Posted on 05/23/2017 6:41:38 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Just the fact that the [Nazi-era Volkswagenwerks] factory basically functioned as a concentration camp during the war, and also that the members of the Porsche family, primarily Ferdinand Porsche and Anton Piëch, absconded with the cash in the final days of the war and then later built the private company in order to justify taking the money.
There's also the financial factor, where a lot of Volkswagen owners in Germany were basically getting nothing and saying, "Why do the Americans get so much, and we get nothing?"
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
This controversy was in the making because politicians were making demands that the technology and science couldnt keep up with.
OK. For starters, it’s, ‘The Atlantic.’
My family, FILLED TO THE BRIM with German Jews, (me included, we converted to Lutheranism when Great Grandpa landed here in the late 1800’s) have owned dozens and dozens of Volkswagons.
I, myself have owned a 1971 VW Bug, a Jetta and now, a Golf. My Dad has owned 18 VW products in his 80 year life-span.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is this?
Should we just kill ourselves, now? ;)
I had a VW diesel Rabbit. Drove it for 180,000 miles, and saved tons of money. We also had a VW bus, which we used to transport our kids and dogs and to go camping in. Great cars. It was a sad day when the diesel Rabbits were done in because people complained about diesel fumes.
My mechanic has a special name for VW’s ...Hitlers revenge.
Volkswagen really missed an opportunity when they failed to rebrand the scandal as a witch hunt against undocumented emissions.
Oy gevalt! Don't be such an alter cocker (/jk)
Even IF - those things were never, EVER warm! EVER! I drove so many miles with a spray can of de-icer and the driver’s window OPEN squirting the windshield every so often just so I could see when I had my VW Bug out in the winter months.
I miss her. :(
I moved to CA from ‘80—82 and a guy bought her from me for $2K to make into a Dune Buggy. (I made $600 on the deal - Wheee!)
I bought a Ford truck and returned to the SANITY of the Midwest.
...the regional government and employees get seats on the corporate board. Can you talk about how that shapes how executives behave?
Ewing: Right, the structural thing is the degree of power that the workers have. The temptation this created for management was, you never had to worry about any outsiders if you could appease the workers and the state of Lower Saxony . It allowed the chief executives, if they were willing to sort of make this pact with the workers and the politicians, to have almost dictatorial power, more power than one would get at other companies.
They were only following orders.
In this case it was a couple hundred dollars per car for urea injection.
The VW’s with urea injection meet the specs.
I don’t remember having a Rabbit, but we had 2 or three of the buses when I was growing up, and a number of the sedan-styles. When Dad was younger he had the Carmen Gia (?) and a red, black rag-top VW Bug. Dad and his buddies were total Motor Heads for the time, but they favored the smaller imports and they also built and flew small aircraft.
Dad worked 2nd Shift, so we’d pile in the VW Bug at 11pm on a Friday night from Milwaukee and head Way Up North where his folks lived. THE BABY was in that little ‘cubby’ in the back, above the engine, so it was REALLY warm and she never made a peep. :)
Thinking back now, if we had EVER been rear-ended, that would’ve been the end of Baby! *SHUDDER*
“They were only following orders. “
*SHUDDER* Glad my family saw got OUT in time.
LOL!
Grandma used to say that to me, then cuff me behind the ear! ;)
I’m keeping my GTI. Vroom, vroom!!
“This controversy was in the making because politicians were making demands that the technology and science couldnt keep up with.”
Exactly right. Politicians don’t give a damn about trifles like physics.
I also owned one. I bought a brand new 1980 Diesel Rabbit kept it until 1984. I should have never traded it in.
I have owned quite a few cars in my life, including Corvettes, and the car I miss most is that darned Rabbit.
I was getting 45 to 50 MPG with that car and had it while I was going to college. I spent around $10-$15 per month on fuel going to and from campus and work. I travelled from Lansing, MI to Wichita, KS on a spring break to visit my then fiance who was still in the Air Force. I used two tanks of fuel to get there (about 950 miles).
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