Volkswagen: Das busted !!!!

[fishermccann]

How many people would not remove a piece of emission equipment on there car if they could, IF there gas mileage went up? Ya thought so.

[seabast]

It COULD pass the emissions tests. Here is the best guess as to why that I've read:

"Volkswagen hasn't explained exactly why it cheated, but outside analysts have a good guess. The NOx emission controls likely degraded the cars' performance when they were switched on — the engines ran hotter, wore out more quickly, and got poorer mileage. Some experts have suggested that the emission controls may have affected the cars' torque and acceleration, making them less fun to drive. (Indeed, some individual car owners have been known to disable their cars' emission controls to boost performance, though this is against the law.)

In other words, Volkswagen wasn't able to produce diesel cars that had the ideal mix of performance, fuel economy, and low pollution. (Or, at least, they couldn't do this profitably.) So they "solved" this trade-off by sacrificing cleanliness and loosening the pollution controls. And they accomplished this via software designed to deceive regulators. This was wildly illegal, and they got caught."

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/21/9365667...passenger-cars

Kind of speechless, I wasn't expecting that.

[terrym]

I think this may have opened a can of worms. How many other manufacturers of automobiles are playing this game?

[trimmer21]

I think this may have opened a can of worms. How many other manufacturers of automobiles are playing this game?

I would think none because no one else puts Diesel engines in their cars. Big trucks are an entity unto themselves and as such are exempt.

[Waftrudnir]

You can also add to the above , all the small single engine aircraft that are constantly flying around I see at least 10 to 15 in our area every day, just this morning alone there have been 9 flying around.

they don't make a dent. ever got stuck on the 401 lately? urban planning (or the lack of it) is a serious issue and nobody will address this (especially not the tree huggers in California).
and if you look at government to make a real change, just look at those little buzzers: they are not allowed to have an muffler (even if the owner of a cert. general aircraft would like to) and have to use lead gasoline; for safety sake and to enforce the (outdated) rules

[Waftrudnir]

how did they actually find out about it?
internal whistle blower, competitor trying to copy it

[greatrack]

It was an engineer at a Virginia university who was doing a study, and found it by accident I believe. Didn't read the article, but it may answer your question.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0RM2D720150923

[PaulR]

If you all are saying is true, why they had to cheat?

Better results equals better sales in some cases, in other cases, they just aren't going to pass and have any sort of performance or fuel economy.

[PaulR]

I would think none because no one else puts Diesel engines in their cars. Big trucks are an entity unto themselves and as such are exempt.

Big trucks aren't exempt, and the emission equipment on them isn't cheap! I can't remember the model year cut in, but big trucks now require a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) that requires periodic servicing, and reduces fuel mileage. The also require a catalytic converter, and since they don't work the same as the one on your gasoline powered car, the also require a DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) system to inject a urea solution made with high-purity urea and distilled water. Because of the water content, they also require heaters to prevent it from freezing in the winter. None of these systems are cheap, that's the cost of clean(r) air.

[trimmer21]

Big trucks aren't exempt, and the emission equipment on them isn't cheap! I can't remember the model year cut in, but big trucks now require a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) that requires periodic servicing, and reduces fuel mileage. The also require a catalytic converter, and since they don't work the same as the one on your gasoline powered car, the also require a DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) system to inject a urea solution made with high-purity urea and distilled water. Because of the water content, they also require heaters to prevent it from freezing in the winter. None of these systems are cheap, that's the cost of clean(r) air.

Oh,yeah,I'm well aware of the emissions controls on big Diesels,but,they aren't required to do an emission test every second year like a passenger vehicle or light pick up. That's what I meant by "exempt". Sorry for not being crystal clear.