seems to me it would be a good time to buy a TDI. with everyone pissed at them the hipsters will be dumping them and prices should be lower.
I worry about will be required to make TDIs pass the EPA standards which have been in place since 2007. I'm betting whatever it is, the driving performance will suffer, and possibly greater maintenance.
Also - I thought hipsters had fixie bikes. When did they start buying diesels?
Most of the hipsters around here have Priuses or Leafs. However, there are some who like diesels for the biodiesel aspect. Most of them -- like me -- have older ones that aren't affected by this because they were made before the stringent emissions standards.
...which brings me to my next point: even if you refused or circumvented the recall, these TDIs are still probably equal or cleaner than the ones made in 2006 and earlier. Their emissions are really not
that bad -- and in particular, they're still probably better than many relatively-new vehicles, especially larger ones. I see no reason why there should be huge moral outrage over the emissions (as opposed to the deception, for which outrage is justified) when there isn't outrage against continuing to drive cars designed for old emissions standards, like I do (my TDI is a '98, and my oldest car is a '90).
This whole situation makes me wonder how many other car companies do the same. It was a piece of software that kicked in during testing only, correct? Is it an industry standard so to speak, or has every other company smart enough not to go there? It just seems odd to me that no other brand thought that reaching emissions standards was a hardship in the long term, yet VW did. I expect this will get answered soon, but it will be interesting to keep an ear out.
VW's engine was pretty unique: it was the only new diesel engine (that I know of) that avoided use of urea injection (even the closest competitor, the Chevy Cruze Diesel, bit the bullet and uses it). With urea injection, meeting NOx standards is much easier so there'd be no need to cheat.
There's still the pressure for everybody else to meet (gasoline-engine) emissions standards, but that's not nearly as difficult as meeting the EPA's diesel standard. Although I suppose, with competitive pressures, you never know...
To bring this back around to "investor alley," I wouldn't be surprised if
Bosch ends up under particular scrutiny since they (I think) make the ECUs for VW cars.