Posted on 11/13/2015 9:11:13 PM PST by Cowman
So Consumer Reports decided to put a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI and a 2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDI to the test. To activate the car’s cheat mode, they pumped the accelerator pedal 5 times while the ignition was in the “on position†but the engine was off. To avoid being “kicked out†of the cheat mode when the car noticed the rear, undriven wheels spinning, CR simply unplugged the rear wheel speed sensors. Simple as that. Cheat mode activated.
They ran their standard Consumer Reports drive cycle. This involved a city traffic simulation on the track and a 65 MPH highway run on the local highway.
Fuel economy numbers were determined by taking fuel readings from a flow meter and averaging MPG numbers in both directions to account for grades and wind speed, and tests were run several times with different drivers to guarantee consistency.
Here are the numbers: On the 2011 Jetta TDI, 0-60 times increased from 9.9 to 10.5 seconds but the 2015 Jetta’s acceleration numbers were unaltered.
But the biggest changes occurred in fuel economy. Especially on the highway where the 2015 Jetta’s MPGs dropped from 53 to 50 and the 2011 Sportwagen’s plummeted from 50 to 46 MPG.
That’s a pretty significant change for both cars, and considering how many different cycles Consumer Reports ran and how many checks they have for verifying their figures, these numbers definitely seem credible.
But Volkswagen’s fix probably won’t involve always running with the “cheat mode†engaged— there may be durability concerns. We don’t know yet. So TDI owners— we’re not saying your car will become lethargic and lose about 10% in fuel economy. We really won’t know until VW decides how they’ll fix their cars.
(Excerpt) Read more at jalopnik.com ...
They made a car that got good fuel economy, performed well, and was sold everywhere else in the world without any problems. It was the onerous government regulations that kept US car buyers from being able to get them. VW found a creative way to get around the arbitrary regs they were faced with. (Kind of like Dodge making the Little Red Express truck in the seventies.)
And they exposed the roadside sniffers that certain states are using to further harass and fine motorists that have already been through the testing process.
VW lied. People spent hard earned money on a lie.
Their property is now worth alot less for a resale.
They violated laws.
The executives belong in jail.
You want to stick an eye in a bureaucracy? Do it with your own money.
Why is their property worth less?
Resale value of these vehicles now about 50% of what it was.
Imagine buying a house for $200,000 and then find it full of asbestos despite an inspection. Now your house is worth $100,000.
Exactly backwards. The lie started with the EPA and the religion of green.
Hoax after hoax– it took them years to discover it.
You wanna prosecute someone, go after the EPA.
Not a parallel comparison. It is only “parallel” due to government lies and meddling in the case of car emissions. As far as this goes, it is just down to who is the more malicious liar between the car company and the government, the latter being the cause of no other automobile companies selling diesel cars in the USA.
Ping.
They did do it with their own money. They weren’t subsidized from what I can see.
I also suspect that these cars will be more sought after, which may affect their value in a positive manner. They were expensive enough as it was.
You said, “VW lied, bla-bla-bla-blah?” You’re duped though. VW makes better car than American manufacturers nowadays, I had VW convertible before. I also like diesel than gas. But EPA, Sierra Club, Al Gore, etc., think diesel is dirty word. VW refused giving to Clinton crime family foundation and so they’re being investigated, too, like the Exxon, what else is new?
Lost half its value? That makes no sense. At the most VW will pay a fine but that won’t affect the consumers. Stockholders yea but I don’t see it having any effect on resale values.
Blow it out your own tailpipe buddy.
I like my VW just the way it is
I’m glad VW lied.
I can buy an older vehicle with a 400+ cubic inch engine and a multi carb intake that will make far worse emissions that the revvy diesels in the “naughty” VW’s but that is perfectly legal for me to drive on the public roadways. Why are the VW’s illegal other than an arbitrary level set by the federal government.
In my state, a vehicle made before 1996 is completely exempt from emissions testing but a 1996 vehicle has to be tested to that arbitrary number.
Show me the science that says that 1996 vehicle is more likely to drown a polar bear than the 1995 vehicle or the 400CID hot rod — both of which are perfectly legal and free of testing.
The testing is only for extracting that hard earned money from all motorists not for protection of the environment.
Personally, I’d rather have one of the “dirty” VW’s than the so called “clean” ones because they are a superior vehicle.
If you want to sue somebody for damages then sue the sniffers.
In a perfect world, the .gov regulators would be beaten and spat upon.
Yeah, yeah.
Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton. Lois Lerner. John Koskinen. Jon Corzine. Charlie Rangel.
Imagine actually OWNING a house.
Oh, that's right - you rent it from the Gruberment.
We could probably debate this all night, but I don’t know whether VW makes better cars than American manufacturers. I have had German, Japanese and American cars and trucks; I do all my own maintenance and have also restored vintage vehicles. Unlike those who do not get into the nuts and bolts of automotive maintenance and repair... I would not feel comfortable making a blanket statement about design and manufacturing quality.
That said... my wife and I have also owned both domestic and foreign manufactured diesel vehicles. They got great fuel economy and good performance. My brother’s family owned a diesel VW and they loved it. VW makes great cars and I doubt this really will have much effect on used car prices for longer than the short term. Personally, I hope used VW prices do drop on them for a while; I would choose a diesel VW over a Prius any day of the week. I would love the opportunity to pick one up for a reasonable price.
If we relied on EPA fuel mileage estimates, AAA would make more money for roadside gas assistance than Tijeras Slim and his telecom company.
I’ve yet to own a vehicle that met EPA estimates.
Maybe they used the ‘extra’ mileage so a certain pResident could fly his dog to be with on vacation?
The asbestos analogy is absurd. Furthermore, the “cheated” configurations were tested to be more efficient.
I’d happily pay more for “cheated” diesel.
This VW thing is political just like the Exxon being investigated by the EPA.
VW and Exxon don’t want to give money to the Clinton crime family foundation, period.
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