Posted on 09/20/2015 2:48:12 PM PDT by kristinn
Not in my price range........................B^)
OH NO! How does one manage to drive?
That technology makes it easier and safer to drive. The adaptive cruise control made driving in SoCal much easier. It was great not having to hit the brakes and hit the gas continuously in rush hour traffic. If the blind spot monitor icon in my rear view mirror is lit up, I know I'm not making a lane change and so I don't have to take my eyes off the road to look back. That makes for safer driving. And backing up is much safer when I have a large vehicle parked next to me, which is quite frequently. Between the camera display on an eight inch screen, parking sensors and rear cross traffic alert, the chances of hitting anything while backing up are greatly reduced. The lane departure warning is only there in case of distracted driving, which everyone is guilty of. Yes, I survived 44 years without all that technology, but now that I have it, I'm much less likely to have an accident.
Dang. I want one. But I have more use for a truck right now so that’ll be first.
EPA didn’t discover it. I’d bet money that somebody at a competitor did and tipped them off.
I was in the industry for 40 yrs and can verify that competitive testing is done all the time.
You’re good to go unless you have a warranty problem you want fixed. Then you better be in tight with the dealer owner if you want to avoid the mandatory reflash.
If you're in a state with emission testing, you won't get your tags renewed. If you're not, you're ok but if you have a warranty repair at the dealer you better be VERY friendly with the honchos there to avoid the "mandatory reflash".
Well in an emission testing state, not getting your tags renewed could be a “problem”.
If you’re not, you might be ok, unless you need to take the car in for some type of warranty repair. I guarantee the EPA will put some huge penalty on the dealers if they don’t perform this rework when a vehicle hits their service dept.
They stopped the union in TN, that is what this is all about I suspect. What other big car can you buy that gets 45 miles to the gallon and that while it is going 80 MPH? When the pollution controls drop it down to 35MPG you will be spewing more actual pollution. I don't think all the engineers at VW would try to get away with committing a crime, there are too many people involved to keep it a secret. This will all quietly go away and no one will be hurt except VW will be warned that they have to pay the politicians or else.
Pencil whip it.....................
This isn't a computer glitch. A glitch is a mistake. This is a software program that detects when a car is getting an emissions test and then activates anti-pollution software in order to pass the test, then deactivates the anti-pollution software when the test is over. All while advertising their "clean diesel." This is something that had to be carefully thought out, tested, and ordered into production in order to defraud customers, who thought they were buying something they weren't. Pretty much the opposite of a glitch.
Here’s another article stating that it isn’t just VW. In fact, according to their graphic at the end, VW is the lowest NOx of the bunch.
http://www.plasticstoday.com/blogs/diesel-cars-dirty-deadly-option?cid=nl.plas08.20150922
When I could afford to own and drive a car back in 2007 living in Australia, I naturally chose a diesel-powered vehicle, thinking I would be doing my bit for the environment. Well hey, CO2 emissions were lower than the gasoline-powered equivalent and the car was certified to the Euro 4 standard to boot, which meant to me something positive was being done about its emissions. (Note: I can’t afford a car, neither do I need one in tiny Singapore where I’m based now. FYI, a Toyota Camry currently retails for around $113,250).
Even with my short history of diesel motoring long gone, my interest was aroused when I tuned into the BBC last night and watched Greg Archer, Clean Vehicles Manager at UK NGO Transport & Environment (T&E), highlight how dirty diesel vehicles were when actually driven on the road. Had we all been taken for a ride? I thought I’d better take a closer look. Much of the following information is quoted from a briefing by T&E entitled “Five facts about diesel the car industry would rather not tell you.”
Apparently. testing conducted by the independent International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has found that a typical modern Euro 6 diesel emits 7-10 times more nitrogen dioxides (NOx) on the road than the limit achieved in tests (80 mg/km) in the laboratory. To pass lab tests, automakers reportedly employ ‘cycle beating’ to attain emissions levels typically five times lower than actual air pollution emissions on the road. One reason carmakers are able to manipulate testing is because they pay the organisations overseeing the tests and usually conduct these in their own laboratories. By the way, gasoline cars have a tighter NOx limit (60 mg/km) that is typically met on the road.
In tests by the ICCT, 12 out of 13 modern diesel cars failed to achieve the Euro 6 limit in on the road. The worst vehicle, an Audi, emitted 22 times the allowed limit. Emissions are highest in urban areas where most people are exposed to the pollution. On average a new diesel car emits over 800 mg/km of nitrogen oxides driving in town compared to the limit of 80 mg/km for Euro 6.
Data obtained on around 20 modern diesel cars by T&E shows every major manufacturer is selling cars that fail to meet Euro 6 limits on the road. A minority of vehicles do meet the limits - but most don’t. This is because the industry uses cheaper, less-effective exhaust treatment systems or fails to configure the best systems in a way that minimizes emissions. The cost of a modern diesel after treatment system is just €300.
T&E goes on to say that the current system for testing cars in a laboratory is obsolete and produces meaningless results - the figures quoted by industry website cleandieseltech.eu. T&E says the car industry is fighting to delay and weaken new “real driving emissions” on-road tests precisely because Euro 6 cars cannot achieve the limits set. The news comes as the Euro 6 auto emissions standard for all new cars sales takes effect - in theory - this month. In practice, the test methodology, dates for compliance and real-world limits have still to be agreed. Carmakers are reportedly asking that diesel cars be allowed to emit 220 mg/km of nitrogen oxides on the road, not the 80 mg/km Euro 6 limit. They also want to delay the full implementation of the regulation until 2021.
The current testing regime has reportedly seen nitrogen dioxide limits exceeded across Europe, exacerbating asthma in vulnerable people and shortening life expectancy in polluted places. In the UK, where the number of diesel cars has risen from 1.6 million to 12 million since 1994, a government health agency found that thousands of people suffered attacks when smog full of tiny particles and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas typical of diesel emissions descended last spring. Estimates of the number of premature deaths in London also doubled once nitrogen dioxide effects were incorporated into the analysis.
Amid all these claims and confusion, I’d say we all should be buying gasoline-powered vehicles for the foreseeable future. Let’s not forget hybrid and electric vehicles too, although you may recall that when the environmental burden of an electric vehicle from cradle to grave is factored in, there is some debate as to its true green credentials. And me? I’ll be sticking to my bicycle and public transport as long as I reside in Singapore.
Interesting! Prolly true!
Quite interesting.
Lower mpg?
The affected cheating Passats are rated at 44 mpg. The heavier Mercedes E-class Blue Techs with urea injection are rated at 42 mpg. Seems like performance might be more compromised than the actual mpg.
WAY too much over-regulation.
JAK - I bet you are right! It is about the unions. Those skunks. And frankly, the EPA does not speak for me, nor do I honor their over-regulation fingers in EVERY pie nor California’s overreach in controlling CO2.
This issue only pertains to the "Clean Diesel" first introduced in 2009. VW's last diesel that could burn just about anything was the 2006.5 models.
There were no model year 2007 or 2008 Tdi's for sale in the USA because the current pumpe duse engine could not meet the new EPA standards. I guess the common rail Tdi introduced in 2009 could not either, so they came up with a "software fix".
Exemptions, the following vehicle types do not need an OBD Emissions Inspection:
Vehicles three years old and newer with fewer than 70,000 miles
Model 1995 vehicles, or older
Diesel-operated vehicles
Vehicles licensed under the farmer rate
In fact several counties in the state are so rural that if
one of those counties is the one on your vehicle registration, ALL vehicles are exempt from an emissions test. They can't afford the equipment. Only a safety inspection is required.
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