Automotive News: Yes we're letting diesel cars choke our kids. Here's how we got in this mess, VW diesels pile up in U.S. awaiting fix or scrap yard
Yes, we’re letting diesel cars choke our kids. Here’s how we got in this mess
Diesel vehicles are the new enemy, because they’re so bad for the air we breathe. But not so long ago, politicians were urging us to buy them
“You told us to buy diesels!”
These days the average diesel driver is not a happy camper. Hot on the heels of Volkswagens being fitted with a hidden cheat code, we now have the government telling us diesels are not a green choice after all. Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, is blaming diesel cars for poor air quality in the capital and calling for the older vehicles to be scrapped.
While diesel engines produce less CO2, they do emit other forms of air pollution – especially “sooty particulates”. In layman’s terms, these are unburned bits of tarry nastiness. That is what we are breathing in when we live in a city. Good news and bad news then: diesels are slightly better at saving the planet – or at least killing it more slowly – but they’re choking our kids. read more »
VW diesels pile up in U.S. awaiting fix or scrap yard
Volkswagen Group is making progress settling U.S. legal claims from its emissions-cheating scandal, but one challenge looms unresolved: What to do with the hundreds of thousands of diesel cars it is being forced to buy back.
The automaker agreed last year to buy back about 500,000 diesels that it rigged to pass U.S. emissions tests if it can't figure out a way to fix them. Except for a handful of 2015 models, VW dealers can't sell the cars until the company comes up with repairs to satisfy regulators. In the meantime, the company is hauling them to storage lots, such as ones at an abandoned NFL stadium outside Detroit, the Port of Baltimore and a decommissioned Air Force base in California. read more »
