OT: VW cheating emissions on TDI vehicles

[benb]

Originally Posted by ergott

Yeah, I didn't know about the issue until after the fact.

I was so jazzed at the idea of a peppy wagon. There are just no real options in the states. Hot hatches are just too small and I hate the idea of being forced into a small suv for some practicality.

No kidding.. I love my Subaru Outback but would have been much happier still with a modern legacy wagon.. I.e. take an outback and remove most of the ground clearance and all of the SUV-ish styling. Even with the ground clearance it doesn't drive like an SUV but the legacy still drives so much better.

Volvo is too big a step up in price (Heck it's 2-3 nice bikes!)
I was pretty much biased against VW already due to their previous reliability issues.. otherwise there's a good chance I'd have ended up in the JSW too.

[ftf]

Originally Posted by benb

No kidding.. I love my Subaru Outback but would have been much happier still with a modern legacy wagon.. I.e. take an outback and remove most of the ground clearance and all of the SUV-ish styling. Even with the ground clearance it doesn't drive like an SUV but the legacy still drives so much better.

Volvo is too big a step up in price (Heck it's 2-3 nice bikes!)
I was pretty much biased against VW already due to their previous reliability issues.. otherwise there's a good chance I'd have ended up in the JSW too.

Same here, I had a 2000 Jetta VR6 that saved me the trouble of ever thinking about buying a VW again, ever ever again, a worse car could not intentionally be made.

[staggerwing]

Originally Posted by akelman

There's no sport mode. But the driver can shift manually.

Since when? My 2013 JSW has a (N)ormal and (S)port mode for the DSG transmission. I use both, and there is quite a difference. To be honest, for everyday, in town driving, I would prefer a algorithm somewhere between those modes.

Yeah, it can be shifted manually too.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by ergott

Starting price much more. I'll admit they've been off my radar for a while.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but the V60 looks like it has less cargo room than the JSW.

you are right, the cargo rooms leaves much to be desired, though the CPO prices aren't too much higher, and it comes with a 7 yr, 100k warranty, which is a lot more than what most manufacturers offer (VW offers 2 years, iirc)

Originally Posted by mcteague

My Acura TSX Sport Wagon moves well enough and I get 30mpg on average.

Tim

and my 200hp camry and out-accelerate that sportwagon...

why can't they put in one of those 270 hp engines in that car? and they wonder why sales were flagging...

[54ny77]

I thought those diesel's were the most widely tested automobiles ever....

Oh wait, different topic.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by akelman

Having said that, please do bear in mind, as I noted above, that my comment was based entirely on hearsay. I'm the guy who didn't realize his car had a sport mode (which, because of this thread, I used for the first time this morning, pouring even more particulates into the air).

I'll bet you also don't realize your car also has a DPF -- unless you removed it. You didn't do that, did you?

[palincss]

Originally Posted by alancw3

bottom line is that vw cheated and now has to pay the price. i just hope it is the $18 billion it should be. and i think there should be criminal charges for the executives of vw of america and prison time.

Are you sure the executives of VW of America were even aware of the situation?

[palincss]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Me too. Paid cash for mine in 2013. May get recall software, VW will pay for thingy if it breaks. No difference in performance or mileage. VW isn't going under, any more than Toyota or Chevy or Ford or Chrysler. I guess if you want to be outraged or 'sickened', even if you want to start throwing the 'n' word around(nazi)..hope you don't have any Japanese stuff, or Chinese or......

They can always get a Jaguar: both Britain and India were our allies in WWII...

[Louis]

Originally Posted by palincss

unless you removed it. You didn't do that, did you?

Somehow I don't think he's the type to do that.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by palincss

They can always get a Jaguar: both Britain and India were our allies in WWII...

And Russia, get a Lada or Volga...

[deechee]

Kind of funny how people are incensed at the "lies", meanwhile expect cars to get bigger, faster (270hp needed for?) and magically continue progress with emissions efficiency.

I agree, on a corporate level its pretty despicable what happened. But come on, 18b$ fine? That would be better spent actually trying to figure out how to make a more efficient car.

Having 11m cars affected, well, that's the cost of VW modular platform strategy. So much for saving some $.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by echappist

no love for a Volvo?

The only wagon Volvo has on sale in the US today is the V60, and that's too small inside to fit a bike with both wheels on.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by ergott

Perhaps I'm wrong, but the V60 looks like it has less cargo room than the JSW.

You are not wrong. It's a LOT less cargo room. In fact, per the UK road tests, it's significantly less than the previous generation BMW 3 series wagon, and you can't get a bike into one of those without taking off the front wheel or rotating it up at a 90 degree angle (and with fenders that won't work). So other than the VW, the only wagons on the US market right now that will fit a bike inside both wheels on are the current BMW 3 series wagon, the Prius V and the E350 Merc. The BMW's 50K, the Merc is over 60K, and the Prius is what's left when all the automotive goodness & fun are distilled out.

I would love for there to be a new V70 Volvo.

[bcroslin]

Originally Posted by ftf

Same here, I had a 2000 Jetta VR6 that saved me the trouble of ever thinking about buying a VW again, ever ever again, a worse car could not intentionally be made.

I bought my wife a 2000 new Beetle and for the first 2 years it was pretty great and then in year 3 we started having electrical system issues. Solenoids failing and doors wouldn't close. The mass-air-flow sensor went and cooked the turbo and I got into a screaming fight with the service manager when he dismissed my concern about the MAS and replaced half the turbo to have it fail again a week later because it needed a MAS. The final straw came when the passenger-side window fell into the door. I had it fixed and we traded it for a Honda CRV and I swore I'd never own another VW. But then I fell in love with the JSW and even though I swore off VW I bought another one and that's why I feel so angry right now because I SWORE I wouldn't get screwed by VW again and yet here I am wondering what the fix is going to be and feeling like a sucker for believing my CLEAN diesel was a better choice for a fuel efficient car than a Prius. I feel like VW sold me a bill of goods because I was dumb enough to believe there was a car that was more efficient and cleaner than other fuel-burning automobiles and not only was I buying a car that was fun to drive but also environmentally responsible. Insult to injury is that up until recently I was also paying 50 cents more per gallon of gas than 87 octane.

Ugh. Now I'm pissed. I think I'll go ride my bike and take it out on the road.

[dawgie]

I own a Golf 2.5L, the gasoline-powered version. Although I initially wanted to get a TDI, I couldn't justify the additional expense when I bought it 3 years ago. That has turned out to be a fortuitous decision, unless the debacle ruins the market for all VWs.

Ironically, I had regretted not buying a TDI until now. I love my Golf and it is the most fun to drive of any car that I've ever owned, but its gas mileage is so-so and storage is a problem with the 2-door version. In the back of my mind, I had been planning to get a Golf Sportwagen TDI when I retire in a few years, but that looks unlikely now. Even a gas-powered Sportwagen is unlikely given the latest turn of events.