I’m confused. Is the EPA mandating that owners of these vehicles stop driving them? What’s the calamity here? I get that it affects resale value, but why is this such a big deal?
I’m asking out of genuine curiosity.
My best guess is that the software will be modified so that the engine runs the same all the time. Then either its' will mileage will go down or its' emissions will go up. VW is not doubt opt for a decrease in mileage.
Well, “resale value” is a pretty big calamity for VW if you multiply 10-15K by however million cars, plus penalties. For the owners, I guess they have to decide if they’re happier driving a VW/Audi “turbodiesel” that performs like an economy car or taking the refund and whatever they can get for it and putting that down on something better.
Short version: VW faces something like $30,000 in fines for EACH of 11,000,000 vehicles which were built to cheat on their emissions test.
Local emissions tests will probably stop the driving of a large percentage of these vehicles until fixed, which means VW will pay for the recall/retrofit - a repair which will leave the vehicle with severely reduced performance. By “affects resale value” we’re talking _destroying_ resale value.
Facing a third of a trillion dollars in realistic fines, plus funding recalls on this scale, would destroy pretty much any company.
Scenario: tomorrow you get a certified letter stating your vehicle will fail its annual emissions test. Driving it will be illegal, repairing it to passable will be costly and leave the formerly peppy vehicle downright anemic, and the manufacturer won’t be paying for the repair because it’s too busy trying to pay a $0.3T fine. THAT is a big deal to you the owner, multiplied by tens of millions of owners.
I think there is a lot of uncertainty...especially if you own a car in a state with emissions inspections. The ‘fix’ that people will be forced to get is anticipated to either rob horsepower of fuel economy.
Also, VW parts are a little hard to get already...if VW quits operating in the US or goes belly up altogether, getting a brand new car serviced and repaired will be tougher/more expensive.
My dad owns one of these cars...I’m sure he will hold off as long as possible, before submitting to a ‘fix’, but it seems inevitable that somehow, someway, he will be forced to do it.
Mere speculation but I am guessing there will be some kind of government mandated buy back. VW will take these cars and sell them in Mexico and other parts of the world. The govt penalties could be huge but one wonders if they will hold back in fear of breaking the company.