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What Would It Take for YOU to buy a diesel car?
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A $ 15 M wrist bump vs a minimum of $14.7 B sledgehammer blow!
HD admits no guilt, of course. My guess is they will appeal this, and the settlement will get reversed! This does nothing to correct any to all of the N0x spewing motorcycles not in compliance! As noted, they're not even checked biannually. My guess is the majority of motorcycles on the road are totally out of compliance!!
So called Hog-gate! Sui... PPP!?
VW is paying way too much! Keep in mind that ANY gasser car with computer chips/controls and be programed to evade emissions controls, amongst a host of other parameters!
German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH was a "knowing and active participant" in a decade-long scheme by Volkswagen AG to evade U.S. emissions laws, according to lawyers for U.S. owners of polluting VW diesel vehicles.
In a court filing late on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the lawyers cited confidential documents turned over by the German automaker to plaintiffs attorneys in making the new allegations against the auto supplier.
Volkswagen declined to comment on the filing, except to say that it had no effect on its multibillion-dollar settlement of a civil complaint over the diesel scandal. The filing was made a day after sources briefed on the matter said the automaker has held preliminary talks with the U.S. Justice Department to settle a criminal probe into the emissions cheating case.
Most of the allegations involving Bosch remain under seal because the documents have been designated as confidential by VW, the plaintiffs' lawyers said in the court filing.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-idUSKCN10S2EI
Harley-Davidson manufactured and sold about 340,000 Screamin' Eagle Pro Super Tuners since 2008 that allowed users to modify a motorcycle's emissions control system to increase power and performance, according to court filings by the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency.
The racing tuners, which the prosecutors said were illegal "defeat devices" that circumvented emissions controls, also increased the amounts of such harmful air pollutants as nitrogen oxide spewing from the bikes' tailpipes.
http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2016-08-18/harley-davidson-to-pay-15-million-over-clean-air-violations
I had Aetna a couple of years ago and they were awful. Then I had UnitedHealthcare. They were even worse. So we're back to Aetna.
As for the tiny bit of pollution from our VW TDI vehicles. I think it is a smokescreen to cover some of the real serious problems the EPA has failed to resolve in the USA. A little NOx does not compare to lead in your drinking water.
While a harsh national spotlight focuses on the drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., a USA TODAY NETWORK investigation has identified almost 2,000 additional water systems spanning all 50 states where testing has shown excessive levels of lead contamination over the past four years.
The water systems, which reported lead levels exceeding Environmental Protection Agency standards, collectively supply water to 6 million people. About 350 of those systems provide drinking water to schools or day cares.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/11/nearly-2000-water-systems-fail-lead-tests/81220466/
Shell's RUG $2.49/PUG $2.69 @ the time.
15.6 gal is the MB GLK 250 BT fuel tank's rated capacity.
Full tank range (@37.36 mpg) would have been 583 miles.
Kind of surprised that the Gasbuddy kind of apps haven't "corrected" this behavior. People probably don't much care, so long as their fuel bill is under four bucks a gallon.
Two of DIESELS advantages! The diesels range allows extended fueling flexibility: price, convenience, necessity & ( over like model) way less often (stops) over the life of ownership saving time & repeition or NOT. As I have stated, we pretty much fuel when the low fuel lamp lights (as in normal commute). Many to most gasser owners would recoil in horror @ the practice. I also try to time it with lowest prices. Given 37.67/22 mpg & 14.67 gal, 15,000 miles, i.e., yr, gas would need 74 % more stops (47 stops vs 27 stops)
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Update 2 - We had to stop driving the car about two months ago. Not because of anything wrong with it (it still runs perfectly), but because of the diesel settlement structure. We will be selling the car back to VW. It has a little shy of 59,000 miles on the clock, which is just below the threshold for a mileage deduction of the buyback price. While we won't recoup our full purchase price, we will be getting back a heck of a lot more than we could ever think of getting by selling it on the open market. it's too bad because it's a really good car despite some of its aggravating shortcomings (e.g. the lousy infotainment system).
Some background on the lawsuit at AutoBlog - We talk with the lawyer holding VW's stinky diesel feet to the fire.
This may be a good sign of the trickle down effect (or trickle up....):
Cruise ships start to come under scrutiny as massive pollution machines (csmonitor.com)
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General Motors Keeps Quiet Following Opel Diesel Clearing (gmauthority.com)
Comfort is incredible. I drove it 3,850 miles in four days, and I think the reviewer is nuts to say that it could be more comfortable. It really couldn't unless it was a living room sofa!
Overall, 45 mpg, and only filling up six times over that distance (and spending $236 in the process), nearly no discomfort despite putting on serious miles (and sleeping in the car), super-quiet, and a really impressive sound system. Oh, and add in zero rattles of any kind plus a cavernous trunk! I like this car a lot, and I hope I can stick with my original plan of participating in the buyback. LOL
It's a matter of pride at this point, I think. Fintail is betting against me.
Where'd you wind up sleeping? Can't remember the last time I slept in a car, but hospital parking lots are good for that if you aren't out in the boonies somewhere.
My guess is that the 2.0 L TDI's would use far less. I still do not have accurate consumption figures on the 2.1 L (14 MB GLK 250 BT) It also has not needed even a liter of oil during a 20,000 miles OCI.
One (I) would have to do a before/after test to approximate the (anecdotal: 15,000 miles) consumption differences, IF any. You are moralizing a basically non moral measurement. CARB/EPA has NOT a clue what the (anecdotal, MY) emissions levels are: much less MY DEF consumption levels.
Indeed if bi-annual smog "measuring" inspections ACTUALLY measured (anecdotal) emissions, CARB/EPA et al would NOT be in the MESS they are in.
I'm still curious as to what will become of these vehicles.
Even passed 120,000 miles, AND getting back essential @ new PAR $$'s, It does not even approximate what miles are actually left. I still have to spend plus 9% taxation for replacement of a higher fiqure, which I didn't anticipate spending.
It would be an absolute shame and environmental waste/disaster to drill a hole in the engine block and ship them off to the auto recycler: either for parting out or crushing.
"According to the report, three unapproved pieces of software allowed the affected vehicles to shut down their emissions control systems after 22 minutes of driving. Theoretically, this would allow the vehicles to pass government emissions tests, which universally last for around 20 minutes, but put out unrestricted emissions in real-world driving. This is in addition to previously-disclosed software used on the 3.0-liter TDI engine which VW admitted was used to make affected vehicles pass government emissions tests, but shut down the emissions controls in real-world driving."
By shutting down the emissions control system, DEF usage is minimized. A 'fixed' 3.0 TDI will use more DEF.
Gagrice actually documented this in the past post for gassers!
Indeed so called "cheating" software " can be done on ANY gasser, which is 95 to 97% of the vehicle fleet, that has COMPUTER software!
"From Australia to South Korea to Ireland, governments and consumers are ratcheting up legal and regulatory demands in part because similar moves in the U.S. yielded a speedy shift to contrition from combativeness."
VW Facing Uphill Battle Outside the U.S. in Emissions Claims (WSJ registration link)
Meanwhile, Bosch rejects diesel allegations as 'wild and unfounded'. (Reuters)
"From Australia to South Korea to Ireland, governments and consumers are ratcheting up legal and regulatory demands in part because similar moves in the U.S. yielded a speedy shift to contrition from combativeness."
VW Facing Uphill Battle Outside the U.S. in Emissions Claims (WSJ registration link)
Meanwhile, Bosch rejects diesel allegations as 'wild and unfounded'. (Reuters) (unquote)
Well, good that you finally have come around to what I'd been saying all along!? After I get my payouts, they can do the chapter xxx of their choice (bankruptcy)
I definitely plan to sell mine back, but I am undecided about when. Keeping until December of 2018 looks very, very tempting right now.
But then again, if all of these other countries get into the act, maybe I should take the money BEFORE it's all gone...
Yeah, I'm sure consumption rates are all over the map ! So the only thing, common to my AD Blue diesels are our drivers. Judging by the feedback, I'm a little bit surprised ( pleasantly) as we put it through the most grueling conditions. We hammer them further, when we hit the road.
We have a series of consumables that have yet to be close to 75% consumed. Tires, alignment, brake pads, rotors, OCI's air/ fuel filters come to mind. VW also paid for out of warranty HPFP repairs. Plus the 2009 TDI consume ZERO AdBlue!
The Forester has better ground clearance, cargo space, is more versatile, has AWD, and can haul bigger/heavier/more awkward loads (as would be expected with a hatch/wagon vs. a sedan). Part of that is due to the mods I've made to it over the years. But, for a sedan, the Passat really does have cavernous space and really well-thought features. And, the Forester has a manual transmission (e.g., it wins!).
Frankly, though, I feel like the Passat is too good of a car for me. In other words, I'm way too rough around the edges for a car this refined.
The daughter is back from Georgia (ULSD @ $2.19 vs $2.57 here) for a visit! First thing she does is disappear with my 12 VW Touareg TDI !
In east-central North Dakota last Sunday (8/14) evening, after around 1,500 miles: