[Chris Tobin]

As the title says, I am curious of the opinions of Cruze Diesel owners regarding the VW Diesel Cheating Scandal.

I have seen a wide range of feelings among VW TDI owners from outright denial of any cheating that the EPA is out to get VW because they build such a great car to guys wanting to dump their cheating car at all costs.

Supposedly my 2006 VW Jetta TDI is pre-cheat but I still believe that the value of the brand (VW and TDI) as well as my car even though it is not an offender has taken a hit. I am also astounded that VW had years between the 2006 cars and the 2009 models to come up with a solution and yet all they could figure out was to cheat!!! That is pretty bad and I hope they are very seriously fined for their dumb decision and actions!

What say you, Chevy Cruze Diesel owners? Are any of you former TDI owners? If so did you change to the Cruze before or after the scandal broke?

 

[obermd]

Not a CTD owner but it doesn't change my opinion of diesels in cars. It did drastically lower my opinion of VW however.

 

[boneheaddoctor]

Not a previous VW owner... I had considered a TDI at one point but never followed through. I knew too many people with non-engine related issues with gasser VW's to be willing to take the chance (and the TDi's have the same issues). So in my case...really hasn't effected my opinion.

I believe the EPA and the Enviro-nazi movement with their excessive regulations fostered the enviroment that made cheating neccessary in some cases.

 

[obermd]

Not a previous VW owner... I had considered a TDI at one point but never followed through. I knew too many people with non-engine related issues with gasser VW's to be willing to take the chance (and the TDi's have the same issues). So in my case...really hasn't effected my opinion.

I believe the EPA and the Enviro-nazi movement with their excessive regulations fostered the enviroment that made cheating neccessary in some cases.

The fact that GM managed to make it work without cheating basically means that VW chose to cut corners to reduce their costs. No cheating was necessary.

 

[chevrasaki]

I feel as though the majority of the population who aren't really interested in cars, may associate "diesel" with negativity after hearing a short headline like VW's, but the people who heard about the scandal and actually care about cars, likely spent some time and looked into it. If they are like myself they likely concluded there is nothing wrong with diesel technology when it is used properly, the issue of cheating applies solely to VW vehicles and design. I would absolutely consider a diesel as long as it met my 3 requirements for a vehicle. (Must have a manual transmission, cruise control, and alloy wheels) I really hope we are offered more diesel options because honestly they just make more sense in terms of usable torque, and greater efficiency and longevity.

Note: I would not however, buy a VW diesel, or any VW really.

 

[Tomko]

Volkswagen is slime.

I've tried to like their product - but the people at VW always made doing business with them impossible.

 

[boneheaddoctor]

The fact that GM managed to make it work without cheating basically means that VW chose to cut corners to reduce their costs. No cheating was necessary.

And at what cost? Bottom line is critical on non-luxury vehicles...pennies per unit are significant as they add up. And the cost isn't insignificant. The diesel in the Curze like most modern vehicles carries a HUGE price penalty because of the excessive emmission mandates imposed by people who openly admit they hate diesel vehicles and intend to take them off the road.

Same tactics of how do you boil a frog in an open pot of water? You start out cold and slowly raise the temperature....the frog gets used to it and doesn't jump out until it hits the critical temperature and dies and cooks. Right out of Saul Alinski's rules for radicals playbook. Eventually they will become so expensive nobody can afford to use them as a result...then end game.

 

[IndyDiesel]

Didn't change my opinion of Cruze diesel in any manner at all. I had admired VW diesel for over a decade and had a beetle TDI for a short period of time. I lost all faith in VW and I will never buy any VW car or even consider one. What they did in my opinion was deliberate and evil and company should be fined into submission and folks there responsible should be in prison. I will never forgive them for deceiving people, although I don't own a VW it affects everyone on the planet. I don't believe in lieing or cheating.

 

[obermd]

And at what cost? Bottom line is critical on non-luxury vehicles...pennies per unit are significant as they add up. And the cost isn't insignificant.

This is the engineering/design/marketing tradeoff that has to be made for all consumer products. In the case of Diesels this may mean that the bottom tier of cars will never be diesel. This is OK - it's market forces at work. VW was trying to cheat reality by cutting corners on their emissions systems. Chevy didn't cut those corners on the Cruze CTD. Mercedes apparently hasn't cut those corners either.

 

[boneheaddoctor]

This is the engineering/design/marketing tradeoff that has to be made for all consumer products. In the case of Diesels this may mean that the bottom tier of cars will never be diesel. This is OK - it's market forces at work. VW was trying to cheat reality by cutting corners on their emissions systems. Chevy didn't cut those corners on the Cruze CTD. Mercedes apparently hasn't cut those corners either.

While VW did compete directly with the Cruze.....Mercedes, or at least the ones sold in the USA, are a completely different class of vehicle. This is not the case everyplace however. Mercedes does make a lot of lower end stuff elsewhere...none of it importable to the USA until they reach 28 years of age when emissions and safety requirements are no longer required to be met.

I plan to import two of my Antique Motorcycles this year from Europe. Freight cost makes shipping two more logical due to weight density and the newest of the two is now exempt (have for a few years actually). And the Euro/ Dollar exchange is finally in favorable territory again.

Excessive complexity is also planned obsolescence. Many parts to keep them running will unlikely be available to keep them on the road too many years...unlike the far simpler older stuff.

I don't oppose reasonable emissions....I do oppose oppressive ones. My Civic is now emissions exempt...I could legally remove the cat...but I won't. I would gain nothing by doing it. And it has never once failed a once every 2 year test in its entire life. Despite having an engine Kalifornistan considers illegal. It passed the strict dynomometer based emissions tests since they were instituted a lot of years ago...some of the strictest in the country.

 

[Chris Tobin]

And at what cost? Bottom line is critical on non-luxury vehicles...pennies per unit are significant as they add up. And the cost isn't insignificant. The diesel in the Curze like most modern vehicles carries a HUGE price penalty because of the excessive emmission mandates imposed by people who openly admit they hate diesel vehicles and intend to take them off the road.

Same tactics of how do you boil a frog in an open pot of water? You start out cold and slowly raise the temperature....the frog gets used to it and doesn't jump out until it hits the critical temperature and dies and cooks. Right out of Saul Alinski's rules for radicals playbook. Eventually they will become so expensive nobody can afford to use them as a result...then end game.

Pricing an equally equipped VW Jetta TDI with a Cruze Diesel and the Chevy is cheaper and has real leather available... GM managed to do it out of the gate in the US market with a modern Common Rail diesel engine. VW had YEARS of experience in the US market and chose to CHEAT to make more money!!! That's huge in my book...

 

[Chris Tobin]

This is the engineering/design/marketing tradeoff that has to be made for all consumer products. In the case of Diesels this may mean that the bottom tier of cars will never be diesel. This is OK - it's market forces at work. VW was trying to cheat reality by cutting corners on their emissions systems. Chevy didn't cut those corners on the Cruze CTD. Mercedes apparently hasn't cut those corners either.

BMW seems to be doing it too...

 

[mkohan]

My opinion of diesels remains the same (efficient and environmentally friendly), my opinion of VW has changed.

 

[CruzeDan]

I have always been fascinated with the idea of a diesel car, never acted on it until I bought the Cruze diesel after trying to buy a Volt. Obviously between those two choices I was focusing on fuel efficiency, environmental impact, and most important to me, an alternate advanced technology compared to the traditional gas ICE. I wanted a vehicle that was ahead of the curve, I feel that with all the choices today gas motors are on the verge of being obsolete. While I know diesel is not really an advanced technology, the emission systems certainly are, and thats what really fascinated me with the car, the fact that it was a clean diesel. I never held Volkswagen in a respectable regard, but my opinion of them has been negatively affected. My opinion of diesels has not, the technology exists to make them fun to drive while meeting the important emission standards. I love the Cruze, and wouldn't mind buying only diesels for now on, but I will probably end up in an electric or hydrogen car far down the road.

 

[boneheaddoctor]

Pricing an equally equipped VW Jetta TDI with a Cruze Diesel and the Chevy is cheaper and has real leather available... GM managed to do it out of the gate in the US market with a modern Common Rail diesel engine. VW had YEARS of experience in the US market and chose to CHEAT to make more money!!! That's huge in my book...

Must be a regional thing on pricing....when I looked...WITHOUT all the discounts I was eligible for...I didn't see much if any break on the Cruze in my area. I did get a great deal on mine..Between employee discounts and other incentives including an end of the year sale...I ended up getting $7,800 off list. I knew several ex-VW owners the the horror stories they told me of reliability issues kept it from serious consideration.

Plus I've been a GM guy since I was young. The deck was always stacked in GM's favor for me. 15 months into ownership...my only gripe was the lack of dynamic grid lines on the backup camera. Otherwise I love it. And my last three cars which I still own were Mercedes. Two of those are Diesel. That says a lot.

 

[diesel]

It has not at all changed my opinion of diesels, but it has lowered my opinion of VW. I have test driven pretty much every variant of VW's 4 cylinder TDI cars since the 1996 Passat but never felt compelled to buy one. I was a big fan of VW Beetles (the original beetle with the engine in the back) and had a bunch of those through high school and into my 20's, but no other VW's were interesting to me. (With one exception. I bought a Touareg TDI and that was an electronics nightmare which I quickly unloaded. It was brand new too)

Now, this scandal tells me they don't give one rip about the customers as long as they are selling the cars and they will lie and cheat their way to get what they want. Classic definition of a narcissist, only it's the whole company. They don't care who they hurt, as long as they are OK.

In the meantime I will continue to buy diesel cars from other manufacturers.

 

[magnusson]

I lost faith in Chevy for freakin Germans having more brains to fool Obozos EPA. Id buy a VW if I didnt love America.

 

[IndyDiesel]

I lost faith in Chevy for freakin Germans having more brains to fool Obozos EPA. Id buy a VW if I didnt love America.

I respectfully don't agree with your view or statement. Why would you loose faith in Chevy for VW cheating on lieing on emissions? Every car company makes mistakes GM included, VW cheated and lied and fooled the EPA in short term, the long term implications for VW will last a very long time and cost them many billions and just a lot of bad will for years to come.

 

[money_man]

Pricing an equally equipped VW Jetta TDI with a Cruze Diesel and the Chevy is cheaper and has real leather available... GM managed to do it out of the gate in the US market with a modern Common Rail diesel engine. VW had YEARS of experience in the US market and chose to CHEAT to make more money!!! That's huge in my book...

100% agree with the pricing. My ctd was $27k. An equally optioned (some options aren't available) jetta was $7k more where I live.

 

[boneheaddoctor]

I respectfully don't agree with your view or statement. Why would you loose faith in Chevy for VW cheating on lieing on emissions? Every car company makes mistakes GM included, VW cheated and lied and fooled the EPA in short term, the long term implications for VW will last a very long time and cost them many billions and just a lot of bad will for years to come.

Anyone else here remember the stunt Daihatsu pulled that got them banned from the US market.

VW wasn't the first to try to game the system and get caught....probably won't be the last either.