Quote: Deeps wrote in post #5

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As it was first registered in Nov 2011 I'm guessing that it too has been fitted with this piece of rogue software so am keenly watching for any signs of a class action being started here in Germany. VW's cheating may not have affected my trade-in value but I purchased it primarily based upon it's supposed high emission class and in this respect feel that I have been duped by the company.

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Quote: Deeps wrote in post #8

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Without wishing to sound offensive but I probably walk more kilometres in a single day - every day - ( 2 x 6km) than you walk in an entire week - possibly month.

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Quote: Deeps wrote in post #8

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I find it a shame that so many small minded people like you exist.

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From the dates of the posts referred to, it would appear that both parties have had their say. But why try to stifle debate about an interesting topic?

My own opinion is that a lot of pseudo-scientific claptrap has appeared over the years about the power of the diesel engine to save the planet. When the Green lobby and the vociferous environmentalist came up with the notion of reducing carbon dioxide emissions (a laudable aim) little did they realise the unintended consequences that would result that would produce a far greater environmental challenge.

Governments around the world, keen to demonstrate their environmentalist credentials, were quick to leap onto the bandwagon and so were organisations. For example, the university where I used to work introduced differential car parking charges based on car engine capacity. The bizarre and totally unscientific result was that a person with a Citroen 2CV, which went out of production due to its appalling level of emissions that could not economically be rectified, paid less per year for parking than the owner of a new 3 litre Jaguar equipped with all the latest emissions control equipment. Each car occupied one car parking space. When I pointed out this stupidity to those responsible I was not thanked merely ignored. It was all about revenue generation. If this can happen in a so-called place of learning then heaven help us.

I'm sure that a lot of drivers of VAG group diesels will now be looking to jump onto the current bandwagon in the hope of receiving financial compensation for perceived losses, even hurt feelings if previous nonsensical legal actions are anything to go by.

How many of you drivers of diesel engined towcars, I wonder, would swear hand on heart that environmental protection was a major reason for your choice of purchase? Call me cynical if you will, but in all the discussions on diesel engines that I've taken part in or overheard, the two main topics of conversation have been, 1. Fuel economy - "I get 50mpg when towing with my Skoda Yeti" is typical, and 2) Torque delivery characteristics, "The diesel has so much more low-down grunt than the petrol engined model." Never once have I heard anyone say that their exhaust levels are cleaner than the equivalent petrol model - because they aren't.

The problem is that drivers of diesels are no longer prepared to put up with the old-fashioned diesel driving experience with its rattly, clattery, smoky characteristics demanding instead the previously mentioned two diesel benefits but with petrol engine refinement. This has led to overly complicated systems being added to diesels to make them acceptable to drivers. These include the dreaded diesel particulate filter (dpf) and dual-mass flywheel together with lots of other sensors and engine management systems transforming a previously reliable if nasty vehicle into a smooth and quiet one albeit with very poor reliability and potentially fearsome maintenance and repair costs.

One major problem is that diesels run much cooler than petrol engines and in towns may never reach a temperature that activates the dpf. Your diesel may well have a supplementary electric heater in the coolant circuit to give you heating and demisting on cool mornings for this very reason. On motorways and the open roads it's a different matter, but why should a driver of a typical diesel be required to drive at high speed in a low gear for half an hour every week just to activate the dpf? Other manufacturers add chemicals to the fuel in metered doses to achieve the same effect but with what environmental impact?

Also, does anyone believe manufacturers' emissions and performance statistics? They are all based on laboratory 'ideal conditions' motoring not on on-the-road performance that you or I will actually experience. These ridiculous testing methods have led to such stupidity as the removal of spare wheels from some cars as this reduces the weight during these laboratory tests. And does anyone seriously believe that VAG are the only ones fiddling the official tests? A whole industry has grown up aimed at re-mapping engines and removing dpfs (now illegal) but the check on the presence of a filter is all that is required even if the casing is in fact empty. Barmy!

The latest research into diesel emissions in towns (reported this week in the BBC News app) now suggests that long-chain hydrocarbons are being emitted that give rise to the creation of ozone (a toxic gas) at street level. This together with oxides of nitrogen and micro particulates are claimed by medical experts to be causing thousands of children in towns and cities to develop respiratory diseases and to lead to thousands of early deaths every year.

When the atmospheric pollution in London in the 1950s from coal-fired domestic heating was so bad that the resulting great smog caused the deaths of cattle at the Smithfield Show, the government of the day introduced the Clean Air Act 1956 that led to incredible improvements in British air quality from which we have all benefited.

It's now time that the current government did the same regarding the emissions from diesel engined vehicles.

I did type it very slowly so you'd be able to keep up.

Quote: Deeps wrote in post #14

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[quote="Aaron Calder"|p26705]I'm not entirely sure that I agree with your comment of 'why should a driver of a typical diesel be required to drive at high speed in a low gear for half an hour every week just to activate the dpf? Other manufactures add chemicals to the fuel in metered doses to achieve the same effect but with what environmental impact?' In the first instance this is only a secondary requirement for those who for the most part only travel short distances. One could argue in this respect - 'well why on earth are they driving a diesel driven vehicle in the first place as this type of vehicle right from it's inception was never designed to be used in this manner.' As to the adding of chemicals - I assume that you are referring to AdBlue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_exhaust_fluid which is also a fairly recent innovation. In fact the new VW Touran due for release in October has an additional filler cap for AdBlue whilst other vehicles such as my Mazda CX-5 use another more mechanical and intricate method altogether in order to meet the Euro 6 standard.

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