New Audi A8 automatically locks doors if there’s a chance a cyclist might be doored

clayfit wrote:

It’s not just VW, they were all at it.  Renault has also been caught.  Opel has a system that only works when the weather is similar to the test temperature.  Fiat’s system works for 20 minutes then stops (the test is 20 minutes long).  and that’s only the ones who have been caught.

Magazines like Auto Motor und Sport in Germany have introduced on-the-road testing and some engines were dozens of times above the limit (Renault was worst). The car manufacturers have stepped up, and the new Mercedes and BMW 2l Diesel engines are well below Euro 6 limits.  It’s quite shameful how easy they found it when they had to.

Don’t forget that this scandal only concerns NOx.  The particulates are at least as toxic, and old Diesels emit vast quantities.  Our government needs to get any Diesel that is older than Euro 4 off the road, now.

The Euro tests need a complete overhaul to actually test for on-the-road pollution. Do you know whether there are any plans for revisions?

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

European manufacturer escapes punishment in Europe.....

Saw something that said nearly all these diesels only pass emissions on initial manufacture. Once they've for a few miles on they're knocking out 10x the initial amount.

It's worse than that: the lab conditions don't actually bear much resemblance to real-world use, so newer cars that sail through the lab tests are often worse for pollution than their older counterparts out on the road.

This banger test on the BBC was pretty interesting http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/how_toxic_is_your_car_exhaust

barbarus wrote:

Shame it only delays opening by 0.8 seconds. I was hoping to be able to trap people in their Audi by trackstanding outside their car.

0.8 seconds is about my limit when it comes to trackstanding.

Ratfink wrote:

It delays the door opening by 0.8 seconds? That's not exactly locking it.

You might need out in an emergency, so it wont fully lock it, also the obstruction might not be a cyclist, the idea, as I understand it, is to the pause the door opening to bring your attention to a potential collision, which seems fair enough to me.

A bit like the lane departure warning, adds a bit of resistance to the steering just to check you really do mean to cross the white lines without signalling, this was criticised on here with Ford's, which I haven't driven, but other marquees its really just steering through a notch to do this, its not that you have to 'force it' and you can always turn it off.

Grahamd wrote:

Whilst positive, dooring affects far less cyclists than the air pollution caused by the Volkswagen Audi Group. Perhaps I’ve missed it but have yet to see any appreciable action to address the emissions scandal.

You might well have over here, but then an EU commission wonk admitted compensation was off the table as soon as the news came out. Maybe not the best negotiation opening gambit. Big surprise, then, that VW started flicking the Vs immediately, and have only since paused to change hands.

The US is a different story. As soon as it broke there, they were talking big money. $10bn, last I heard: thousands each for for every affected customer, and the numbers might not have topped off yet. Capitalist hell-hole, in thrall to big business, that it is.

Grahamd wrote:

Whilst positive, dooring affects far less cyclists than the air pollution caused by the Volkswagen Audi Group. Perhaps I’ve missed it but have yet to see any appreciable action to address the emissions scandal.

They've been hit pretty hard tbf.

Don't hate the player, hate the game

Trickytree1984 wrote:

Grahamd wrote:

Whilst positive, dooring affects far less cyclists than the air pollution caused by the Volkswagen Audi Group. Perhaps I’ve missed it but have yet to see any appreciable action to address the emissions scandal.

They've been hit pretty hard tbf. Don't hate the player, hate the game

Erm... No they haven't.  

Whilst they may have been dealt with properly in the US, the lack of any punishment in Europe is absurd. They knowingly cheated the test (which as you allude to was far from representative of real world driving) and heavily marketed their cars environmental credentials.

I bought one of the cars in question, with low emissions being a large factor in my choice. 

I'm now part of a large group legal action against VW and should I win any damages, I will be donating half the amount to the British Lung Foundation. I'll also be selling the car when I've paid it off in 14 months.