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JBR
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22-09-2015, 10:57 PM
11

Re: Naughty vw

As far as I'm concerned, the eco-warriors can stuff their 'emissions' where the sun don't shine.

I have a diesel car which is knocking on a bit now (12 years old) yet is a fantastic car in all respects and passes its MoT every year without any remedial work. When we come to replace our cars (when t'wife retires) I'd really like to get another diesel, especially since diesel is now for the first time in memory cheaper than petrol!

Unfortunately, the powers that be (no doubt at the insistence of the greenies) are now bringing in all sorts of disincentives to buying diesel: particle filters, cats, and inner city charges. It wasn't long ago that they were really pushing diesels but now we have yet another political U-turn.

I don't know. Perhaps in a couple of years they may well have done another about-turn.
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22-09-2015, 11:06 PM
12

Re: Naughty vw

Yep. One more glaring example of how and why we must not take for granted any major corporation. Question everything.

For those wondering how this thing worked (as it's not obvious to us here in the UK) let me explain.


Here in the UK when you have an MOT the mechanic switches on your engine, sticks a sensor up the exhaust pipe and leaves the engine idling for a period of time and this way the emissions from the pipe are measured.

Some would say that this isn't a very realistic test because the car is hardly being stretched just sitting their on idle tick over.

So in other countries, e.g. the USA more stringent tests are done. What they do is put the car on rolling rollers to better simulate actual driving conditions and then measure the emissions. However when they do this they just let the front or back wheels rotate. This causes problems with the car's fancy sensor systems like ABS and other stuff which interpret 2 out of 4 wheels rotating as some kind of problem and leads to the cars doing something as a result, maybe applying the brakes and so on.

As a result of this problem manufacturers developed a special "Test Mode" for the car which mechanics could use when doing emissions tests. The "test mode" disables the systems and sensors that would otherwise get confused by the rollers and thus make things safer for the mechanic.

It is that "test mode" that has been specially programmed or "rigged" to fix the emissions results. When the mechanic activates the "Test mode" to run the test, the car suddenly operates in a different way that puts out far less emissions.
Once the test mode is switched off the car returns to normal running.

This has allowed VW's and some Audi's to pretend to be very clean Green cars when in fact they are little different to rival cars.

This will be massive and has already hit the share price of the company. VW will likely face criminal actions and presumably anyone who bought one of these cars will be entitled to a refund as they are obviously not as advertised.
Doubtless expensive lawyers will be brought in and much money will pass hands to prevent mass refunds from happening. Expect it to be dumbed down to customers just getting a free software upgrade for their cars.

As with other scams like phone hacking or politician's expenses you have to think that this is just the first of many. If one manufacturer has gotten away with this for so long, then how many others have done the same thing. I assume investigations are underway with all manufacturers. So watch this space imo.

Bottom line, we can not trust the corporations and large companies that run our world.
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22-09-2015, 11:14 PM
13

Re: Naughty vw

Originally Posted by JBR ->
Oh, I don't know. Perhaps BE was referring to their omitting to have taken more care in their testing!
It's all quite pedantic to bandy semantics or other such antics across the Atlantic

BUT .....
Originally Posted by BowieEyes ->
Trouble with the European laws and the USA laws they are different about omissions.
Therefore, the ones on the VW in the USA are not above and beyond the limit in the European law. .....
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23-09-2015, 08:47 AM
14

Re: Naughty vw

If the US government and the media hype up this situation any further it could be great news for car-buyers. VW cars will lose value overnight and those of us contemplating a new car might be able to pick up a new VW for next to nothing. After all, the vast majority of car buyers don't give a toss about some emissions limit randomly set by a bureaucrat - they just want a cheap, good quality motor.
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23-09-2015, 09:44 AM
15

Re: Naughty vw

Originally Posted by MickB ->
If the US government and the media hype up this situation any further it could be great news for car-buyers. VW cars will lose value overnight and those of us contemplating a new car might be able to pick up a new VW for next to nothing. After all, the vast majority of car buyers don't give a toss about some emissions limit randomly set by a bureaucrat - they just want a cheap, good quality motor.
I would.
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23-09-2015, 11:17 AM
16

Re: Naughty vw

I wouldn't mind getting hold of the program they used. Doctor the Fiat Doblo's computer and bypass the DPF. Sounds like a good idea to me .
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23-09-2015, 02:08 PM
17

Re: Naughty vw

Isn’t it a comfort to know that the champions of industry in Europe are honest and fair, surely a fine example to all those who want to pull out of our beautiful European happy family.
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23-09-2015, 02:34 PM
18

Re: Naughty vw

Originally Posted by Alan Cooke ->
Who can you trust these days ?
Think that line came out with the first reported occurrences of criminal behaviour by our wonderful police officers Alan, so that would be about late 60s.

The clergy and VIPs molesting little children wasn't reported until far more recently so VW's "crime" is sod-all really isn't it?

Over-zealous pursuit of profits maybe - slapped wrist - oooh, naughty-naughty but soon forgotten, just like the thieving bankers and they're still mainly free from any prosecution aren't they?! stevmk2
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23-09-2015, 06:45 PM
19

Re: Naughty vw

I guess this does seem unimportant ....
to those who don't give a rat's about our children's environment.

Betcha VW is just the first to be caught out.
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24-09-2015, 08:25 AM
20

Re: Naughty vw

Originally Posted by Pumicestone ->
I guess this does seem unimportant ....
to those who don't give a rat's about our children's environment.
No - we (I) certainly care about the environment. What I am extremely uncaring about are the utterly cynical government/industry policies on "emissions", carbon trading, the ecologically disastrous bio-fuels etc - which are all about quick profits and do zilch for the environment. Gesture politics at its very worst.
 
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