I didn't type a thing. I just went in and politely articulated immense distress with spoken words. I got pre-scandal book value and took the $2k customer loyalty rebate and ran with it. That was strangely just at the threshold they needed to be to get me to stay with the marque.
Somewhere around page 300 of this thread there is an interview with a former vice-chair of GM who commented that diesel passenger cars are effectively being legislated out of existence in the US. Mention that, too.
My new car: '16 GTI with DSG and performance pack -- absolutely delighted with it (and I needed some consolation)!
I am a petrolhead again, and sadly, done with diesel permanently. I hope the VW group continues their push for hydrogen fuel cells and am looking forward to them.
I salute all of you, though. This thread has demonstrated that dieselheads are exceptionally intelligent, thoughtful car enthusiasts.
Congrats on the new GTI. Had money not been an object, that's what I would have bought when I traded in my TDI some 3 weeks or so before the scandal broke out. But money was an object so it was a base (Trendline in Canada) Golf TSI, but like you I'm delighted with it. I still love VWs. The company, and the dealers, not so much.
I kind of concur on diesels. I think the value proposition just isn't there anymore. When I first started to look at trading last June, the dealer told me there was a $1500 incentive on TDIs, but NOT on TSIs. Reason was that the TSIs were flying out the door, but TDIs weren't because for most folks the slightly better fuel economy of the TSI didn't justify the $3k higher price, timing belt changes, AdBlue, and all that. My wife and I are no longer in a position that we do enough mileage to justify a TDI on the basis of cost savings and I think fewer and fewer people are. Clearly diesels were already on their downward trend then.
The 1.4 TSI that is now the base engine on the Jetta, is going to drive another nail into the TDI coffin. I predict this engine will find its way into the Beetle and Golf eventually. VW could easily offer a 1.4 TSI Bluemotion with extra fuel savings gimmicks like narrower LRR tires, more underbody cladding, reduced weight, start/stop, 7-speed DSG and fuel economy that pretty much matches a 2.0 TDI. And I bet the price premium could be kept to about $1-1.5k of a comparably equipped automatic Golf. Heck I'd even consider giving up a manual gearbox for a car like that...
I do still like the range advantage of my wife's TDI on long road trips, but that's a nice-to-have, not really any economic benefit.