VW's Solution to Vehicle Recall - Replace Newer Vehicles with Older Vehicles



  • I actually find VW's solution to the recall inventive and satisfactory, yet still hillarious. Basically NHTSA recalled vehicles manufactured in September because they didn't meet saftety standards that were implemented that month. VW decided to supply the people who bought those vehicles with ones produced in August to solve the problem since the ones made in August were exactly the same but complied with the safety regulations that were in place at the time. They then brought the new vehicles up to standards starting in October.

     



  •  It works on paper!



  • That made me laugh out loud.



  •  Clever solution until one of those 27 claims they waited until September so they would be getting a car with the new safety standards.

     

    Admitedly, the likelihood of that hapenning is pretty low.



  • "Yes, I will gladly swap my brand new car that has all of the options packages I wanted, the paint job I wanted, the interior I wanted, and all of the modifications I have made to the audio system, for a generic car with none of those customisations, that was produced a couple of months earlier." Don't see it happening. And before you think that nobody would have made that many customisations; it's a Beetle. How many of those do you think have been painted white, with stripes down the middle, and a (53) sticker on the front? And how many of those will have made interior changes to match.



  • The more I think about this story, the more it exemplifies the nature of a true WTF.

    The most entertaining thing is I don't even think there's a physical change to the cars manufactured before or after September 1; I think it's just a paperwork thing related to test procedures. (There is no indication from the three articles I read that the design was changed to pass the higher test speed; just that the new model year actually had the tests performed on it.  I will admit that articles in media, though, are often really lacking in accurate technical details.)



  • @TarquinWJ said:

    "Yes, I will gladly swap my brand new car that has all of the options packages I wanted, the paint job I wanted, the interior I wanted, and all of the modifications I have made to the audio system, for a generic car with none of those customisations, that was produced a couple of months earlier." Don't see it happening. And before you think that nobody would have made that many customisations; it's a Beetle. How many of those do you think have been painted white, with stripes down the middle, and a (53) sticker on the front? And how many of those will have made interior changes to match.

    Considering there's only 20-some cars affected, I'm guessing VW is going to make you happy... they certainly can afford to give away 20-some cars, and they certainly don't want you bitching to the feds. (If it was 20,000 affected, you'd have a point.)



  • @TarquinWJ said:

    And before you think that nobody would have made that many customisations; it's a Beetle. How many of those do you think have been painted white, with stripes down the middle, and a (53) sticker on the front? And how many of those will have made interior changes to match.
     

    On Sunday I saw a Beetle painted red with big black spots, and two ladybug antenna things sticking up out of the roof just above the windshield. So maybe you've got a point there.



  • @too_many_usernames said:

    The more I think about this story, the more it exemplifies the nature of a true WTF.

    The most entertaining thing is I don't even think there's a physical change to the cars manufactured before or after September 1; I think it's just a paperwork thing related to test procedures. (There is no indication from the three articles I read that the design was changed to pass the higher test speed; just that the new model year actually had the tests performed on it.  I will admit that articles in media, though, are often really lacking in accurate technical details.)

    You would be correct - the issue is whether or not the vehicle was certified for crash testing at 30 or 35 MPH. The former was the old standard, the latter became the standard on September 1. CNN's article is more informative (shockingly) if not just as hillariously titled.

     http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/31/autos/volkswagen_beetle_recall/index.htm



  • @Someone You Know said:

    @TarquinWJ said:

    And before you think that nobody would have made that many customisations; it's a Beetle. How many of those do you think have been painted white, with stripes down the middle, and a (53) sticker on the front? And how many of those will have made interior changes to match.
     

    On Sunday I saw a Beetle painted red with big black spots, and two ladybug antenna things sticking up out of the roof just above the windshield. So maybe you've got a point there.

    People that do that are my heros!


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