Posted on 09/24/2015 9:47:47 AM PDT by Kaslin
When I was growing up, my mother ran carpool in our family's red 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. As the youngest, at age 5, I rode in the "back back," the small space behind the second seat that was intended not for people, but for packages or groceries. I shared this sliver of room with my neighbor, Bobby, who was a year older. The front seat was reserved for older siblings -- Bobby's brother Andy, whose French horn was stashed in the front trunk. I can't remember where my sister Kathy put her trombone. But somehow, my mother fit in five kids (including Susie, sister to Andy and Bobby) and the two instruments. Suffice it to say we were close.
In addition to running carpools, the Beetle drove us from Georgia to Pennsylvania, where we visited extended family. We often travelled straight through the night rather than stopping in a hotel. For me, that was just fine. My parents would lay the backseat flat and cover it with blankets, which served as a mattress for my sister and me. Lying on our backs, we would stare at the stars through the rear window as we fell asleep.
Without air conditioning, during the Georgia summers the car was coolest when the triangular front side windows were opened so that wind blew directly in our faces. While we sometimes emerged from such trips a bit disheveled, we would not be sweating. (The good news was that the heater was great during the winter.)
In 1983 Kathy inherited the VW. At some point, the car's age and wear became evident. In the end, the bottom rusted and the left door would no longer close -- it had to be held when rounding a corner to prevent it from swinging open. Oh, and it was best to park it on a hill headed downward, just in case it needed help starting. Once when I borrowed the car I opened the driver's door, put one hand on it and the other on the car frame, and pushed the car down a hill. As it gathered speed, I hopped in, popped the clutch and was thrilled when the car started.
My final memory of the car is of Kathy painting it herself with red Rust-Oleum. It was the flattest red I had ever seen on a car. But it still ran. And since then, I have always felt that Volkswagen's products were good values -- well engineered and dependable.
That image was cracked this week, when Volkswagen acknowledged that it had rigged the software in its diesel cars so that the Environmental Production Agency's emission tests would not detect how much pollution they were contributing to the air. The news caused the company's stock to plunge by more than 30 percent and gave pause to millions of consumers who had purchased the cars based on the belief that they were "like really clean diesel" -- as the U.S. ads boasted. The company that was long known for German engineering and reliability is now known as the company that deliberately manipulated its software.
Volkswagen said this past Tuesday that this software was installed in 11 million diesel cars and announced that the company was now setting aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) to cover the cost of making the cars compliant. It will face additional costs and need additional time to convince its customers that this deception was an aberration, and the VW can once again be trusted.
"Diesel Old Wives' Tales," video ads touting their really clean diesel, featuring three sisters and a professional driver, have been scrubbed from the Internet by Volkswagen. Damage control this week included a video from VW's now-former chief executive Martin Winterkorn, in which he acknowledged his company's failure. "I am deeply sorry we have broken this trust," he said.
But that's not good enough for this VW fan. While he might not have known about the deliberate deception, Winterkorn -- as CEO -- should have known. At the very least, he helped foster a corporate culture in which such deception was implicitly tolerated. As any good PR person will attest, the best way to mend broken corporate trust is to rapidly come clean, make a leadership change and repeatedly reassure customers that the company will once again focus on reliability and engineering. The first part is done: Winterkorn subsequently resigned.
Volkswagen has a long road to travel. Their sustainability push -- labeled "Think Blue" -- says on the company's website, "We aim to lead by example. Ecological sustainability at Volkswagen is a major corporate objective. By it we understand much more than just building efficient cars. That is because we firmly believe that if you want to achieve something you have to view the bigger picture -- and begin with yourself."
That is exactly what Volkswagen has to do: begin with itself. Corporate branding works only when words are backed up by deeds, when they represent a way of life for the company itself. My bet is they can -- but we will have to wait and see how the rubber meets the road.
For example, Federal safety standards and Federal emissions standards are often the biggest obstacles an auto company faces when it tries to meet Federal fuel efficiency standards. Removing many safety features and emission control hardware actually improves fuel efficiency.
I think we had a ‘64 Beetle as a commuter car. Parents got the aux heater and a plastic insulation window for the rear to prevent fogging.
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>> “I would never think poorly of an auto manufacturer for rigging their vehicles to get around emissions standards.” <<
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I salute them!
I wish all of them would do it.
The only part of any car that ever made “pollution” is the catalytic converter, which spews anhydrous sulphuric acid into the air constantly.
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i had a red 64 VW and with my new wife, drove it across the continent where it was put on a ship and sent to me in Manila. After a two year tour I sold it to a priest who paid me as much as it cost to begin with......in cash.
The VW TDI exhaust system has quite a number of chemical processing devices, most of which need to be “regenerated” periodically. These regenerations are accomplished by changing the state of the engine controller while still sllowing the vehicle to be an automobile. I suspect it is these regeneration cycles were minimized during on the road operation to limit CO2 emissions and to promote performance. I suspect the control operation “cheating” is complicated.
“And since then, I have always felt that Volkswagen’s products were good values — well engineered and dependable.”
You should have owned my ‘76 Sirocco.
Getting the lead out of gasoline was a good move. Removing most of the sulphur is not bad either.
Had a 69 bug when I was stationed in europe .... ya could fix any damn thing on it with a pair of pliers and a screwdriver pretty much ......
What would the Pope say!
How does designing software to outwit (unconstitutional and absurd) federal regulations diminish the quality or dependability of a vehicle? If anything I think this is proof of excellent engineering. Volkswagen stock took a hit because investors fear a vindictive, draconian response by the federal government.
The author claims one VW experience, an old bug, so I think it is safe to assume he has not purchased other VW products or he would have mentioned it. He would love for VW and other companies to believe a guy who doesn't buy their products knows why others do. He wants them to fall for his concern troll BS that customers bought cars because of VW's environmental commitment rather than for good gas mileage and performance. Smacks of just another environmental cultists trying to turn this to his ideological advantage.
How can I capitalize on this with a cheap VW diesel?
Everyone is missing the point...
The VW diesel story is that this is yet another Solendra style scandal. The government subsidized those diesel VW’s to the tune of $2,300 each.
Don’t worry though, the same people are going to solve global warming.
They only need a pen and a phone -per Obama.
My first VW was an '86 Jetta GLI. Once got 60 mpg for a while. Really strong tail wind on an interstate.
But that's not good enough for this US fan. While he might not have known about the deliberate deception, Obama -- as President -- should have known. At the very least, he helped foster a culture in which such deception was implicitly tolerated. As any good PR person will attest, the best way to mend broken citizenry trust is to rapidly come clean, make a leadership change and repeatedly reassure citizens that the country will once again focus on patriotism and constitutional governance. The first part is done: Obama subsequently resigned.
Funny how people don't follow logic in all things.
Bought a '63 Beetle in '65 (the banker winced at the high price of $1,300). In '66 we bailed from New Jersey and went to Calif with our 2-year-old tucked in the back. Kid slept most of the way and except for a front wheel bearing going out in Ohio, we had no problems.
Damn thing just ran and ran, until in '69 when a drunken Samoan in Oceanside slammed into it while parked outside and propped it up at a 45 degree angle against a palm tree. The mystified cop asked me how the Hell I did that.
Had a tear in my eye when they hauled it off to the junkyard.
Good old Ghia. My first new car was a green 1968 Karmann Ghia convertible. When the Air Force transferred me from Florida to California, my wife and I drove it cross-country with our six month old son sitting in a kiddie seat we rigged to hang between the two front seats. After one winter in Chicago, it rusted out so badly we had to weld a patch on the gas tank. We left it with a Ford dealer after trading it for a (gasp!) Pinto.
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