> considering that the whole scandal is basically meaningless to the consumer experience As soon as an owner takes their vehicle in to get the water pump repla

> considering that the whole scandal is basically meaningless to the consumer experience As soon as an owner takes their vehicle in to get the water pump replaced, or more Urea added to the system, or a host of "dealership only" maintenance tasks that are cropping up in modern cars, their gas mileage will (presumably) take a very large hit. The dealers will have to install the EPA emissions fixes. A manual 2014 VW Passat TDI can hit 50 MPG in a highway driving situation. Fuel efficiency was traded for emissions. The emissions 'patch' will presumably reverse the trade off, and instead of getting higher fuel efficiency, you'll now have lower emissions output. Having a lower fuel economy directly impacts the consumer experience.