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Just_a_fan wrote: ... We need lots of lovely nuclear power then we can get rid of dino-burning power stations. Tidal too. If we want lots of EVs on the roads then we need lots of generating capacity that isn't wind. ......
'Tidal too' ??
nearly 30 years ago there was a publicly-funded programme of Severn Barrage tidal power research
this is cheap and quick to build and gives a lot of energy 'bang-per-buck'
now with tidal power the fashion is for one or more tidal lagoons (more/all on the Welsh side ?)
though lagoons largely fail to use the free tide capture available from using the existing banks of the estuary
the barrage and the lagoons are mutually antagonistic
whichever you build undermines the viability of the other
the lagoons - presumably they are selected/rigged to reduce their own mutual antagonism?
what gives, people ?
but - we might ask/be asked to take this to the General section - Off Topic Chat ? (the Electricity thread ??)
I campaigned for many years for the development of both a Severn and Wash tidal barriers in the UK.
Ten percent of national electricity needs.
It was and still is a major part of the coastal flood defence ideas that we had.
The major danger of floods in both areas still remains and will bite the government very soon.
Of course governments do not want to commit to the expense when the nuclear lobby promise cheap energy.
Unfortunately the true cost is never what they promise.
So future large scale flooding is to pay foreign shareholders in UK energy production.
Used-car shoppers haven't stopped buying Volkswagen's dirty diesels
The Washington Post | Published on October 12, 2015
Used-car shoppers haven't stopped buying Volkswagen's dirty diesels
The average price of the affected cars has only dipped by .06 percent since the scandal broke.CarGurus reported.
Car dealers predictably steered clear of Volkswagen's dirty diesels after the company admitted to equipping its cars to cheat emissions tests. At auction, values for the 500,000 or so affected cars in the United States fell between 8 percent and 14.5 percent after the Volkswagen announcement in mid-September, according to new data from Kelley Blue Book. Values for gas-powered versions of the same cars dipped by 1.8 percent, evidence that the scandal could weigh on Volkswagen's reputation at large.
The price drop isn't surprising. The risk of being stuck with a bunch of toxic assets isn't worth the reward to the average car dealer. Drivers, however, see things differently. Volkswagen's diesels don't appear to have been dented nearly as much on secondary markets, where owners sell used cars directly.
At CarGurus, an online car shopping platform, the average price of the affected cars has only dipped by .06 percent since the scandal broke. Carlypso, a California based car-shopping startup, reported a price drop of .3 percent. That's right-all the hue and cry about a sinister plot to cheat emissions tests sent prices plunging by about $30. "So far, it looks pretty much like a wash," said Carlypso co-founder Chris Coleman.
This isn't to say people don't expect values on these cars to change drastically. It's just that the predictions are polarized and, at the moment, they appear to be canceling each other out. Even the opinions of Carlypso's staff are drastically split. "I had one colleague here telling me prices were going to hit rock-bottom," Coleman explained. "I'm in the other camp."
Propping prices up are the people who expect Volkswagen to somehow make good after the scandal. The company is exploring a range of options, from a software fix to completely replacing the cars. Considering the flurry of lawsuits, financial settlements also seem likely.
Many TDI owners are taking a wait-and-see approach. Heidi Johnson, a fashion-apparel buyer in Charleston, S.C., doesn't feel like she has a lot of options for the 2014 Volkswagen Beetle she bought a few months ago for $19,000. "I owe money on it," she said, "and at this point who's going to want to buy it?"
What's more, Johnson really loves the champagne-colored bug: "It's such a great car. The only problem is I'm embarrassed to drive it now."
Her experience speaks to another bullish force in the market: diesel fans. The largest source of diesel engines in the U.S. just vanished, leaving the 500,000 pilloried models as pretty much the only supply. Demand among diesel diehards is likely propping up prices.
The early days of the scandal provide a sense of just how strong diesel-fever can be. The market for new Volkswagen diesels ground to a stop quickly, as the company froze sales of 2015 models. But a few new vehicles still trickled off of lots in the fourth week of September, according to TrueCar, a company that matches online shoppers with nearby dealers.
The average transaction price for those cars was $30,671, an astonishing 13 percent higher than it had been two weeks before the diesel scandal broke. Think about that: As headlines grew even more alarming and Volkswagen executives were prepping for a new chief executive, U.S. drivers paying far more for diesel Volkswagens than they had been at any point in the year to date.
What about the pollution? If the Hummer boom of the late-90s is any indicator, plenty of drivers simply won't care. Pollution is what economists call an externality, a cost born by all of us-as opposed to an internality, such as buying a dated Chevrolet Cobalt with a questionable ignition switch that only affects the individual.
Where Volkswagen values go from here is far from certain. Much depends on how the company repairs both its cars and its reputation. The only thing we know for sure is that drivers remain exceedingly curious about the situation. Since Volkswagen admitting to gaming emissions tests, Kelley Blue Book has seen a 7 percent increase in web traffic from people shopping for Volkswagen diesels. There has also been a 79 percent jump in the volume of owners searching for the trade-in value on the same models.
"There's definitely a bit of an asterisk on these cars right now," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of customer analytics at KBB. "People are searching for any information that they can get."
Just_a_fan wrote: ... We need lots of lovely nuclear power then we can get rid of dino-burning power stations. Tidal too. If we want lots of EVs on the roads then we need lots of generating capacity that isn't wind. ......
'Tidal too' ??
nearly 30 years ago there was a publicly-funded programme of Severn Barrage tidal power research
this is cheap and quick to build and gives a lot of energy 'bang-per-buck'
now with tidal power the fashion is for one or more tidal lagoons (more/all on the Welsh side ?)
though lagoons largely fail to use the free tide capture available from using the existing banks of the estuary
the barrage and the lagoons are mutually antagonistic
whichever you build undermines the viability of the other
the lagoons - presumably they are selected/rigged to reduce their own mutual antagonism?
what gives, people ?
but - we might ask/be asked to take this to the General section - Off Topic Chat ? (the Electricity thread ??)
When I said "tidal" I included wave power too. Should have said that specifically. Oscillating column systems can be compact and placed just about anywhere on the coast. Great for providing power to remote locations too. When you live on an island with one of the largest tidal ranges in the world, it is criminal not to make use of that energy.
The key is getting a mix of systems that enable sufficient generation no matter what the weather is. Sadly, Government won't spend money in the right way and "relying on the market" just means nothing happens.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
WilliamsF1 wrote:Used-car shoppers haven't stopped buying Volkswagen's dirty diesels
The Washington Post | Published on October 12, 2015
Used-car shoppers haven't stopped buying Volkswagen's dirty diesels
The average price of the affected cars has only dipped by .06 percent since the scandal broke.CarGurus reported.
Car dealers predictably steered clear of Volkswagen's dirty diesels after the company admitted to equipping its cars to cheat emissions tests. At auction, values for the 500,000 or so affected cars in the United States fell between 8 percent and 14.5 percent after the Volkswagen announcement in mid-September, according to new data from Kelley Blue Book. Values for gas-powered versions of the same cars dipped by 1.8 percent, evidence that the scandal could weigh on Volkswagen's reputation at large.
The price drop isn't surprising. The risk of being stuck with a bunch of toxic assets isn't worth the reward to the average car dealer. Drivers, however, see things differently. Volkswagen's diesels don't appear to have been dented nearly as much on secondary markets, where owners sell used cars directly.
At CarGurus, an online car shopping platform, the average price of the affected cars has only dipped by .06 percent since the scandal broke. Carlypso, a California based car-shopping startup, reported a price drop of .3 percent. That's right-all the hue and cry about a sinister plot to cheat emissions tests sent prices plunging by about $30. "So far, it looks pretty much like a wash," said Carlypso co-founder Chris Coleman.
This isn't to say people don't expect values on these cars to change drastically. It's just that the predictions are polarized and, at the moment, they appear to be canceling each other out. Even the opinions of Carlypso's staff are drastically split. "I had one colleague here telling me prices were going to hit rock-bottom," Coleman explained. "I'm in the other camp."
Propping prices up are the people who expect Volkswagen to somehow make good after the scandal. The company is exploring a range of options, from a software fix to completely replacing the cars. Considering the flurry of lawsuits, financial settlements also seem likely.
Many TDI owners are taking a wait-and-see approach. Heidi Johnson, a fashion-apparel buyer in Charleston, S.C., doesn't feel like she has a lot of options for the 2014 Volkswagen Beetle she bought a few months ago for $19,000. "I owe money on it," she said, "and at this point who's going to want to buy it?"
What's more, Johnson really loves the champagne-colored bug: "It's such a great car. The only problem is I'm embarrassed to drive it now."
Her experience speaks to another bullish force in the market: diesel fans. The largest source of diesel engines in the U.S. just vanished, leaving the 500,000 pilloried models as pretty much the only supply. Demand among diesel diehards is likely propping up prices.
The early days of the scandal provide a sense of just how strong diesel-fever can be. The market for new Volkswagen diesels ground to a stop quickly, as the company froze sales of 2015 models. But a few new vehicles still trickled off of lots in the fourth week of September, according to TrueCar, a company that matches online shoppers with nearby dealers.
The average transaction price for those cars was $30,671, an astonishing 13 percent higher than it had been two weeks before the diesel scandal broke. Think about that: As headlines grew even more alarming and Volkswagen executives were prepping for a new chief executive, U.S. drivers paying far more for diesel Volkswagens than they had been at any point in the year to date.
What about the pollution? If the Hummer boom of the late-90s is any indicator, plenty of drivers simply won't care. Pollution is what economists call an externality, a cost born by all of us-as opposed to an internality, such as buying a dated Chevrolet Cobalt with a questionable ignition switch that only affects the individual.
Where Volkswagen values go from here is far from certain. Much depends on how the company repairs both its cars and its reputation. The only thing we know for sure is that drivers remain exceedingly curious about the situation. Since Volkswagen admitting to gaming emissions tests, Kelley Blue Book has seen a 7 percent increase in web traffic from people shopping for Volkswagen diesels. There has also been a 79 percent jump in the volume of owners searching for the trade-in value on the same models.
"There's definitely a bit of an asterisk on these cars right now," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of customer analytics at KBB. "People are searching for any information that they can get."
The problem for VW, in this regard, is that they just blew themselves out of California, the fifth largest economy in the world, and any other U.S. State that requires annual emissions testing for licensure. It is not a surprise that used car dealers are snapping the dirty diesels up cheaply in these areas and selling them for a profit where annual tests are not required. No one in a state that requires an annual emissions test will buy a car that they think will fail the test. For this reason, I would argue that the continued sales of used dirty diesels does not indicate a promising future for new VW's
bhall II wrote:I feel like anyone who's followed one corporate scandal has basically followed them all, because the plot never seems to change...
Company cuts corners to increase profit margins.
Company is discovered cutting corners to increase profit margins.
Company denies cutting corners to increase profit margins.
Evidence proves company is cutting corners to increase profit margins.
Company blames "rogue" employees for cutting corners to increase profit margins.
Evidence demonstrates culture of cutting corners to increase profit margins.
Company half-apologizes and agrees to pay a pittance fine that barely dents the increased profit margins derived from cutting corners.
Company resumes cutting corners to increase profit margins.
George Bernard Shaw wrote:I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.
LA Times wrote:A top Volkswagen executive on Thursday blamed a handful of rogue software engineers for the company's emissions-test cheating scandal and told outraged lawmakers that it would take years to fix most of the nearly half million vehicles affected in the U.S.
"This was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason," Michael Horn, VW's U.S. chief executive, told a House subcommittee hearing. "To my understanding, this was not a corporate decision. This was something individuals did."
I know people who have already said they will refuse the recall. They believe their mileage and power will suffer and since there is no test in the UK MOT that will fail if they don't have the update, they don't see the point.
the VW UK CEO said on Monday that economy would be unaffected (on 400000+ 1.6 litre UK cars that would need injectors changing)
and some scientists showed proof that particulates cause ADD, learning difficulties, developmental problems and Autism ....
unless maybe disproportionate numbers of people who have children in these categories live in areas with high air pollution ?
As a scientist myself I'm very sceptical of those findings. There is no mechanism, just a relatively weak correlation. The media tends to report thing well before its been correctly reviewed.
So economy isn't affected, what about power and drivability? If the fix was that quick and easy with no downsides I don't understand why they ever cheated in the first place.
ChrisM40 wrote:I know people who have already said they will refuse the recall. They believe their mileage and power will suffer and since there is no test in the UK MOT that will fail if they don't have the update, they don't see the point.
I believe there is a simple way around this: they check the software version at MOT (takes about 30seconds) and if you don't have the latest one, you will fail the test. If then you decide to put back the old (and illegal) software version and you are involved in a car accident, well, big problem. Sorted.
there's a general view that the current test for new vehicle certification is inadequate and obsolete ? (and the VW UK CEO said so)
presumably a more representative test will in time be added, but keeping current headline values to avoid an impression of U-turn
the scandal was a NOx scandal in the USA, directly affecting about 1 in 1000 of the citizens
it's much bigger in Europe, affecting about 1 in 30
and the over-riding bigger scandal is particulates - levels arising apparently without any cheating/DD
the European citizen sees how much worse than planned is air pollution, due to government incompetence (or worse)
Europe has spent billions paying eg Japanese battery manufacturers but there's been little takeup ot the hugely-subsidided EVs
maybe that will change, if the brainwashers here switch from diesel brainwashing to EV brainwashing
