Skip to main content

Das Gas

VW screwed up.  The people's car or Volkswagen is the world's largest maker of automobiles according to sales figures available for 2016.  Based in Germany it was a company originally founded by none other than Ferdinand Porsche, the creator of the eponymous sports car models.

Popular among the younger generation and females more than males, the sedan is an attractive low cost option for a German car driving experience when a BMW or 3 pointed star is out of reach.

Thusly there are lot of VW brand vehicles roaming the streets of Anytown, USA.  As of mid Sept a revelation was brought to the public's attention where the company engineers had installed software in its engine computers to cheat on pollution control tests run by the American Environment Protection agency.

But the tests tripped VW up.  Something I guess was not adding up.  VW finally pleaded mea culpa costing the CEO his job.  People chimed in on national TV and internet saying they were taken and that it was shameful that a car company had lied and destroyed their trust.

This is not the first nor the last of these events, few years ago Ford was in the doldrums when their popular SUV started tipping and crashing- turned out the tires were bad; then Toyota had a computer malfunction on their Prius hybrids that sent them running off on their own; the General had its issues when their Motors showed up with defective ignition switches causing death.

There will be class actions and other suits, some designer (for the lawyers) and some not but in the end the company will pay up restitution and people will keep breathing a sigh of (polluted) relief.

BTW what exactly is a sigh?  I am not sure I have breathed one.  Apart from the relief version are there other kinds?  If so who is making them?  Please send all responses to the -

Breathe Right Foundation
Spirit Drive
Washington DC, USA
Labels:

Comments

  1. RajendraSeptember 25, 2015 at 11:56 PM

    Sigh (saay) is usually the creamy variety on top of milk that some don't like, and some sigh, that they aren't allowed to have it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diamond HeadSeptember 26, 2015 at 2:41 PM

    Now Dahi's a good answer

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Back in DC

This time for a tech conference in the realm of what else? AI. But applied to an oft neglected space called Knowledge Management. The latter is a community of practice that focuses on analyzing, organizing and making available reams of data that have been gathered over time by various functions within an organization for anyone in the company to utilize. This function or process is ripe for applying AI agents (or agentic AI framework) and optimize for better outcomes. It was informative. More rewarding was getting acquainted with folks who practice this craft as well as learning of what they see in the corporate or public sectors. Since the venue was Washington DC it also afforded me the chance to take evening strolls albeit the weather was trying. With wind chill in the single digit it still is a glamorous place to perambulate through history absorbing what this country has been through since its founding days. I was able to visit the place Lincoln was killed along with his monument t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Costa Rica

 Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry.   Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while.  Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...
Post a Comment
Read more

Charges attract

It is said that opposites attract meaning people with contrary viewpoint sometimes find chemistry to be together.  But I'm referring to a modern twist where people are merely attracted towards a common place because their uber communication device aka smart phone is about to die.  The charging station. From airports to hotel lobbies or even bathrooms, when in need they are attracted to this power outlet like moths to a flame or a junkie to a needle. A whole new business of supplying these hyper connected folks is now born whose lifesaver product is a backup charge. Asian tourists perpetually carry a phone sized battery pack stuck to their latest Apple phone updating their status to folks in Hong Kong or Shanghai or Bangalore as they pose for selfies with weird facial expressions and fingers pointed out in a letter V. Vain? PS:  I dis'charged' my blogger duties making this insightful observation as my phone is about to breathe it's last and my flight gets call...
2 comments
Read more