rearview cameras though