This Car Is ILLEGAL

Volkswagen is one of the largest car brands in the world. But in 2015, 3 college kids in West Virginia discovered something about their diesel cars that would change the company, and even change the American automotive landscape forever.

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#Volkswagen #dieselgate #tdi

[albonfilms]

Thanks again to Manscaped for sponsoring today’s video! Get 20% Off + Free International Shipping + 2 Free Gifts with promo code “ALBON” at manscaped.com/ALBON

What do you think about VW's punishment? Did they get off easy? Or was the EPA too hard on them?

[PurpleEnzo]

You left out the bit where Mercedes made a deal to avoid any and all prosecution for their emissions cheating. The entire software trick can be traced back to Bosch. Almost everyone that used Bosch DME was able to use the software cheating. Most brands did, but they just didn't get targeted by the US government.

[nerbs]

Im really surprised they managed to criminally charge the CEO and top execs as usually it never gets blamed on a personal level.

[Gabriel-vjcf]

I think volkswagen unfairly took all the spotlight for this. Bmw and MB did the same thing. I also think the emission standards for those kinds of cars is unfair, You can have a giant diesel truck to daily drive to your job at burger king polluting a ton more than those other diesel cars. Nox emissions aside they cause a lot less atmosphere pollution.

[ZCorradoVRZ]

Back in 2015 some independent engineers performed independents in Europe using a similarly specced Passat and the numbers they got 2.5x above the legal limit, not 40 times like reported in the US, then they performed the same test on an Opel Zafira and the results for that were above the reading range. Strangely, I didn't hear anything about this back home in the US.

[drew]

This needs to happen in other industries. Like big Pharma and food processing companies.

[jimbrown]

I was an (off highway) diesel engine engineer when this scandal broke out. My coworkers and I laughed and laughed and this case became our go to engineering ethics case study for a few years until the Boeing 737 Max / MCAS disaster...

[danielho]

Good coverage. Some small and big details you forgot to mention.
1. VW's TDI engines met Euro 4 (2005-2008) specs but failed w/ Euro 5 (2009-2013).
2. Meeting Euro 5 requires DEF (urea) injection into the exhaust -- a total (expensive) rework of the exhaust system.
3. VW CEO Winterkorn had ambitions to beat Toyota to become the world's largest automaker.
4. Top management was pressuring the entire organization to keep up sales/profit margin targets.
5. Mid-level VW engineers came up with the software cheat, but approval had to go up the command chain.
6. It's a subject of debate how far up the VW Management (not Engineering) org the scandal went.

[theyjustwantyourmoney]

It's rare for corporate fraud to end up with hefty penalties and real jail sentences, this time even their high profile lawyers didn't have a leg to stand on. I really wish to see the same on securities fraud and white collar crime.

[jmccarsnmore]

VW has enough money to quickly recover from it. They thought they were sneaky enough, and three college guys outsmarted them. Such is life!!

[bravofighter]

The sad part is, they were fantastic cars, got great mileage, and were loved by everyone. Cars already on the road are now selling for ENORMOUS sums.

[craigsheffield]

I was using used fry oil thrown away by restaurant's. I would then put it throught a personal filtering system so that it was back to it's original vegetable oil, and used it in modified diesel car engines. Works great.

[chitoon]

I have a 2014 TDI Beetle Bug convertible 2.0....well I kept the car in 2020 agreed ...VW gave me $8000.00 and Bosch gave me another $880.00 + I received a 100, 000 mile warranty on the car I ever got paid to drive....75, 000 still driving

[paddyodoors]

Anyone whos been remapping these for a long time will know VAG has been at this for decades. On the old vp pump engines (1997-) there's a spike in the timing map so extra timing is given at around 55-60mph. Timing increases economy but creates nox emissions. This is easily verifiable and was well discussed on ecu tuning forums back in the day.

[guavaice]

This is the best explanation of Dieselgate I've ever watched, props to Albon for making it so interesting

[christophermarshall]

The Mercedes diesels here in Australia during this time were tested using actual on road tests, & they passed. In fact, their V6 diesels sold here in Australia are very quiet, almost impossible to tell the difference between the diesel & petrol ones, unless you look at the fuel cap.

[RepyZep]

He has enough money to get away, and outlive the rest of his life in comfort. I don't think he is too bothered.

[IronmanLIIII]

I'm a retired USA expat living in the Philippines now. I get tremendous fuel economy from the used 2001 Ford Ranger diesel I purchased last year. For a 20 something year old pickup truck it passed the mandatory tailpipe emissions test with flying colors it doesn't produce black smoke and has plenty of power for a 4 cyl diesel. I owned 2 US versions of the Ford Rangers prior to this one while still living in the states and only wish the diesel engine option was available then.

[eaglechawks]

In 1981, my diesel Rabbit was getting over 40mpg on the highway while my Chevy was lucky to get 20mpg. I'd say burning half as much fuel per trip kind of makes up for the emissions difference.

[RyanMonoxide]

I live near on of the giant fields of recalled VW’s. They have been sitting there in the field and nothing has been done with them for years. There is one person that sits in a booth at the only entrance to the field of cars and if you drive up and talk to them kindly asking what’s inside they say “I’m not allowed to talk about it and you have to leave or we have to call the police”. I’ve stopped by 3 times over the years and got basically the same quote all 3 times. You look it up on maps and the cars just sit there wasting away. They don’t even crush them or recycle them. They just sit.