autoevolution
 

Dieselgate: Have VW’s Head on a Plate, But Watch Your Driving People!

With German precision, the VW Group supervisory board will maintain its scheduled meeting for this Friday. However, instead of serving a Beetle-shaped cake to celebrate the planned 2018 extension for CEO Martin Winterkorn, the Board is expected to oust the VW CEO, replacing him with the current Porsche CEO, Matthias Muller. Don’t rush to Dieselgate conclusions though.
Speaking of gastronomy, it seems the EPA (actually, the world) now wants VW’s head on a plate. It remains to be seen if Volkswagen will take this literally and roast their 68-year-old CEO.

Regardless, the consequences Volkswagen is facing are just as extreme as the scandal itself. The company may have prepared EUR6.5 billion ($7,23 billion) to make us all forget about what happened, but the bill for the makeup dinner might be worth much more than that.

For one thing, VW is facing a fine that could rise to three times that value. And that’s just the US part of the story. While the automaker has ensured European customers that the new, Euro VI diesels are OK, the company hasn’t said anything about the Euro V cars that are already out on the streets.

Then again, Europe can’t be the one that casts the first stone either. Not when its governments have encouraged the rise of diesel by using CO2-only taxing and ignoring the all important NOx killer that lays inside oil burners.

But VW’s European affairs are far from the end of the problem.

I once spoke to an executive from a rival company who told me “If VW had good design, we’d be screwed.” Therefore people don't buy Volkswagens for their styling, their affordability or the enticing driving experience they bring. Instead, these cars get sold for their trademark German engineering, which, in the case of the affected units, was all about efficiency and eco credentials.

And I’m not here to doubt their engineering prowess but it’s just that, this is not the first time in history, when German engineering genius has fallen into the wrong hands.

Sure, diesels only accounted for 22 percent of Volkswagen’s US sales last year but when talking about the affected models, such as the Golf, Beetle or the Audi A3, the statistics change. And it’s not like VW was doing great in North America outside of the oil burners. From many angles, their line-up looks like a teenager who can’t adapt to high school life.

With an unconvincing Passat and a missing 7-seater SUV, the tsunami that will be caused by the emission-cheating earthquake could determine VW to withdraw from the US market, leaving brands like Audi and Porsche to do the job for them.

But one man and even one brand’s fall is not the point here. Yes, Volkswagen’s engineering stunt may bring us cancer to go with those fries on the midterm, but we’re also killing ourselves.

Millions and millions of diesel and petrol drivers out there commute every day without the slightest worry about burning less fuel. Engine braking, hypermiling techniques? Ain’t nobody got time fo’ that!

Naturally, it’s easy to kick VW when they’re down.

After lying about having recalled the 500,000 affected US cars back in December last year and only admitting their guilt after EPA threatened not to release the sales-granting environmental certificates for 2016MY cars, they deserve it.

But many of those who are pointing their fingers at VW are the same people who wouldn’t waste their precious time and energy on making the most out of their vehicles, be they tricked or not. And I’m obviously not just referring to the drivers of the 11 million cars that make up the global VW Dieselgate picture.

Allow me to not be entirely surprised by VW’s cheating. Recent automotive history has taught me to expect that from any carmaker who aims to be Number One, as the German brand remains for now.

Toyota has had its so-many-I’ve-lost-count recalls, while GM’s ignition switch fiasco is still fresh in the memory of the Capitol Hill hearing authorities. Industry-wide Takata saga, anybody?

However, while these have killed people on the short run, the NOx issue will continue to hunt us for quite some time now.

Before I elaborate on that, allow me to rage at Volkswagen a bit. While all the other carmakers are using those complicated urine injection systems, VW tried to trick us into believing its Type EA 189 four-cylinder diesel could do without.

For crying out loud, Mazda was supposed to bring its diesels Stateside years ago and they’ve been delaying the move due to their ambition of doing so without the wee-wee stuff. Then again, they don’t have VW software - remember how Volkswagen's Attention Assist monitors driving inputs and other vehicle parameters, noticing the driver is experiencing fatigue? The defeat device uses a somewhat similar algoritm to determine when the car is being tested (driven on a rolling road), switching to the fake, greener software.

Returning to the bigger issue, this scandal isn’t baptized Dieselgate because it only concerns VW. For one thing, I’ve read discussions about similar real-world number failures on BMW forums. But those are just rumors for now. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see who joins VW in trickery.

Will this bring the fall of diesel, much to the aid of hybrid and EV development? If I had a certain answer for that question, I would’ve used it in the title.

With Ferdinand Porsche having built a hybrid vehicle back in 1900, it’s not like the electron assistance talk is bad for the VW Group. But while the industry is dealing with its own dark practices, I hope people take their foot off the gas and plan their driving maneuvers ahead while pointing their finger at carmakers.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Andrei Tutu
Andrei Tutu profile photo

In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories