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Voltswagen of America

media.vw.com

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Re: Voltswagen of America

#371
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/30/22357166/volkswagen-name-... > The proximity of the name change to April Fool’s Day initially raised suspicions that it was just a joke. But VW insists that it’s a real thing, so here we are.

> "The company was apparently planning to make the announcement at the end of April but accidentally published a press release about the name change early Monday afternoon, which was first spotted by CNBC before it was taken down. The proximity of the name change to April Fool’s Day initially raised suspicions that it was just a joke. But VW insists that it’s a real thing, so here we are." Sounds to me like a publici…

You find it that hard to believe that someone typed the wrong date into a CMS?

Re: Voltswagen of America

#372
post #179

I 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…

>...they bore the brunt of media attention for something that nearly every auto manufacturer was later found to be doing...

Car manufacturers any company really tries to get away with whatever they can until until caught.

Here in Canada the latest news is Honda vehicles without any heat. People are driving in -20C or lower with no heater.

It's the terribly outdated laws we have in Canada some laws haven't been updated for 60 years. Car makers know this and here in Canada car buyers are often ignored or strung along for months.

Hyundai implemented a warning light to let you know if your engine lost all its oil and was about to erupt in flames. In other countries Hyundai had to replace the engine free of charge. Here in Canada we get "Hey your engine's gonna blow. Sorry"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/honda-crv-civic-heater-1.59...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-car-recall-inve...

Re: Voltswagen of America

#373

Does this mean they have shifted their focus to cheating on battery capacity?

From what I have seen VW had a sort of genuine reckoning with the whole diesel issue. They have reinvented themselves, shed cruft, cut all fuel vehicle development and completely devoted themselves to an electric future (vehicles, batteries, chargers). They have turned things around wholesale and are now producing amazing, relatively affordable electric vehicles (their new id.4 SUV will debut in the US for just a lit…

So can I now go into a VW / Audi dealer in North America and buy an EV off a lot?

Because every time I look (and I've looked constantly since I traded my Jetta TDI for cash in dieselgate) I still can't. And they are issuing a new press release every few months promising mass production EVs next year.

Back in 2017/2018 when this all went down they actually removed all electrified cars from their lineup. Stopped making new Audi A3 e-Trons, removed the hybrid Jetta from their lineup, and only made about 500 outdated (several year old design) eGolfs with a small battery for all of the Canadian market with a year and a half waiting list to get in one. All the while trumpeting how committed they were to electrification and how this was the future. So, I bought a GM EV instead.

And, yep, I just went to the local VW dealer's website and they have only one car with an electric motor in it, the 2019 eGolf with a 35kWh battery. That's it and I know exactly how it would go down if I were to call the dealer and ask to test drive one.

And last I looked the id.3 isn't coming to North America and the id.4 is a "maybe next year" kind of deal and the electric van they've been promising since about 2015 is now projected for 2023 when I recall in previous press releases talk about it coming out several years ago.

I'm sorry, they're greenwashing, they're desperate, and they're trying to milk as much out of the ICE while they can while playing a PR game. People trash GM's EV efforts as "compliance cars" but at least I can actually buy a Bolt.

Re: Voltswagen of America

#376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mistake? Look at all the coverage they are getting when they would otherwise be lost in a crowd.

Maybe they grew tired of Americans pronouncing it wrong (most V are still pronounced as F, Vettel, Volkswagen etc.) ;-) Edit: This German apologizes for an attempt at a humorous / sarcastic comment and will revert to work-machine state at once. Beep boop.

Obligatory reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MUsVcYhERY

Edit: more complete version.

Re: Voltswagen of America

#377
post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about 'rolling coal'?

What about it? No vehicle will do it from the factory, so I don't see how it's relevant here. It's the result of running a diesel massively, massively over-rich (with aftermarket tuning), and it's absolute hell on the engine - that amount of diesel in the cylinder washes down the cylinder walls and wipes off the lubricating film, so the cylinder wear is insane from even fairly short periods of it. Even in diesel truc…

I used to live next to a freeway and I know the true cost of dirty diesel engines. Get on any US freeway and you'll notice that while a majority of diesels are fine, there is a minority that is belching soot any time the driver steps on the gas. This is simply unacceptable - this tiny minority of diesels kills people over time - especially the poorer populations who live close to the freeways. I would prefer much more stringent enforcement where any truck belching smoke can be spot checked and impounded.

The emissions testing is not a "nuisance". It saves lives. A noisy motorcycle would be a better example of a nuisance.

Re: Voltswagen of America

#379
post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lance Armstrong deserved it though.

Why? Everyone else was doping.

Because Lance Armstrong threatened to ruin (and came close in a couple of cases) the lives of anyone who looked like they might expose him.

The doping is one thing. The effort to cover it up was something else again.

Re: Voltswagen of America

#380
post #179

I 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…

I also bought a VW Golf GTD and ended up having to sell it right as the scandal was heating up.

Apart from the ~$10k I lost and the betrayal by VW executives, I was also upset that the car I bought to try and be a little bit eco-friendly was decidedly not.

I received a paltry payout from the class-action lawsuit, which helped. However I will never buy a VW-group car again. It has also forever jaded me about the lack of punishments for corporate malfeasance.

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