Volkswagen Says 430,000 New Cars Cheated CO2 Levels

>Where are all the folks that laughed early on when I said this was going to break VW? They may not survive? Huh? Anyone with any semblance of logic and reason will tell you that it's still to early to call that one. I suggest you relax, put down the whiskey bottle and refrain from the drama queenery until this controversy plays itself out

@dantes_inferno But if he guesses right he will have the chance to matter for a day

@sportyaccordy "the chance to matter for a day" Barring a DeMuro post upstaging him. Maybe one from Baruth.

If GM and Chrysler could survive both of their brushes with death, so will Volkswagen. Some things that have a good likelihood of occurring are: 1. SEAT is finally put to sleep; Factory capacity (and workers) go to Audi, who already uses SEAT factory capacity to build the Q3; 2. Lambo, Bentley and Bugatti will be told to make their existing product lines (fairly fresh, though they are) last longer than originally planned; 3. VW Commercial vehicles may get spun off; 4. VW will use this as an opportunity to finally grab some concessions from the unions; 5. VW starts chopping more quickly: eliminates niche models, unprofitable models, vanity projects. 6. VW and Audi both extend product lifecycles an additional 24 months or so and force designers and engineers back to the tables to reduce costs where possible None of this is rocket science. Volkswagen just needs to ensure they have the necessary cash flow to keep running. Slowing down new product introductions / product development timelines and streamlining operations will go a long way. Volkswagen has never been known to be run in a very efficient manner and this crisis will give them the impetus to push through some very long needed reforms and make some very hard choices that they've punted on for some time now.

Hmm, I dunno, let's ask the United States Geological Survey: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/gas/climate.php Oh, look at that. It takes 2.7 days for humans to match the emissions of a year's worth of eruptions.

@Drzhivago138 Plenty of material on that side of the issue. No argument. But let's not forget that there was at least one time in recent geologic history with much higher CO2 levels and much lower temperatures.

@kosmo What time was that? I ask not because I immediately don't believe you, but because I'm genuinely interested in knowing more. It's hard to put tone into a written question.

@Drzhivago138 http://www.skepticalscience.com/co2-higher-in-past-intermediate.htm "If climate scientists were claiming CO2 was the only driver of climate, then high CO2 during glacial periods would be problematic. But any climate scientist will tell you CO2 is not the only driver of climate."

@Drzhivago138, Geology is an awesome science! The earth's historical climates have been pretty damn diverse and amazing to learn about. Continental drift is another huge factor in climate. The presence of two large continents separated by a shallow sea (tethys sea) in the Mesozoic gave the dinosaurs a nearly global tropical climate that led to the dense amounts of plant growth that sustained the large sauropods. We are technically still in an ice age. Its also quite fascinating to see how life changes and evolves after major climate change. During the end of the Permian period the Earth experienced extreme global warming that lead to the most gruesome extinction event we know about. However some animals adapted and spread and filled new niches. One of these survivors were tiny little synapsids that eventually became the earliest mammals. As Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic park says; life will find a way.