It’s a shame that politicians don’t face the same (or any) consequences that attend political decisions. Dr. Fauci, for instance, is free. Meanwhile, VW is in freefall. Things are so dire that it will cut by half the number of models it sells and reduce the options available with the remaining half by 75 percent. VW’s CEO, Oliver Blume, says the situation (per Hirohito’s observation in late 1945 about the war situation) “has continued to deteriorate over the past twelve months.”
“We must fundamentally realign our business model and achieve structural, sustainable improvements,” added Arno Antlitz, VW group’s chief financial officer. “This includes improving the cost structure of our vehicles without compromising product substance, significantly reducing overhead costs, increasing the efficiency of our plants and accelerating technology development and decision-making.”
Italics added.
It was “technology development” – the bums rush to “electrify” as much of what it made as possible as quickly as possible – that has led to these devastating losses because people aren’t buying battery-powered VWs like the ID Buzz, which was styled to remind people of the minibus VW used to sell a lot of back in the ’60s and ’70s. The Buzz mostly sat. It was so bad that VW stopped trying to sell them altogether this year (there is no 2026 model) but nevertheless will try again come 2027. Coke had the sense to stop trying to sell New Coke but that bad decision was not a political decision. It was therefore easier to make a different decision once it became clear New Coke wasn’t selling.
The political “decision-making” that got VW in to trouble was deciding to cave in to the fomented hysteria over the “cheating” that was uncovered – after searching for it that would have done Inspector Javert proud – about a decade ago. You have no doubt heard something about this, probably not the truth. What you probably heard was that VW was caught. Dr. Evil-style, programming its TDI-powered cars to “emit” more than the allowed amount and to hide this dastardly deed from the government. This is technically true, in the same way that it is technically true that “speeding” means driving even half-a-mile-per-hour faster than the law says you may. The “cheating” was so trivial in terms of the actual emissions that it took specialized equipment to detect it – in a lab. The difference wasn’t detectable by the tailpipe sniffer tests used in states that require vehicles to exhaust emissions tests. It was an angels dancing on the head of a pin difference; the kind of thing that obsesses pedants but that meant nothing insofar as whether VW’s TDI-powered vehicles meaningfully fouled the air. They just ran a little better when you floored the accelerator pedal.
It did not matter.
What mattered was that VW’s TDI diesels were selling very well – understandably, since they were inexpensive (you could have bought a TDI-powered Jetta for about $22k) and very efficient (50-plus MPG) and very long-legged (driving range of 700 miles on a full tank). All the things electric vehicles are not, in other words. Note that the “cheating” thing broke – as if on cue – at right around the same time that the EV push began.
That is why VW’s TDI diesels had to go – and so an excuse was found to make them gone. The excuse was the “cheating” – but even more so, it was the hyperventilating, pearl-clutching hysteria over it that caused VW to writhe like a snail that got salted. It was a sort-of preview of the COVID hysteria and just as manufactured.
It was as if no other car company had never before “cheated” the federal bureaucracy – which is a strange construction when you reflect upon it. How do you “cheat” a mugger? Anyhow, the thing is such “cheating” happened often before. One example that most gearheads know about is the way Pontiac (RIP) tried to get the Super Duty 455 V8 (which was a detuned race engine with its own specific block and parts, including a hot cam and 800 CFM carburetor) past the feds back in 1973 by pretending it was just another (non-SD) 455. The feds caught Pontiac – but Pontiac wasn’t crucified; the feds merely ordered Pontiac to install a less hot cam and other such changes to make it compliant.
VW’s crucifixion made what they did to Jesus seem like light punishment, almost. Vicious public excoriation. The biggest fines ever imposed – $30 billion – plus frog-marching of executives and engineers before kangaroo courts. A massive forced recall/buy-back regime and – the key thing – the end of VW’s TDI diesels. No more inexpensive, very efficient and very-longed VWs for you, chief. In their place, expensive, inefficient EV that have shorter legs than Eric the Midget (RIP).
People stopped buying them. And now VW is having to make fewer of them. Fewer people will be making them, too. VW announced it will shed 150,000 workers – 22 percent of the total – as part of a “downsizing” plan. It is “the most comprehensive realignment in the company’s history,” according to CEO Oliver Blume. Factories are closing, too. But not the Scout factory in South Carolina. Astoundingly, VW is still determined to lose more money on that. Maybe the thinking is that a VW-backed EV that is called something else will sell better. The Scout – named after the old International Scout – is just another EV, however. Changing names doesn’t change realities.
But politics and reality are often at odds. Politics is the means by which reality is distorted, suppressed. In the end, such efforts are doomed to fail for the same reason that throwing a rug over a rotten floor fails to make the floor solid.
VW ought to have fought for reality. Being political is no way to sell vehicles.
. . .
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Better name for the “Buzz” would have been Bust.
When you provide a good or service
that no one wants, expect failure.
Peoples car = woke /compliant/NWO car
“…the bums rush to “electrify” as much of what it made as possible…”
And this was happening precisely at a time when the German government decided to demolish their conventional (nuke, gas, coal) power plants and derive all necessary energy from breezes and sunshine.
Which predictably led to an unstable grid and some of the highest energy prices in the world. Not exactly the best environment for manufacturing vehicles. Or anything else.
And yet, despite all that, a significant portion of German voters, mostly in the old West Germany, continue to vote for Green politicians.
That’s democracy – good and hard.
You misspelled (((Demoncracy)))…
The existing western (((government))) structures do not represent the citizenry of their nations.
This is why (((they))) are forcing all this electric/eco/DEI garbage down our throats by the force of (((law))).
Resist, Resist, and Resist!!! There are more of us then there are of (((them))).
YMMV…
Hi Saxons,
I think we ought to start a dead pool for McConnell. When did Rigor Tortoise set in?
Hard to say, Eric. After all, they could have been wheeling out a look-alike double, such as was done with Biden. Who (from other sites) say was dead in 2020. The Turtle could have been gone for a few years, and who would ever really know for sure?
😂😂😂😂😂
There’s a web site in the UK called isacunt. Com, well worth checking out for comic relief.
They have a dead pool to pick out the next cunt to go tits up.
Hat tip, Nova – thank you!
The Covid scam showed how democracy works. Retards rule.
And now they’ve set their sights on brakes too; brake dust, like CO2, is now a pollutant and needs to be ‘regulated’. Due to some legislation in the EU, Bosch is developing a brake-by-wire system…
https://autos.yahoo.com/policy-and-environment/articles/europe-just-regulated-brake-dust-114500322.html?utm_source=operamini&utm_medium=feednews&utm_campaign=operamini_feednews&guccounter=1
Diesel gate was a gut punch to VW and without a doubt VW was forced to barf up billions in financial resources that it needed to stay on top. VW was briefly the largest carmaker in the world from 2015-16 until Toyota took the crown back after diesel gate.
But it was ZOG’s war on Russia that did VW in. The Nato sabotage of Nordstream was the death knell for low cost German steel and plastic. The massive BASF petrochemical plant in Friedrichshafen was forced to shut down. Nuclear electric plants might have been able to fill the gap to some degree, but the red-green coalition of German Judeo-Communists and single issue “environmentalists” was the final nail in VW’s coffin. Remember all the useful German idiots glueing their hands to the roadways a few years back when Scholz was still Chancellor?
German industry had made massive inroads into the Russian market and the combination of Germany and Russia was a fulfilment of the McMahon prophesy that would have checked ZOG power in the Asian continent. Siemens was working hand in hand with Russians companies to build out the Russians rail system. VW, BMW and Mercedes all had bet the farm on the build out too, Mercedes trucks was rolling off the production lines. Germans were also still a significant factor in the solar panel and battery competition until their energy prices exploded.
When Nato finally pushed Putin so far that he had to react, the same way Roosevelt and Churchill pushed Hitler in 1939 and Hirohito in 1941, was the moment the entire Russo-German synergy was smashed with waves of sanctions.
So I would say February 2022 was the day VW’s plans were finally destroyed, not in 2015 with diesel gate. The conversion of plants to “military production” is just goyslop anyway.
One critical aspect of this downfall of VW group is what effect it will have on other European countries. VW owns Skoda (Czech republic), SEAT (Spain), Cupra (Spain) Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi and works closely with Porsche. VW also makes commercial vehicles Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (vans, pickups, etc.), MAN, Scania, Neoplan.
Whether Lamborghini or Bentley survive may be critical to the success of the entire VW group but they don’t employ that many people. The collapse of Skoda, Seat and Cupra and the commercial vehicle branches would have a devastating effect on industrial infrastructure and knowhow in Spain and the entire ex-Warsaw pact.
Trump’s Tariff war might also have something to do with this. Trump of course is owned by billionaire Jews and many of them in Hedgefunds and Private Equity appear to have been gambling on high energy prices and high tariffs forcing European manufacturing to relocate to the US. I am of the opinion that American engineering and manufacturing prowess is a mirage and that this Jewish scamming fantasy will end up just accelerate the death of European and Christian civilization. For Jews, that is not a bug, that is a feature.
With a massive reduction in R&D
I never got why VW rolled over like a whipped cur instead of pushing back hard at Fedgov. Like all corporations they have high priced lawyers on staff, give them something to do, challenge the penalty in court, get some PR statements out there about how a TDI diesel is great for consumers and the environment, etc. Make these environazis prove all their bullsh*t claims with actual evidence; really disappointing.
Winterkorn was sadly typical of Germans today. Basically beaten cucks afraid to defend their own women in the streets of their cities. He threw the company at the mercy of the court but the court is like a pack of hyenas. Surrender merely makes then even more vicious and aggressive.
You are right. They could have beaten it for a tiny fraction of what it ended up costing them and possibly we would still have those wonderful TDIs.
But the ZOG had to get them off the market at all costs but they are not as powerful as one might think. A serious pushback would have done it. Yes they would have attacked again sooner or later but at least everyone would know they were coming.
It’s coming down to the surrender or fight moment.
I hope we in the US have more will than the Germans.
Germany has been saddled with its own “Stockholm Syndrome” ever since the summation of the Second World War.
There are some brave Germans who have gone against the “official narrative” of WW2 with Germany seen as being on “the wrong side of history” and as such are (still) considered to be “the bad guys”, but they are either too few in numbers, and are called Nazis (which is still a pejorative term in Germany and in much of the rest of the western civilized world).
It is long overdue to remove the USA and israeli boot heels from Germany and restore true German sovereignty.
Today’s German citizens have NO responsibility for events or jew-contrived non-events that may have occurred over 80 years ago…
Of course, the jewish concepts of eternal collective responsibility and punishment still apply to Germany, the USA and the rest of us goyim.
Politics and reality are ALWAYS at odds.
Governments are nothing but killing machines in reality. VW should consider itself lucky it didn’t get fire bombed
Maybe the government figured out that-instead of firebombing companies to extinction (corporations/ people)-it was and is more advantageous of them to financially penalize them with exorbitant fines (making the Feds money in the process). All the while while humiliating said company with forced policies for the privilege of “counting themselves lucky” to still be around.
Germany has already announced that VW and other auto manufacturers will be repurposing their closed factories to weapons production. Looks to me like they’re planning to take a third whack at Russia. It’s probably not going to work out well, but the banks financing the governments supporting the re-arming will no doubt thrive. The peasants… not so much.
https://thesubwayphilosopher.substack.com/p/ukraine-is-winning
Second auto I ever owned was one of these:
https://www.oldbug.com/emcg60single.htm
for which I paid $200 in early 1970s.
Mine was gray, and had no rust (desert dweller, not CA).
I did the following:
1. Completely rebuilt the transaxle, including the outboard gearboxes
2. Extensively modified the engine
3. Replaced the stock oil cooler with a firewall-mounted Hayden
4. Fitted external air scoops
5. Fitted wider rear wheels & tires
6. Replaced the fuel tank with a later model which actually had a fuel gauge sending unit, and installed a fuel gauge
7. Removed the bed side and end panels to reduce air resistance, this making it a flatbed
Kept the stock Solex carb & 6 volt electricals.
I got a speeding ticket in Jemez Springs, NM, headed southbound from Valle Grande.
The Village of Jemez Springs decided its “officer” screwed up, and returned my check, with a letter of apology. I still have the chck, and the letter of apology. Really. 🙂
You took it up the rear for giving people a car they wanted. That was strange.
Then you chopped off what was left by floating that stupid electric microbus.
Die.
Ditto
We TDI owners had three options: Sell it back to VW/Audi Group (VAG), bring it in for Harrison Bergeron style “modification,” or do nothing, if you lived in an area that didn’t have smog testing. I chose to sell it back, only because I knew that if I kept it intact eventually I’d have to take it to a dealer (as one has to do with European cars with computers) and they’d either add their handicaps or refuse to work on it. And it would basically become unsellable, should I ever want something else.
Oddly enough the gas hog I replaced it with gets less than half the MPG but has the same size fuel tank. So I have to refuel a whole lot more often. But at least it is “compliant.”
I have owned 5 new VW’s – 3 Jetta TDI’s, 1 Passat TDI and my current 2018 Passat SEL gasser. Like you I sold my Passat TDI back for every penny, including sales tax. I owned that car for 7 years and driving it back and forth several times a year from PA to FL. Of all the cars I have owned (BMW, Caddy Sevilles and other real GM products), that was my favorite sedan. The 18 gal tank and 50mpg allowed me to make it most of the way down I-95 before a refuel. After I collected all of the $$$ from VW and Bosch, the guilt had me go and buy another VW – the 2018 Passat. I thought I would hate the car (no torque or DSG transmission) but to my surprise it is a great car. By todays’ standards it is a large sedan with an honest 42 mpg on the highway. I have held on to it longer than I usually do because there is NOTHING that VW brings into this country that I would buy. I don’t want an SUV, anything AWD and “I unclog my nose” at the EV’s. Hat-tip to Monty Python. The current Jetta is too small with too little fuel capacity. The only sedan that held any interest to me was the Lexus ES-350 and its 87 regular gas V6. But, guess what, after 25 years it was discontinued and ended in 2025. Also, the rear seats never went down to allow the full pass through from the trunk and the 15 gallon fuel capacity and 25 MPG highway didn’t cut it. BTW, Lexus is not replacing one of their most successful sedans with anything other than, ahem, an EV! Screw them. The only equivalent sedan is the KIA. No thanks. All of that to say, FU VW fo screwing up the best thing ever, the TDI.
Colorado decided that the commercial vehicles were tearing up the roads more than light vehicles. Especially on Vail pass and up to the Eisenhower Tunnels on I70, so they jacked up the diesel road tax by an amount that makes driving a TDI completely uneconomical. Happened just after the TDI scandal too. Funny that.
VW has always been a niche player here in the US, but they had a dedicated audience. The problem now is that they replaced cars some people wanted with ones that nobody really wants. There was a market for a Golf at $25K but now they want you to buy an ID3 for $40k. It’s not happening. And then there is the Buzz as well as losing market share in China. They’ve needed to restructure for a long time now but that 20% state ownership always made it hard to do. It’s only going to get uglier for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn to armament production at this point.
> I wouldn’t be surprised if they turn to armament production
So?
Mount a Rheinmetall 120mm on the Buzz, und wir haben die BuzzBombe, nicht wahr?
Never sell any to the JewSA, unfortunately.
Clowngress has dick-tated the purchase of Israeli Merkavas, going forward.
Too bad about the Leopard 2A8
https://defencesecurityasia.com/en/germany-leopard-2a8-new-era-armoured-warfare/
Two unrelated things come to mind:
-The proliferation of trucks, vans, and SUVs is due to auto manufacturers “cheating” on emission and fuel economy regulations by making “light trucks,” for which different standards apply. Arguably, Chrysler got the ball rolling back in the late 1970s with the Dodge “Li’l Red Express” truck that had a police spec 360 engine without any of the smog control systems, like catalytic converters, which was one of the fastest production vehicles available in the late 1970s.
-One reason why I think the VW TDI got canned is because it worked TOO well and made TOO MUCH sense. You see, if one believes that CO2
emissions create the existential threat of climate change, the only way to reduce that threat is to Burn Less Fuel. VW TDIs do just that. Furthermore, they do that without being outrageously expensive and technologically complex. But the goal isn’t to control emissions or control the climate—it’s to control YOU.
–
People also ask
Is the Scout just a Rivian?
AI Overview
‘No, Scout is not just a Rivian. While the two companies formed a joint venture to share software and computer hardware architectures, Scout operates under Volkswagen Group.
‘Mechanically and philosophically, Scout vehicles are built very differently, offering traditional off-road hardware like body-on-frame construction and a gas-powered range extender.’
____________
‘Traditional’ off-road hardware: a gas-powered range extender.
YEAH, RIGHT! I never venture out in the boonies without muh gas-powered range extender.
L-O-frickin-L! Another folly that will become a future chapter in Mackay’s Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Krauts.
I am amazed that the too-big-to-fail enterprises like (or especially) auto manufacturing don’t collectively tell the Fed to GFYS.
Ah, but then they’ll suddenly be open to “market forces.”