VW problems in EU

"uofime-2" (uofime-2)
09/21/2015 at 11:05 • Filed to: None

I was reading the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on Jalopnik and I had a thought:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

What are our counterparts in Europe doing about this scandal?

If VW did it here its probable they did it there too and their standards aren’t any more lax than ours IIRC.

So in reality this recall is even more wide reaching that it currently appears once the EU cracks down on them. Furthermore their diesel market share there is even bigger there so the shitstorm is only beginning for VW.

DISCUSSION (17)

Cé hé sin > uofime-2
09/21/2015 at 11:09

At the time EU emissions standards for diesels didn’t require Adblue for cars so I’m guessing there isn’t an issue.

Alternatibvely, every maker has an issue...

Funktheduck > uofime-2
09/21/2015 at 11:11

I had similar thoughts. I'm probably wrong but doesn't britain charge tax based on emissions? If that's the case the British government has been cheated out of what would probably equate to millions in taxes based on the 10-40 times amount emitted.

crowmolly > Cé hé sin
09/21/2015 at 11:14

They are listing Passats in with the problem and they have urea systems. I think the presence of the software mod is the big smoking gun.

uofime-2 > Funktheduck
09/21/2015 at 11:17

I didn’t even think of that, I wonder how that would be handled, because the user usually pays that tax, but they had no idea so it probably would fall on VW

Cé hé sin > crowmolly
09/21/2015 at 11:18

The listing mightn’t be correct. Anyway, time will tell!

uofime-2 > Cé hé sin
09/21/2015 at 11:18

Officially they didn’t require adblu here either, but that may well have only been because of the “EPA calibration”.

crowmolly > Cé hé sin
09/21/2015 at 11:19

Absolutely. I really like mine but would benefit from a buyback.

Cé hé sin > Funktheduck
09/21/2015 at 11:20

No, road tax in the UK and several other countries is CO2 based. If anything the cars would have produced less CO2 while they were producing more other emissions.

Ash78, voting early and often > Funktheduck
09/21/2015 at 11:23

Most of the Euros have focused on CO2. Diesels have always been good with CO2 emissions.

Ash78, voting early and often > Cé hé sin
09/21/2015 at 11:32

It’s that anomaly that has allowed diesels to flourish for so long, mostly in Europe (plus the diesel fuel subsidies in many places). I always found it interesting that CO2 was “EVIL!!” due to very subtle effects on climate change, but NoX and particulates were all but ignored for so long, despite a definite link to disease and death.

The US emissions regulations were the exact opposite for a long time, which is a big part of why we didn’t get many diesels (along with our very slow transition to ultra-low sulfur fuel).

Cé hé sin > Ash78, voting early and often
09/21/2015 at 11:35

Interestingly, and as far as I can understand the hideously complicated US regulations which seem to have 22 different tables, particulates are allowed to be higher there than in the current EU regs.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > uofime-2
09/21/2015 at 11:52

I don’t think it will have the effect you think it will. If you read the FP article, the whole thing stemmed from a discrepancy between EU & USA car emission ratings.

uofime-2 > Where have all the lightweights gone?
09/21/2015 at 11:53

I must not have read carefully enough, because I didn’t get that impression at all.

I know they have more focus on CO2, but I didn’t think they gave NOx a pass

Where have all the lightweights gone? > uofime-2
09/21/2015 at 11:57

Here’s the article they referenced from Bloomberg.

uofime-2 > Where have all the lightweights gone?
09/21/2015 at 12:06

So, that article says that:

“Discrepancies in the European tests on the diesel models of the VW Passat, the VW Jetta and the BMW X5 last year gave Peter Mock an idea”(to do the testing that lead to them finding this in the US)

That would seem to indicate that this is certainly also and issue in Europe.

They also go on to say:

“We have no idea if this is also going on in China and Europe but we definitely think the question should be asked”

Where have all the lightweights gone? > uofime-2
09/21/2015 at 12:09

I just went back and read the Bloomberg article. The FP reference to it suggests it’s isolated to the US (my interpretation), but Bloomberg definitely suggests this could be a global issue.

If this is as widespread as I think it is, this could be the beginning of the end for VW and make for some very interesting spinning off of their other brands.

uofime-2 > Where have all the lightweights gone?
09/21/2015 at 12:13

I agree that’s why I posted it here the effects could seriously be far reaching.

Granted they do use different and smaller engines on a lot of their cars there, but if they pulled the same stunt with them it will be a big deal.

At the same time I don’t know European pollitics so VW may get a slap on the wrist there because I agree it could ruin them and that wouldn’t be good for the EU.