Volkswagen, Audi diesel-engine scandal grows to about 11 million cars worldwide

 

Volkswagen and Audi TDI models, above and below, are equipped with software the automaker installed to cheat U.S. emissions testing.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The potential recall of Volkwagens and Audis with illegal diesel engines that pollute far more than allowed has grown to 11 million worldwide.

The automaker announced today that 11 million of its deisel cars were equipped with software that was used to cheat on emissions tests, according to The New York Times.

"The overwhelming majority are probably in Europe, where the company dominates the market and accounts for more than one of every cars sold," The Times reported.

The German automaker is setting aside the equivalent of half a year's profit -- 6.5 billion euros or about $7.3 billion -- to cover the cost of fixing the cars, paying fines and defending itself against civil lawsuits "from angry customers," the paper said.

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered Volkswagen to recall almost a half-million VW and Audi vehicles with 2-liter diesel engines sold in the United States from 2009-15.

Instead of introducing more hybrid and pure-electric cars, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz promoted a new generation of so-called clean-diesel engines, which are far cheaper to produce.

EPA: Volkswagen and Audi 'clean diesels' are an even bigger scam than we thought

Despite cheap gas, unsold Hyundais fill a dealer's lot near the ShopRite in Paramus, N.J., above and below. The dealer also has started renting spaces in another lot under the supermarket for more unsold cars.

In November 2014, Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia agreed to pay a combined $300 million as part of a settlement for overstating vehicle fuel-economy standards on 1.2 million cars -- in what is the largest penalty ever for a violation of the Clean Air Act. No fines have been announced in the new case against Volkswagen.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Now, here is really shocking car news:

Volkswagen, the German auto-making giant, deliberately installed software designed to conceal its diesel engine's emission of the pollutant nitrogen oxide, which contributes to the creation of ozone and smog.

"The pollutants are linked to a range of health problems, including asthma attacks, other respiratory diseases and premature death," according to The New York Times.

On Friday, the Obama administration ordered VW to recall nearly a half-million cars, "saying the automaker illegally installed software in its diesel-powered cars to evade standards for reducing smog."

The recall involves 4-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi vehicles from model years 2009-15.

The Environmental Protection Agency says the car maker admitted installing software that turned off the engines' full emissions-control systems during normal driving.

That allows "the cars to spew as much as 40 times as much pollution as allowed under the Clean Air Act," The Times reported. 

Disengaging the controls can yield better performance in a normally sluggish diesel engine, "including increased torque and acceleration."

The software turned on full controls only when it detected "the car is undergoing its periodic state emissions testing," the newspaper said.

Dog and pony show

In March, Volkswagen executive Marcel Zirwes spoke to writers, public relations people and industry members of the International Motor Press Association in Manhattan.

After cocktails and a lunch of farmed salmon and oysters on the half shell, paid for by Bosch, members heard thousands of words praising a new generation of so-called clean diesel engines.

But none of the executives who spoke claimed "clean diesel" technology was better for the environment than such gas-electric hybrids as the Toyota Prius.

And they said the appeal of diesels over hybrids is that the former is more profitable to automakers while yielding comparable mileage.

See:

Free lunch, hard sell on 'clean diesel'

Times says if you want a fast, luxurious EV, just wait 5 years for Audi or Porsche

DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH: Audi and Porsche showed all-electric concept cars at the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany, above and below, but production models wouldn't go on sale until 2020 -- that's five long years from now.

OH MY ACHING BACK: The low-slung Porsche concept looks like it is aimed at the young and limber. And the 300-mile range would be of limited value to older drivers, who need frequent bathroom breaks.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We're all familiar with the phrase, "Start your engines."

But Tom Voelk, a contributor to The New York Times, really stretches the meaning of "start" in his story from the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany on Monday.

After noting Tesla Motors has had the market for "high-end electric cars" to itself since the Model S went on sale in 2012, Voelk claims:

"But that is changing as other automakers start to introduce their own models [italics added]."

Really? 

The story is silent on new production models of all-electric cars from Audi and Porsche, both of which are owned by Volkswagen, but does describe two "concepts" that are at least five years away from production.

This is the same kind of hype and exaggeration you see in automakers' TV advertising, but Times readers deserve better.

New Teslas

If Audi and Porsche actually put their EVs on sale in 2020, they will be competing with a Tesla crossover, the Model X, as well as the smaller Model 3 with a range of 200 miles and a price of around $35,000.

A second-generation Tesla Roadster might also be available and could a second-generation Model S be far behind?

Model S still on top

Until then, the Tesla Model S remains the fastest, most luxurious all-electric car you can buy, one that has earned Consumer Reports' highest rating ever.

Unlike the Times and other publications, Consumer Reports' evaluations aren't influenced by advertising or the fleets of free Audis and Porsches available to automobile writers and VIPs. 

Porsche's low-slung Mission E Concept claims an 0-60 time that is already eclipsed by the fastest Tesla Model S.

The German automakers' response to Tesla's zero-emissions cars has been disappointing.

Still, the Mission E Concept shows Porsche learned a great deal from the two Tesla Model S four-door hatchbacks the automaker purchased and shipped to its engineers in Germany.

And given that country's dark past, any future all-electric models from Audi and Porsche likely will meet resistance from affluent Jewish buyers, who rewarded Lexus, Toyota's luxury division, with early and continuing success.

In July, Lexus outsold Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi in the U.S. for the first time.

Top-rated, relatively rare Tesla Model S attracts smiles, thumbs ups -- and envy

At the supermarket, above, or at a free Tesla Supercharger Station on the New Jersey Turnpike, below, the gorgeous, relatively rare Model S turns heads.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Oh, there goes another Mercedes (Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Cadillac etc. etc).

When you drive a Tesla Model S, other drivers really notice, and you don't see yourself coming and going.

In its third year of production, the luxury 4-door hatchback still is relatively rare.

I've gotten thumbs ups from a passing motorcyclist on the interstate, a pedestrian and others.

The reaction of other drivers is mixed.

Some are aggressive, like the moron in a Volvo wagon who tried to pass me on Thursday after both of us got on Route 80 west in Englewood, N.J.

My Model S 60 is a couple of seconds slower to 60 mph than the P85D that just broke the Consumer Reports ratings system, earning a perfect road test score of 100.

But the zero to 30 mph and 40 mph times are dazzling when I've been challenged to a stoplight grand prix start.

I've yet to lose one.

E-ZPass discounts

Tesla's Model S uses an external E-ZPass that is mounted over the bottom of the license plate, but you'll have to jump through hoops to get the "green" one that entitles you to off-peak discounts as the owner of a zero-emission vehicle.

The off-peak discounts are available on the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and at the Hudson River crossings.

First, you have to register your car, then send in a copy of your registration showing the make and model, and if you're lucky, in four to six weeks the so-called Green Pass will come in the mail.

My first attempt, using snail mail, failed. The second time, I faxed in my request and got the exterior E-ZPass, but it was black like the one on my Model S.

I called, and was told exterior passes come only in black, but that my pass is programmed to give me the green discounts.

The E-ZPasses we use to get off-peak discounts in my two Toyota Priuses are green, not white.

Our 2007 Prius with 64,000 miles on it is for sale. If you want to get 40 mpg to 50 mpg and help the environment, send an email to the address at the top of this blog.

LOADED: Navigation system, Bluetooth, six-disc CD player in dash.

Carpool discounts

All drivers are entitled to a carpool discount at the Hudson River crossings -- 24/7 -- but you have to call your E-ZPass provider and register for the discount.

Then, you have to stop in a staffed cash/E-ZPass lane so a toll taker can see you have three or more people in the car.

The regular off-peak E-ZPass toll at the Hudson River crossings is $9.75, the Green Pass off-peak toll is $6.25 and the carpool toll is $5.75.

The peak E-ZPass toll is $11.75, and the cash toll is $14.

The Model S on vacation at the Basin Harbor Club on Lake Champlain in Vermont, where we also recharged our own batteries.

Just when you thought TV ads couldn't get any more bizarre: The Chevro-Benz SUV

Does this look like the interior of a Mercedes-Benz?

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

When you own a Tesla Model S, the inane TV commercials other manufacturers run can drive you crazy.

Tesla Motors doesn't spend tens of millions of dollars to advertise on TV or in newspapers and magazines, which may be at the root of the media's hostility toward the all-electric luxury car and the genius behind it, Elon Musk.

But just about every other manufacturers does, and the cost of those ads boosts the MSRP of the vehicle you buy. 

And now ... the Chevro-Benz

In northern New Jersey, where I live, I've seen a TV commercial showing prospective SUV buyers sitting in a Chevrolet and enthusing over how the interior looks like one in a far more expensive vehicle.

In turn, different people say they think they are in a Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, BMW and even a Mercedes-Benz.

What were they smoking?

They are shown in several gas-guzzling Chevy SUVs, including the enormous Suburban.

When I was working for fleet management companies for a measly $12 an hour, I drove a lot of SUVs from Mercedes, other German manufacturers, Lexus and Infiniti, and I can tell you none of them look or feel like the far cheaper Chevy. 

LOL.

This soon-to-be Tesla owner wouldn't be caught dead in a luxury car from Germany

An all-electric Tesla Model S on display at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Does any American really need a 155-mph luxury car?

More than 15 years after the introduction of gas-electric hybrids to the U.S., German car makers offer only a handful of green cars.

Their luxury car lines still are filled with gas-guzzling sedans and SUVs that merely aggravate air pollution and hasten climate change. 

Some, like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, score low on reliability surveys.

Mindless media 

The automotive media are responsible for portraying German cars with hundreds of horsepower from dirty internal combustion engines as viable alternatives to Tesla Motors' revolutionary Model S and other all-electric vehicles.

For example, Car and Driver's blog interviewed Diamler Chairman Dieter Zetsche, who sports a walrus mustache (Diamler A.G. is the parent company of Mercedes-Benz).

One of the loaded questions was posed this way:

"And electric vehicles? Buyers seem unconvinced."

No one said you had to have brains to get a job at a car magazine or a blog like Gas2, which ran the interview recently.

Of course, "buyers" of electric vehicles must have been convinced or why would they have spent $30,000 to $70,000 and more for an all-electric car? 

Tesla Motors is selling about 50,000 Model S luxury hatchbacks annually from a single factory in California.

No ad revenue

The media's hostility toward Tesla might have something to do with the company's no-advertising policy. 

No ads mean no advertising revenue for struggling print and electronic media.

Elon Musk, the genius behind Tesla, didn't even bother showing his new model this week at the New York International Auto Show in Manhattan.

Model S 70D

This week, Tesla announced a new base model, the 70D, which costs $75,000 and has all-wheel drive and slightly more range, 240 miles v. 208 miles for the discontinued Model S 60.

The Associated Press story I saw in my morning paper reported the electric car maker "is going after mainstream luxury car buyers" with the new model.

The story didn't explain why the $70,000 Model S 60 -- which has a 380-horsepower electric motor and can go from zero to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds -- didn't compete against "mainstream" luxury cars.

The new 70D trims only .7 seconds off that 0-60 time, even though it has a motor with 124 more horsepower.

My Model S

I am scheduled to pick up my new Model S 60 next week.

I am sure it will be the best car I have ever owned, and with free updates from Tesla will remain fresh and more advanced than just about anything else on the road.

The only cars we've had for more than a decade are Toyota Prius hybrids, and we have more than 60 solar panels on the roof of our home.

The Model S 60 will be a perfect fit, especially in view of the limited driving I do as a senior.

German cars

In the last few years, I've worked part time for fleet-management companies in New Jersey that supply new cars to the media and VIPs.

I've driven just about every Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Porsche, occasionally as a chauffeur during Fashion Week or other special event.

Some of them have switches and controls that are so hopelessly complicated I had to consult the owner's manual to figure them out.

I couldn't wait to jump back into my 2010 Prius.

Taxis in Holland, incentives in China, future models and other green-car trivia

A Tesla Model S demonstrator at the electric automaker's new Showroom-Service Center on Route 17 north in Paramus.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I don't envy all of those full-time auto writers and bloggers who have to scramble for green-car news.

Many of them write for sponsored sites, and range far and wide, even years into the future, in search of stories.

Look at all of the copy about the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, which isn't scheduled to come out until late in 2015.

But with a first-year production of only 2,100, it's unclear how many will be available in the United States.

What is clear is that Toyota dealers are sure to squeeze anyone who wants to buy one of the few available for a lot of added profit over the $57,500 base price, if past practice is any guide.

Junket to Japan

One of the blogs that wrote about the Mirai acknowledged Toyota provided airfare to Japan, lodging and meals to enable the writer "to bring you this first-person report."

Another blog, Gas2, even compared the Mirai to Tesla's Model S, which has been sold since 2012.

The writer did note there are only a "couple of dozen" public hydrogen fueling stations in the U.S.

China and Holland

I just read about air pollution in China, and how one city plans to limit registrations of new cars while the government weighs adding incentives for the purchase of plug-in hybrids and EVs.

In Holland, there is a fleet of Tesla Model S taxis at the airport serving Amsterdam, according to Gas2.

None of that is of any interest to me.

I've read that incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles are far higher in Europe than in the U.S., but I haven't seen anything on whether the new Congress will attempt to get rid of the $7,500 federal tax credit for the purchase of a green car.

From hybrid to electric

I live in northern New Jersey and have driven Toyota Prius hybrids since 2004.

Now, I plan to make the transition to an all-electric car, and I want to know all I can about my choices.

The Tesla Model S has twice the range of any other all-electric vehicle sold in New Jersey.

But I just read real breaking news in Automobile magazine, quoted in Green Car Reports, which says Audi, BMW and Porsche plan to attack Tesla with new green-car models due in 2018 to 2021.

Is Automobile magazine suggesting I wait?

Best Cars of 2014 

The Tesla Model S just finished first in Consumer Reports' Best Cars of 2014.

The only other green car on the list, the Mercedes-Benz E250 diesel, finished fifth.

More news I can't use

The annoying Gas 2 blog, which claims to report on "Green Cars that Don't Suck," carries a ton of news that is of little use to anyone planning to buy an all-electric car:

The latest is 15 Electric Cars Hitting the Market in 2015

Only one of the 15 is all-electric -- Tesla's Model X crossover with gull-wing doors -- unless you want to count a Croatian super-car concept with an MSRP of $1 million. 

The rest are plug-in hybrids from BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Audi and Chevy, but the BYD Tang will be sold only in China.