Hear Alex Voigt talk about VW and the ID.3

All Volkswagen ID.3 related discussions
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hwhbev
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Post by hwhbev »

A Fully Charged podcast has just been released that is highly recommended. It is a recording of a chat between Robert Llewellyn and Alex Voigt, a sometimes controversial German engineer and commentator on the German automotive industry. The title is a little misleading as the talk is mainly about German car manufacturers with lots of discussion and some interesting insights on VW and the ID.3. It's available here:

https://fullycharged.show/podcasts/podc ... nterparts/

...or on whichever podcast app you use.

simonrg
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Post by simonrg »

Thanks for highlighting this, but it really hasn't improved my warm feeling at having bought a VW, in fact I now wish I had bought a Tesla.

I had avoided thinking "dieselgate" as it seemed unfair to blame VW for past poor practices, but this appears not to be case as the company avoids fines by pretending to sell 33% more BEVs than it really has in order to avoid a fine, on top of what I am already experiencing with cars it has actually sold with unfinished software and a customer blame somebody else department rather than service.

Overall, I am really disappointed that having bought VW as the company were telling a really compelling sustainability story and I assume that having learnt from "dieselgate" was open with its customers. Perhaps in fact Elon Musk was the devil I knew who in fact it turns out isn't as bad as the angels I didn't know. VW's level of arrogance and disregard for their customers is amazing as revealing in this podcast.
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Jono
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Post by Jono »

It’s a very interesting video and does paint a rather depressing picture of VW. I don’t think I was surprised by what was said, I think a fair amount was already known, it’s just more shocking when it’s all put together.

As to VW’s attitude and arrogance to its customers, I’m now of the opinion that’s it’s just part of the overall corporate culture.
hwhbev
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Post by hwhbev »

simonrg wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:41 pm Thanks for highlighting this, but it really hasn't improved my warm feeling at having bought a VW, in fact I now wish I had bought a Tesla.

I had avoided thinking "dieselgate" as it seemed unfair to blame VW for past poor practices, but this appears not to be case as the company avoids fines by pretending to sell 33% more BEVs than it really has in order to avoid a fine, on top of what I am already experiencing with cars it has actually sold with unfinished software and a customer blame somebody else department rather than service.

Overall, I am really disappointed that having bought VW as the company were telling a really compelling sustainability story and I assume that having learnt from "dieselgate" was open with its customers. Perhaps in fact Elon Musk was the devil I knew who in fact it turns out isn't as bad as the angels I didn't know. VW's level of arrogance and disregard for their customers is amazing as revealing in this podcast.

I have some sympathies with your views but I'm glad I bought a VW ID.3 rather than a Tesla, despite its teething problems. Teslas have had issues too – build quality being the primary one. Take a look at:



....for a damning review of the Model 3. It did eventually get fixed but this video is not a great advert for Tesla. I think the ID.3 build quality is excellent and at least software can be improved relatively easily over time.

I do think that Dr. Herbert Diess is trying to turn the company around and knows that in the next few years VW has to transform itself otherwise, as Alex Voigt pointed out, the company will die. And the issue about registering all those ID.3s before the year end, well that was just to minimise a financial loss. At least the cars were manufactured and sitting waiting for customers. Covid-19 hasn't helped any car manufacturer as all sales are down so maybe we should blame the global pandemic for this rather than VW.

But I would like VW to be more open with its customers concerning the software issues and fixes. For example, it would be nice to know what to expect in the next release too. Given the 2.1 upgrade issue, who's going to be brave enough to press the button on an OTA upgrade to 2.2 when it's released? ;)
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Raxacorico
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Post by Raxacorico »

Fully agree hwhbev, having just waded through more than an hour of that interview!
How good the software will be, long term, is the big question; or should it have been re-written twelve months ago?
I plan on getting an ID3 later this year, as I have mentioned before, and hope OTA will be a 'real' thing by that time.
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HeidiFlowerpt Driver
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Post by HeidiFlowerpt Driver »

Yes, I watched that interview too. If VW are being dishonest AGAIN, I guess I can't condone that. But maybe they're just working the system. Dieselgate resulted in their customers suffering, they bought vehicles they were led to believe were cleaner than they were. This time it seems if anyone it's the EU taxpayer who suffers, VW evade EU fines by registering a lot of ID.3 cars that didn't actually get to retail customers. But I think every manufacturer does that to some extent. VW employees get company cars, and VW dealerships get demonstrators and showroom cars. Punters later get offered discounted deals on 'pre-registered' cars. From what I remember from working in the motor trade, VW were far from the worst culprits, it was more often Ford, Vauxhall, Renault and others who pre-registered a lot of cars and then flooded the market with them at discounted rates, thus depressing the second-hand market.

This time Indeed, some of us (judging by the word on the web including here) have benefited, as VW offered generous discounts to get cars sold in 2020. They had planned to release the car in April of that year, and software issues delayed the launch till September. No wonder they were panicking that they wouldn't be able to sell the numbers they needed.
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Raxacorico
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Post by Raxacorico »

But maybe they're just working the system.

Very much so!
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simonrg
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Post by simonrg »

Wasn't dieselgate just working the system?
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G43FAN

Post by G43FAN »

I just love listening to people claiming they bought their car based on the emissions figures...
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Post by Deleted User 192 »

I’ve already bought the car, so it’s too late to be worrying about VW’s motives and processes now...
HeidiFlowerpt Driver
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Post by HeidiFlowerpt Driver »

simonrg wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 5:26 pm Wasn't dieselgate just working the system?
Well, I would say Dieselgate was rather more than that. It was cheating the system. Working the system is manoeuvring to make your figures look the best they can within the rules, going up to the line but not crossing it. Dieselgate drove a coach and horses through the line. Just my opinion, of course...

I really hope VW have turned over a new leaf and are genuine in their claim to be doing all they can to clean up their act. I'm pleased my ID.3 was manufactured carbon neutral and will be carbon neutral through its life. Yes, I know a lot of grid electricity is generated in gas powered power stations, but my provider claims that the electricity they supply me is zero carbon, and so is the electricity from most public chargepoint companies. Which leaves end-of-life disposal, which is at least ten years away. Maybe they'll have worked out how to do that carbon neutral by then?
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kaiz
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Post by kaiz »

I bought my car, because I've dreamed about electric car since childhood.
Just wondering, why everybody cheated with emissions and VW had the sample hanging. :oops:
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