You can’t help have noticed that our favourite brand’s in a spot of bother right now. But what’s at the root of all those news stories concerning VW? Here’s an idiot’s guide to what’s been going on…

Dubbed as the ‘diesel dupe’, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), some diesel VWs sold in the US had gadgets fitted to detect when they were being tested, which then instructed various engine parameters to change to temporarily reduce emissions. The EPA’s findings covered 482,000 cars in the US only, including the Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat as well as the Audi A3. Since the accusation, however, VW has since admitted that roughly 11 million cars worldwide are fitted with the ‘defeat’ device.

Whatever you feel about this, you have to admit it sounds like a clever bit of kit. Precise details are sketchy but the EPA said that software installed in the cars recognise test scenarios by monitoring engine speed, air pressure and even things like the position of the steering wheel, tipping the car off that it’s likely to be sitting on a static rig being given the once over by someone in a white lab coat carrying a clipboard.

Once given the wink, the device puts the vehicle into something like ‘limp home’ mode, making the engine run below normal power and performance in order to slash emissions. The upshot is that if they hadn’t had the gizmo installed, the harmful nitrogen oxide pollutants would have been 40 times above the legally permitted levels in the US. No wonder then, having been caught with their trousers around their ankles, VW America boss Michael Horn admitted that “We’ve totally screwed up,” before recalling almost 500,000 cars in the US.

While confined to the US at present, it seems cars exported to other countries will also come under the spotlight, with the legitimacy of VW’s emissions testing likely to be brought into question right across Europe. Undoubtedly the shock waves felt throughout the entire motor industry has been immense and the repercussions are likely to be numerous and substantial. One thing’s for certain, though – it’s added weight to the growing argument that diesel cars aren’t as kind to the planet as was once thought. Based on the latest scientific evidence, there are even moves to limit the use of diesel cars in city centres. With Volkswagen top brass emphatically stating that the future lies in electric vehicles at Frankfurt recently, it’s almost as if they saw the whole sorry affair coming.

Of course the press has had a field day over the VW debacle. There’s even been talk on Radio 2 about people taking their cars back for a refund and secondhand VW values plummeting. We’re not sure about that – but what do you think should happen? Has it rocked your VW world or is the love affair unaffected? If you’ve just bought a new diesel VW, how does the whole thing make you feel? We’d love to hear your views…

In the meantime, as events continue to unfold we’ll keep you posted…

Ian

The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage.