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It’s fascinating that Volkswagen is presenting itself as a paragon of virtue, having spent years actively deceiving regulators over its cars’ emissions.

by 0898 4y ago

squokko 4y ago
I don't think this is virtue signaling - it's just walking away from a business partner that is in a period of extreme chaos.
- iceburgcrm 4y ago
  It's both and a bit of free brand advertising. I fear I won't be able to tell my kids how Volkswagen is changing the world without these brand ads
danudey 4y ago
Can you elaborate? I'm not seeing VW present itself as a paragon of virtue, just not advertising on a platform which no longer has teams capable of managing advertising (e.g. ensuring that you're not showing your advertising next to pornography or white nationalism). No one is playing the virtue card here, it's just practical business.
- xhkkffbf 4y ago
  In the past, VW celebrated the diesel engines in their cars because of the higher mileage. The emissions, though, weren't so great and they were caught deceiving the regulators who try to stop air pollution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal I think these events are pretty separate and independent.
  - CodeWriter23 4y ago
    Looks like the regulators failed. Where are the clean diesels now? Gone because the NOx limits created by the aforementioned regulators set the bar too high. Instead we’re now only making ICEs that are gasoline-powered for passenger vehicles. Burning 1.5-2x the carbon for the same distance as clean diesel. IMO VW and the others who have since quietly withdrawn their clean diesels from the market hoped regulators would pull their heads out of their asses and get real on NOx limits. Cars like the TDI line were about 1/16th the NOx emission of a standard diesel-powered box truck.
    - anikom15 4y ago
      I agree with you, but lying is not the solution.
- braingenious 4y ago
  There is a very entertaining group of people that ostensibly view any business decision made around any business that is associated with Elon Musk to be wholly due to liking or disliking him personally. They also tend to be voluminous posters.
  - KptMarchewa 4y ago
    Which is also funny because I'm the past Volkswagen made a point to associate with Musk more closely. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/teslas-musk-dials-into-volkswagen-executive-conference-2021-10-16/ https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/teslas...
CharlesW 4y ago
None of the advertisers reducing or eliminating their Twitter spend are paragons of virtue (or have presented themselves as such). You'll see more and more companies allocating their advertising budget elsewhere until Musk can prove to agencies that he's capable of ensuring rudimentary brand safety.
bergenty 4y ago
I’ll take some virtue over none.

It’s fascinating that Volkswagen is presenting itself as a paragon of virtue, having spent years actively deceiving regulators over its cars’ emissions.

by 0898 4y ago

It’s fascinating that Volkswagen is presenting itself as a paragon of virtue, having spent years actively deceiving regulators over its cars’ emissions.

squokko 4y ago

I don't think this is virtue signaling - it's just walking away from a business partner that is in a period of extreme chaos.

iceburgcrm 4y ago
It's both and a bit of free brand advertising. I fear I won't be able to tell my kids how Volkswagen is changing the world without these brand ads

danudey 4y ago

Can you elaborate? I'm not seeing VW present itself as a paragon of virtue, just not advertising on a platform which no longer has teams capable of managing advertising (e.g. ensuring that you're not showing your advertising next to pornography or white nationalism). No one is playing the virtue card here, it's just practical business.

xhkkffbf 4y ago
In the past, VW celebrated the diesel engines in their cars because of the higher mileage. The emissions, though, weren't so great and they were caught deceiving the regulators who try to stop air pollution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal I think these events are pretty separate and independent.
- CodeWriter23 4y ago
  Looks like the regulators failed. Where are the clean diesels now? Gone because the NOx limits created by the aforementioned regulators set the bar too high. Instead we’re now only making ICEs that are gasoline-powered for passenger vehicles. Burning 1.5-2x the carbon for the same distance as clean diesel. IMO VW and the others who have since quietly withdrawn their clean diesels from the market hoped regulators would pull their heads out of their asses and get real on NOx limits. Cars like the TDI line were about 1/16th the NOx emission of a standard diesel-powered box truck.
  - anikom15 4y ago
    I agree with you, but lying is not the solution.
braingenious 4y ago
There is a very entertaining group of people that ostensibly view any business decision made around any business that is associated with Elon Musk to be wholly due to liking or disliking him personally. They also tend to be voluminous posters.
- KptMarchewa 4y ago
  Which is also funny because I'm the past Volkswagen made a point to associate with Musk more closely. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/teslas-musk-dials-into-volkswagen-executive-conference-2021-10-16/ https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/teslas...

CharlesW 4y ago

None of the advertisers reducing or eliminating their Twitter spend are paragons of virtue (or have presented themselves as such). You'll see more and more companies allocating their advertising budget elsewhere until Musk can prove to agencies that he's capable of ensuring rudimentary brand safety.

bergenty 4y ago

I’ll take some virtue over none.