VW Deisel

Or, maybe Mercedes uses better hidden software. :)

about a week before the VW pantload, the Guardian UK was reporting the EU and UK regulators were looking at diesels from MB, BMW and VW group for emissions above allowable limits.

The EU recently adopted regs similar to 2010+ US regs ( 2009 California).


It ain;t over 'til it's over- Yogi Barra

Mike

All manufacturers of diesel cars and trucks are starting to worry how this will affect their sales, even if their products pass all current testing. I suspect that in a few months time we'll probably see some steep discounts on diesel vehicles to try and counteract the bad publicity and get them to moved off the lots.

The real concern in the RV world might be the impact on Class B's and C's that use diesel. Will their sales be so affected that they run into business difficulties? For some, like Leisure Travel Vans though it might be a blessing in disguise since it may offer them a chance to catch up on their order backlog.

I read an article about the group that "caught" VW.
Almost 15 years ago Caterpillar was caught doing the same thing to heavy-haul engines. Part of that settlement was the money that set up this group. Their task was a light mobile system for checking diesels "on the road".
When they first hit VW's and Audi's they thought something was wrong with their test gear, as the readings were so much higher then the allowed levels.
Then they figured out it wasn't their gear.

But these VWs and Audr's were the only firm they tested that were exceeding allowed levels by that much. Most were with-in spec

I think I'll wait a few more months and pick up a great deal on a new VW diesel. Good cars, great mileage. They'll fix the software and everything will be good. Reputation may take a while to fix though.

I wish VW would bring the Crafter to our shores. It is a Sprinter, so maybe they can offer a lower price than MB/FL. Software aside, here in Texas, unless someone is obviously rolling coal when the OBD II says the exhaust is clean (which means a custom tune), they are not going to do air quality tests on a vehicle.

As for the knock to rep, I don't see this affecting sales. I know in Austin, VWs are either the #1 seller or #2 behind the little Mazdas, and I doubt this is going to change anytime soon, just because of the trend to not buy US for style reasons (and then wonder where one's job went.)

wildtoad wrote:
I think I'll wait a few more months and pick up a great deal on a new VW diesel. Good cars, great mileage. They'll fix the software and everything will be good. Reputation may take a while to fix though.

There is a very good chance that "fixing" the software is going to kill the fuel economy.
I guess we'll have to wait and see.

This will not affect diesel truck sales in the US. However, only 1% of US cars are diesels. The American public already is leery about them, the diesel car in the US is dead because of what VW pulled.

wildtoad wrote:
I think I'll wait a few more months and pick up a great deal on a new VW diesel. Good cars, great mileage. They'll fix the software and everything will be good. Reputation may take a while to fix though.

The issue being is that existing owners will in all likelihood notice a performance difference when VW comes up with a fix. It's those owners that will have been "damaged" and will have case for a court case. As a new owner you wouldn't be harmed because you would have nothing to compare it to.

Diesels inherently generate o lot of NOx emissions. Commercial truck diesels and MB sprinters inject DEF (a concentrated solution of urea) into the exhaust system to react with and eliminate the NOx. They shouldn't have the same problems as VW.