Brokeswagen TDI
Colin McGowan
In the last few years the German car company Volkswagen has been becoming more and more popular for their line up offering options for every type of driver. One of the types of vehicles Volkswagen offers has a TDI(turbo diesel) engine. This is available in the Volkswagen Golf Passat, and Jetta, that in previous years had been well renowned for the longevity of the powertrain and incredible fuel efficiency without sacrificing any luxuries. These cars that used to be the best option for sporty, reliable, and fuel efficiencient cars now has consumers looking the other direction. 
When the TDI option first hit the market in over 500,000 models were sold in the first 14 months alone. The turbo and diesel combination allowed for these cars to get an average of 40-50 mpg, while also maintaining reliable for a few hundred thousand miles. Once other car companies saw what Volkswagen was accomplishing with turbo engines, they stepped up to compete. Other hybrid or electric cars are able to reach the same fuel efficiency, but never with near the same horsepower and torque. Sounds like it’s too good to be true. The cars may benefit the consumers wallets, but they’ve been putting a dent in the environment.
In order to register a car, every car manufactured after 1993 must go through an emissions test. An emissions test monitors the car’s computer and check the exhaust to make sure the vehicle isn’t polluting the air with too much fuel. The cars have an AFR(air fuel ratio) sensor in the exhaust that signals the engine to use less or more fuel. Volkswagen bypassed the regulations by setting up a system that could tell when the car was being tested for emissions. The car would then run under different settings that followed the emission standards, and return back to normal once the testing had finished. When investigators found this out, the cars were tested under their normal conditions and found to be putting out 30 times higher than the standard.
When the media found out about Volkswagen’s scandal, the company took a huge hit to their diesel department. Not only did Volkswagen take a hit, the value of the cars dropped to an all time low. Volkswagen has set up a recall program that offers buyback or software fix in order to make consumers content with the situation they were put into, but the recall is only making Volkswagen spend more money.
As a car enthusiast myself, I am shocked by the situation at hand. Volkswagen has always been one of my favorite companies but I would have to side against them in this situation. I would sell back the car to the dealership and invest in a different company. My view on Volkswagen has changed and it just makes you wonder what else they could be doing.
Hotten, Russell. "Volkswagen: The Scandal Explained." BBC News. BBC, 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
"VW Diesel Saga Hits 3.0-liter TDI Models: Buybacks Happening." Autoweek. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
You make some very interesting points and I agree that what they are doing is wrong but as long as they change what needs to be fixed I will respect them as a car company. It would have been interesting to see the marginal costs to the environment vs the marginal benefit of the performance of the car. Clearly 30 times the limit probably isn't good and most likely no benefit could really match that, but it would be nice to put it in perspective. Volkswagen must have just got too far caught up in the profits and lost sight of their morals. It is sad to hear but I'm sure they can make a comeback.
ReplyDeleteI’m surprised that Volkswagen tried to scam everyone like that. As someone who knows little to nothing about cars, I personally didn’t know about this emissions testing, however, I feel like they should make the testing at random times to prevent scams like this. I also can’t believe that the AFR was 30 times higher than the standard. Although, I don’t really know how difficult it is to make a car that fits this standard, I feel like it would have been a lot less expensive for Volkswagen if they had just made the cars to the proper standards in the first place because it probably takes a lot more work to schedule when it would change how it’s running versus just making it run the proper way the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a very interesting issue at hand, especially since it affects the company greatly and also the people who have a lot of money invested in the company as well. You wouldn't think that a car company that successful would need to try and cheat the system just to save some money because if they were caught, which they were, you would have to spend way more paying the fees and changing what you did . And also at the same time you would be losing money from investors because the company would most likely be losing quite a bit of money. Overall great work on the topic.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the thought that VW is/was an amazing car company before this crisis hit the market. This happened in the past with fake marketing on the first three wheeled car but soon its lies were found and raised a big deal in car production. When this fake market by VW they lost a lot of trust from the people that rock their band on the road because who knows if your actually getting what they say your buying.
ReplyDeleteI had heard something like this on the news, but did not really pay much attention so this was a good read to hear about what exactly went on. I thought it was interesting that they rather than making the car actually pass the emission test went to great lengths just so that they could cheat the system and continue to distribute these polluting machines. I believe that they got what they deserved with issue and deserved to loss such a large amount of money. Great piece and was interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteThis is very surprising to hear about Volkswagen they make some really good cars such as the jetta. I never knew that such a company big like that would actually pull a scandal like this. Maybe they are not a good company maybe there is more things that they did now or even in the past with their cars. A lot of people who put money into their cars are losing a lot of time and money since Volkswagen wanted to do this.
ReplyDeleteEven though I still like Volkswagen cars, this has influenced my trust towards the overall company and other car companies. If Volkswagen did this, don't you think other companies might have done this with other models as well? The price of these cars probably depreciated a lot due to the consumers not wanting to purchase cars that are not technically abiding by the regulations of the emission tests. Hopefully, the quality of Volkswagen increases by making models that actually fit the requirements. It may take a little for the company to regain a good reputation, but the recalls help build it again.
ReplyDeleteWhen this news story was released, it came as a pretty big shock to see a car company, let alone one of the German flagship automotive manufactures. With such a large, growing business, it's worth noting the risk that they put in terms of the environment, as well as doing so in secret. This dampers my opinion of Volkswagen majorly, because it's difficult to come back from such a scandal. I agree with Colin that after brown nosing the public, this would bring me to a point of returning the car, and looking to other automotive companies. Had Volkswagen not cheated the system, but instead dealt with the issue from the start and tested more, the issue would never have been created. Now, the once trustworthy company is now seen as a cheating, ignorant company with poor reputation. Now, consumers have all the more reason to look at Subaru's, with no hesitation.
ReplyDeleteI currently drive a Volkswagen, so my view on them could be biased. I really like the Volkswagen I drive, a 2012 golf. Since I like them car so much, me hearing about this scandal doesn't change my opinion on them much. As I see it, most companies are trying to get around regulations and testing, and the fact that Volkswagen were found out just makes me believe that they were found out before other companies could get busted. The other car companies will now change their engines to meet standards, from the consumers and the government.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea about this scandal, but just reading about it made me very disturbed. Volkswagen is a major company owning Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, and other overseas brands. This makes me think that some of these other brands of cars produced by Volkswagen could be manipulated. Also, if Volkswagen was able to pull this scandal off to the extent they did, it makes me wonder if other car producing companies are manipulating their customers as well. All in all, I believe that Volkswagen got what they deserved, and I hope that they regain their reputation as one of my favorite car companies.
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