VW playing tricks with the emissions testing. Maybe this is how they got by without using Urea. The same thing happened to Navistar when they didn't use urea.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/1...s-over-emissions-software.html?_r=0&referrer=
I think the VW recall is a big deal. 500,000 newish cars that need to have their computers reflashed to get legal emissions. After they do that, performance will be noticeably worse.
A few questions:
--If you have a safety/defect recall, you take it in for repairs. In this case, many will opt not to take it in, b/c they care more about performance than NOx. I suppose all recalled vehicles will be automatically failed on their next emission test unless a proof of recall/reprogramming has occurred (easy). Or will the emission control software be updated to detect the defeat device (hard)? After the failure, the car will get reprogrammed.
--After the car has been fixed, with degraded performance (power, not just mpg), how many will blame the EPA, and how many will blame VW, now the world's largest car company?
--Both GM and Toyota for their safety defects, that resulted in dozens of lost lives, were fined ~$1B. Apparently the laws on the books allow fines in the VW case of up to $18B. For comparison, it looks like the number of premature deaths in the US because of all NOx emissions is estimated to be ~15,000/yr. This number of course includes power plants and agricultural emissions, as well as diesel. Someone will come up with an estimate for the number of premature US deaths due to this little software feature...over the last 6 years it could easily be in the
thousands. Remember that most ag and power plant emissions are far removed from population centers, while the VW NOx is right in urban areas.
--In the GM/Toyota cases, we had execs that could claim to be 'unsure what was going on', their info was anecdotal and after the fact about defects. In the VW case, the entire defect was put in in a premeditated way, they knew that higher NOx emissions would result AND the relationship between NOx, smog and premature death was established decades ago (as the rationale for the regs they were cheating). In other words, a corporation made a premeditated illegal action that they knew would result in thousands of premature deaths in other countries. Oh well, I guess tobacco companies probably kill more people before lunch every day. Of course, car companies like to crow about the importance of keeping you safe.
--Unlike the GM/Toyota cases, there will be no crying moms holding press conferences...just statisticians making reports.
--As much as folks hate class action suits...if you have this car, and its decrease in mpg and performance causes its cost of ownership to go up $1000, and its resale to go down $1000, are you mad enough to sign up for the suit? At a couple $k per owner, it will be a $1B suit.
--After the recalls, both GM and Toyota sales took a noticeable hit. VW sales are already cr@ppy in the US, will the media attention to VW killing thousands of americans to make some $$ basically kill their sales in the US for years? I think it is possible.