The same website you used (cars.com) also did an article on the free fall of TDI values - https://www.cars.com/articles/used-vw-diesel-prices-continue-to-decline--1420682860308/
Believe me my hide is chapped about this scandal, VW cheated and lied and should pay the price. What I have a problem with is what happens to that money. We all know it goes down a black hole never to be seen again. If the real goal is to improve air quality then use the money from the fine to actually reduce the annual nox inventory. Kind of like how the tobacco settlement money was supposed to help those that were sickened or wanted to quit, oh that's right what the lawyers didn't get was put into "general funds", never to be seen again. I agree that they must be punished for their actions or others will see fit to cheat. Although there are other automakers cheating on emissions and safety, they just haven't gotten caught yet. Oh well I guess we will see how this shakes out, will be interesting to see what gets uncovered when they switch to on road testing for other manufacturers. Something tells me this is but the first of many scandals. Until then I'm just gonna drive and enjoy my TDI, after all the government certified it, it's got a sticker under the hood to prove it
1. The Cuyahoga River hasn't caught fire lately.
You must have missed the Animas River incident last August.
The EPA didnt create the potentially toxic heavy metals that were flowing down the river did they? I mean did VW created the NOX but the EPA didn't create the toxic sludge - they were trying to clean it up.
Yep, this is the way to sort out the hit in value from low fuel prices Vs dieselgate, although I would have picked a stable of hybrids and small fuel efficient compacts rather than *eVs.
But people still trust GM after their ignition scandal. The public has a very short term memory.
How many countries sued GM for lying to them?
I am sorry that you would then suffer from other owners criminal behavior. This is why I think a graded fine against VW for non-compliance with the fix is appropriate. If only one a**hat continues to pollute then the group effect is minor. If the fraction is larger then VW's penalty grows, as does the effect on the entire owner group.
Funny, I read the article pretty much opposite of you -- that the German politicos are trying to help VW get through dieselgate with the minimum of harm.
If the justice department really demanded that, then VW would sigh about its lost Porsche Audi profits and wave Buh-Bye to the US market.
If VW pulled out of the US market all together it would mean they would lose the trust of not just the US market but of a large portion of the global market all together.
You should read the German press coverage of common sentiment in Germany. They are sure that the EPA actions are thinly veiled actions to help US car manufactures and the US economy.
I don't believe that the voters have much say in this debacle. Its going to be the Courts and the Court of Public Opinion that truly matters. VW allegedly pulling out of the US would certainly NOT wreck the US economy. In fact, somewhere in Detroit, there's executives licking their chops at the prospect of VW pulling out OR having to pay billions. Note too that all of what was done was uninsured (fraud/concealment etc.) so it looks like Vee Dub is on its own.
I don't know about EU, BUT I'd certainly look at the alternatives of the Cruze CTD and or the Mazda 6 Diesel when (IF) it gets here.
An $80 Billion dollar "fine" for this particular crime is a lot like shooting someone for jaywalking. The Democrats would have placed themselves in the shoes of the shooter.
I wonder, with Piech gone, will their focus on world domination over Toyota etal continue?
I think you're right. Some dealers don't have to sell one new car to make a profit. They also have the profit centers of parts and service, as well as used cars. At one point, a Mercedes Benz dealer in town didn't have to sell one car, new or used, to turn a profit because parts and service had such a high margin.US sales are a very small part of the pie that is the Volkswagen Group. China has smoked past us a long time ago, even for Audi sales. They could stop selling cars here tomorrow and it would barely be a blip on their radar. Which goes to show you just how many cars they sell in the rest of the world that the single largest market would not effect them much.
But I don't think that will happen. While it was expected to happen in the early '90s, following suit with what had happened with Fiat, Renault (who are both giant companies, alive and well today, and pulling the strings at Chrysler and Nissan, respectively) things are very different today.
But to the greater issue, is that they have also done this chicanery in other markets... mainly their EU customers and countries. So whatever they have to do here will likely also be something similar abroad. And given that the global standards are coming closer together on this, pulling out of this market really wouldn't make any sense. It also seems that, despite the tiny number of cars sold here, the US is making a much bigger deal about this than anyone else is... which is of no surprise to me.
Um, the dems aren't suing VW I believe that is the US Dept of Justice and the EPA. Lets not forget that the current EPA regulations have been in place for several years while we have had a republican congress so its not like the GOP is helping or hurting VW just like the Dems.
If it were only as easy for VW as it was GM (It's not like GM made the airbags, Takata did)
Not even close.
The buyback is the writer's idea, not VW's. He's the one deriding the "ill fated repairs", not EPA, who has yet to say what they think.
is this a fact? if so prove it