Friday, September 25, 2015

Warning: Volkswagen CEO Pledges to Do Everything to Win Back Your Trust

September 25, 2015
The Latest: New VW boss vows to win back public's trust

Incoming Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller is pledging to do everything to win back the trust of the public in the wake of the emissions scandal that erupted in the U.S.

1. Many CEOs in his position might try to earn back your trust. He intends to win it!
2. He will do everything to win!

Be careful gambling your trust with this guy in a high stakes poker game. He seems to be using the same tactics that got Volkswagen into trouble in the first place. They did everything to pass those emissions tests! Everything!

If you have three aces and lose to four aces, there's only one deck, and nothing is wild, then don't come crying to me, lol. Sigh.

In all seriousness, will do everything to win? Oh, yeah. I can feel the trust building. Not.

9 comments:

Who Struck John said...

How about starting with a plan to fix my Jetta, Herr CEO?

Stagflationary Mark said...

Who Struck John,

He'll do everything for trust (but he won't do that).

Sorry. Shame on me. :(

Who Struck John said...

Sadly you appear to be correct as the company hasn't contacted me yet. Oops!

Stagflationary Mark said...

Who Struck John,

Perhaps they are waiting for the perfect time?

Dear Jetta Owner,

Thanks to the invention of Mr. Fusion during the colonization of Mars in 2047, we finally have the technology to reduce your emissions to legal limits without sacrificing the performance you have come to expect!

Sincerely,
Robot CEO, Model #156345a


Sorry. I did it again. :(

AllanF said...

Hey Mark, hope it's going well. Been a while, no?

The funny thing to me is the way the govt & media are trying to frame this as VW cheating their customers. Puh-leeze. Customers were the winners here. Emission controls add cost: they unequivocally increase wear and degrade performance. After all, they are regulatory requirements. Consumers would never choose to purchase that stuff.

Selling aftermarket ECM's with emission controls removed is a decent, albeit niche, business. If one can get EGR-delete from the OEM for free... what's not to like.

Who Struck John said...

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0535/6917/products/VWshirtART.jpg?v=1443127729

Despair.com is a lot faster off the mark than VW.

Stagflationary Mark said...

AllanF,

I'm still here. Everything is going well. Real Racing 3 had a 48-hour double fame event this weekend which absorbed much of my time.

There was the Seahawks game. Finally won one, lol. Sigh.

And lastly, I joined Planet Fitness last week. I've ridden roughly 75 miles on a recumbant bike (moderate resistance) and walked 10 miles on a treadmill (11% incline, 2mph). Looking to lose some weight after the ankle injury and Shingles. It's been a rough two years and I'm over it.

As for what they did, it's fraud. You can argue that emissions requirements are too extreme if you like, but what the company did was fraud. Pure and simple. After working at a company exposed for corporate fraud, words cannot adequately express my contempt for VW. They have shown a willingness to commit fraud. In the words of Mr Wonderful (Shark Tank), they are dead to me.

AllanF said...

Hey Mark, glad to hear things are going well. Mostly I meant it was myself that's been away.

As for the fraud, I am not saying what VW did was OK. What I am saying, however, is that the fraud was on the govt; not their customers.

Stagflationary Mark said...

AllanF,

The VW scandal could cost you $5,000

To the extent that consumers extrapolate Volkswagen’s breach of their trust beyond its “clean diesel” models, the impact on future sales could be devastating.

VW’s customers will likely end up losing out too, potentially through lost resale value.


The fraud was on the government and the existing customers. I'd certainly be nervous if I was trying to resell a VW diesel right now.

Further, when I buy a car For use on the streets I have the expectation that it is street legal. What's going to happen to those customers who fail future emissions testing designed to catch this fraud?

I wouldn't buy a used VW diesel with that kind of uncertainty now, at least not without a large discount.