There it is: my beautifully kept, wonderfully efficient 2010 Jetta TDI Sportwagen. Purchased almost six years ago because we'd grown to love VWs (had one prior that was passed on to the stepdaughter); they look great, have powerful yet zippy handling, and were built with cutting edge Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) diesel technology, the one that promised "green driving" with excellent efficiency. A fast, smartly designed car that kept emissions low and used generally cheaper diesel fuel. Win/win all around, right?
WRONG. So, so wrong, as we now know.
As of this week, the world and I discovered that my car, as well as our son's 2012 TDI Jetta sedan, and the cars of about *500,000 VW drivers in the US and 11 million the world over are about as green as my old neighbor's nitrogen oxide belching pickup truck. AND we all paid a premium for that shameful distinction. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels drop-kicked.
Today was a big news day for the company: Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned, one article after the next is rolling out to explain the mechanics of the fraud (a nifty little "defeat device" that tricked cars into lowering emissions during testing, while pumping them out to, say, 40% more than allowed while on the actual road); discussions of billion dollar recalls/repairs, serious criminal charges, and, of course, the expected raft of class action suits... every single bit well deserved.
But while we bamboozled drivers are advised to "wait to see what happens," no one is specifically addressing the emotional pain and suffering of discovering our unwitting collaboration in this environmental fraud, we who paid a premium to buy green vehicles while essentially operating as superfund sites. We're being warned we "aren't going to like" the fixes for our diesels, what with efficiency and power to be sacrificed for emissions compliance, but I wonder what will be done to compensate us for our years of driving fraudulently, believing we were being responsible citizens, paying extra to be responsible citizens, in cars that have now proven to not only be polluters, but have significantly lost their value: perceived value, possession value, and certainly resale value. Who's going to compensate us for all that?
Under the #VWCares hashtag on Twitter, VW owners are making clear just how angry and betrayed they feel:
"I have fallen out of love with my Jetta TDI. I am pretty sure I will never buy another VW."
"So disappointed in #VW. All the reasons I bought my #TDI are now a lie. I want my $ back."
"Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly feel like a fool."
"I'm boiling mad and heartbroken at the same time. You can't ignore us forever."
"Does VW care to buy back my 2015 Beetle Convertible TDI clean diesel at full purchase price?"
"How are you going to fix this TDI issue so I can move on and never own another one of your vehicles every again?"
"Your corporate greed, dishonesty & disrespect for the environment are despicable."
"I'm bringing my @vw Jetta TDI back to the dealer for a refund since it was sold under false pretenses."
"Irony - What I owe on my @vw Jetta TDI ($0) is exactly what it's currently worth."
And most cutting of all:
"They are the Lance Armstrong of the car emissions world."
The tweets are still rolling in and it's clear VW consumers are not going to be mollified with a mechanical fix that may solve the emissions problem but will impact efficiency and handling. Nor will they accept apologies and minor compensation for the premiums they paid and the loss of the resale value of their cars. Because there are bona fide emotional elements also involved: revulsion at having been duped into colluding in fraud, the sense of betrayal at being consciously manipulated by a big corporation, and certainly regret for the years of irrevocable participation in polluting the environment with fraudulent vehicles.
That's all got to be monetized as part of the settlement. That's how these things work. And as much as I don't support frivolous lawsuits or hyperbolic litigiousness, this seems a valid and clear-cut case. I expect lawyers ramping up those many class action efforts to pay specific attention to "consumer pain and suffering." When restitution is determined, it must factor in the many layers of betrayal perpetrated on the hundreds of thousands of VW customers who lost money, lost the value of their "green" efforts, and lost their trust in one of the biggest car companies in the world.
* CORRECTION: The article originally stated that the 500,000 count applied worldwide; in fact, that's the number of affected cars in the US. It's being reported that this fraud impacts 11 million cars worldwide.
VW photo by LDW.
___________________________________________________________
Follow Lorraine Devon Wilke on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Rock+Paper+Music. Access details and links to her other work at www.lorrainedevonwilke.com, and her novels, AFTER THE SUCKER PUNCH and HYSTERICAL LOVE at her author pages at both @ Amazon and Smashwords. Watch her book trailer for AFTER THE SUCKER PUNCH here, and be sure to follow her adventures in independent publishing at her book blog, AfterTheSuckerPunch.com.
______________________________
