Nov 9, 2015
It’s now been nearly two months since news of the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal broke. If you own a diesel Volkswagen vehicle, or indeed an Audi, Seat or Skoda (all of which are also implicated), you’re probably curious as to the recent developments.
As such, we’ve decided to compile some of the latest information for you. Although other things have taken over as headline news, there has still been a steady stream of media reports related to the scandal.
Will your VW be recalled?
The first issue to address is the big recall. 1.2 Million of the 11 Million cars affected by the VW scandal are located in the UK, and VW and its subsidiaries will begin to recall them for corrective action from early next year.
An interesting point, raised by The Telegraph last month, is that owners of affected vehicles won’t be legally obliged to take part in the recall. However, it would be foolish to ignore it, as your car will continue to be more polluting than it should be, and its resale value will potentially fall if the work hasn’t been done. On the flip side, reports suggest the vehicles could become slightly more expensive to run after the recall fix, to the tune of around £50 per year.
What’s happening to Volkswagen now?
VW, as a company, is in all sorts of trouble, facing legal action in multiple countries. According to a report in The Guardian, even VW’s investors are starting to launch lawsuits.
There’s even talk that VW’s senior management are scared to travel to the US in case they are arrested in relation to the scandal. According to a separate report in The Guardian, one VW employee has had their passport confiscated in the US.
VW’s share price has fallen by around 40% since the scandal broke, essentially almost halving the value of the company.
Is there a future?
Obviously Volkswagen is a huge global company, but it’s astonishing to have watched it fall so hard and fast. In the UK October’s sales figures painted a depressing picture. Across VW, Seat and Skoda, sales of new vehicles were down by an average of 15%, although Audi sales were unaffected.
We shall keep our ears to the ground for any further news, especially relating to the recall. If you own an affected car, getting it fixed so it kicks out fewer emissions should be a top priority.
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons
Nov 6, 2015
Helping you to find the cheapest fuel in your area has always been the point behind PetrolPrices, and we hope that over our ten years in operation you’ve saved some of your hard-earned cash. We’ve received a number of positive comments and testimonials over the years, which are always a pleasure to receive, but we want to do even more for you, the consumer.
As such, we don’t intend to stand still and rest on our laurels, so today we’re excited to reveal that PetrolPrices is changing; While our focus will remain on being your number one destination for locating the cheapest fuel, we are investing in significant site improvements to provide a comprehensive one-stop resource for smarter and more economical driving.
We intend to provide you with more useful information and statistics than ever before, something you’ll begin to notice over the coming months as we implement our changes.
PetrolPrices Values
As a business, PetrolPrices has always operated with our members interests firmly in mind. Now that we are undergoing a special transformation, we feel it’s important to remind you that this focus will not change. To reinforce that, we have created a set of values by which we will go forward and exist as a company, they are:
- Independence
- Clarity
- Transparency
- Integrity
Thanks to our ten-year heritage helping you and your fellow British motorists find the cheapest fuel prices, we are perfectly placed to build on this by creating tools that will enable smarter driving for all of our members.
When we say smarter driving, what we mean is that as well as finding the cheapest fuel, we will help you in many more ways, such as locating the best places to eat on your journey, advising you where the best/nearest toilet facilities are, suggesting ways to drive your car in the most fuel efficient way and helping you get the best motoring rewards.
The PetrolPrices Mobile App
Work is currently underway on creating a new, free to download PetrolPrices mobile app. Not only will this contain much more price information and updates, it will also include some very exciting new tools and services that you will be able to use use to enable smarter driving. As some members have pointed out, our existing app is showing its age, so you can be assured any existing issues will be addressed.
In order to provide you with a smarter driving experience, we will need to collect a little information about you as a motorist. This can be as simple as your car number plate or the area in which you live. This will enable us to provide free smarter driving services to our members.
We need YOUR Feedback!
We are also keen to draw on the collective intelligence of our members and ask YOU, via surveys, how we should lead the company, and get your feedback on the new products and services we look forward to providing you with in the near future.
If you’re a subscriber, you’ll find a survey in your inbox quite soon, along with the opportunity to win a rather exciting prize as a thank you for your participation. The survey will be announced here too.
In the meantime, if you have anything you would like to say about PetrolPrices, please use the comment section below, or feel free to send us a message via FaceBook or Twitter.
We have also set up a special email address specifically for feedback, comments, queries and ideas, which is as follows:
[email protected]
We will try our very best to respond to your email queries within 48 hours, and give the most detailed response possible.
We’re really sorry that we don’t currently provide a phone number for our business. If we did, the amount of time it would take to respond to your calls would mean we would not be able to develop the new PetrolPrices and make it as smart as possible for you, so please bear with us. For the same reasons, please do not send post; Although our address is listed on the website, we are a very small business and don’t have the capacity for postal response at present.
Looking to the Future
We’re very excited about this next chapter in the life of PetrolPrices and look forward to you joining us on the journey. The site has always been here for you, the consumer, so please do share your feedback so we can adapt our future offering around exactly what would help you the most as a motorist.
Best Wishes,
Jason David Lloyd – Managing Director, PetrolPrices.COM Ltd
Oct 29, 2015
The fall-out from the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal continues apace, and it’s now the European Commission coming over heavy criticism for their response to it.
According to an article in Business Reporter, a decision voted on by representatives from 28 EU countries will allow cars to produce far more pollution than is legally permitted.
It seems that as so many cars have been affected by the scandal, the EU countries have agreed to a proposal that will allow cars to produce more than double to legal limit of emissions. Furthermore, RDE (Real Driving Emissions) tests will only be fully in place by September 2017. Requirements will become more stringent from 2020.
A sad reality is that many cars currently on the roads, affected by the VW scandal and using devices that have skewed test results, are actually emitting more than 40 times the amount of nitrogen oxide pollutants than they should be. Client Earth, an environmental group, are quoted in the report as saying that the EU decision is a “shockingly cynical move,” and that they have “lower(ed) the bar” rather than truly clamping down on the problem. They go on to state that there is “no doubt (the) decision will cost lives.
The campaigning group hope that the European Parliament will overrule the decision. Time will tell on that particular issue, but we can’t help but wonder if there’s far more to unfold regarding this issue. Could it only be a matter of time before other manufacturers become implicated in emission cheating too? Let us know what you think in the comments.
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikipedia
Oct 19, 2015
Recent figures, collated by the RAC and revealed by The Telegraph, have shown that only around half as many people were prosecuted for using mobile phones at the wheel last year than were back in 2009.
If this seems nonsensical to you (as it did to us), you won’t be surprised that a separate study suggests that nowadays far more people illegally use their phones whilst in command of a vehicle. In fact, in a survey, 1.5% of “tens of thousands” of drivers admitted to doing so.
So how can it be that more people are engaging in this illegal practice while prosecution figures are going down so drastically? Well, it seems that a lack of police resources is to blame.
Stories of local police forces no longer actively pursuing certain offenses are very common nowadays. Some regions are no longer investigating burglaries and others have admitted turning a blind eye to cannabis growers – all because of government cuts and reduced resources.
In the case of traffic offenses, the number of police on the lookout has gone down by nearly 25% since 2010, amounting to 1279 fewer officers on the roads. Small wonder then that many people are getting away with using their phones at the wheel.
If you are one of the people who breaks the law in this way, please remember that using your phone whilst driving, aside from being dangerous, is considered by the public to be the “most hated driving habit.” If you are caught, you do still face a fine of around £100 and points on your license.
Oct 12, 2015
Save for a brief period where diesel fuel was on sale for a lower price than unleaded a short while ago, diesel drivers haven’t had a fantastic 2015 so far.
After championing the use of diesels for many years, the government has now changed tack, and the Volkswagen emission scandal has brought into sharp focus just how polluting diesel vehicles can be.
The weekend delivered various press reports about diesel cars. One article in Wales Online even discussed the prospect of pre-2015 diesels being banned in Wales by 2020, as their presence on the roads is likely to mean it’s impossible to meet previously agreed EU emissions targets.
Meanwhile, The Independent reported on another diesel-related issue, which has been simmering away in the background for some time – the issue of motorists removing the diesel particulate filters from older diesel cars to reduce their servicing bills, resulting in huge increases in pollution.
Diesel particulate filters prevent excess pollution entering the atmosphere from diesel cars. They typically have a lifespan of about 80,000 miles and, according to the article, cost around £1500 to replace. This is a significant bill for a car with 80,000 miles on the clock – in some cases potentially coming close to the value of the car. As such, it seems many drivers have arranged to have to filters removed instead, resulting in “tens of thousands” of cars pumping out far more pollution than they should be.
Thanks to a loophole in the law, garages can remove the filters legally. It’s illegal to drive a car with the DPF removed, but it’s so difficult to detect the removal that the changes aren’t necessarily even noticed during MOT tests.
Something tells us this isn’t the last diesel-related scandal we’re going to hear in the coming days and weeks.
Oct 8, 2015
The scandal currently engulfing Volkswagen with regard to rigged emissions tests on diesel cars could soon spread to petrol vehicles too, according to a report in The Telegraph.
The report cites the fact that, to begin with, Volkswagen claimed that just under half a million cars were affected by the scandal. That figure has already risen to 11 Million. Greg Archer, a “former government advisor” is quoted as suggesting that the scandal “is probably not limited to diesel and not limited to emissions.” This suggests that it could transpire that so-called “defeat devices” were used on petrol cars too.
If Archer is correct, this enormous scandal could blow up into something truly monumental. Unsurprisingly, many people are also starting to wonder if other car manufacturers have engaged in questionable practices alongside VW.
One of history’s biggest car recalls will soon be underway, with VW (and its other linked brands, Audi, Skoda and Seat) due to contact owners affected by the scandal. It’s expected that cars will begin to be recalled to garages for alterations early next year.
Meanwhile, Auto Express has reported that the head of VW in the US allegedly knew about the “cheating” devices as far back as early last year.
If you own a Volkswagen, Audi, Seat or Skoda, you may want to check out the manufacturer’s website to see if your car is subject to any recall notices. You will need your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to do so, which is usually stamped on the car’s windscreen.
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons
Oct 2, 2015
The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal that we reported on last week continues to grab headlines.
The latest news pertaining specifically to the UK is that sales of 4000 new vehicles are to be “suspended” according to a Sky News report. These are cars with a specific engine, model EA189.
As suspected right at the beginning, the scandal has now spread to other marques under the Volkswagen banner, including Skoda, Audi and Seat. VW have confessed that over 10 Million vehicles worldwide are fitted with technology that has allowed them to “cheat” on diesel emissions tests.
The UK isn’t the first nation to suspend sales. Certain VW brand models have already been withdrawn from the market in the US, Canada and Switzerland.
Next comes the big recall, predicted to be one of the largest in motoring history. The fear is that after corrective work, some people may find their cars are less economical and do not perform as well as before. 1.2 Million cars are expected to be recalled in the UK alone, with owners expecting to hear from VW from next week.
Two big questions occur: The first is whether Volkswagen will ever truly recover from this scandal. The second is the major elephant in the room – namely whether this “cheating” has been exclusive to the VW group, or whether, in time, we’ll find other manufacturers implicated in similar scandals. If any other brands do have skeletons in their closets, it’s unlikely their executives are getting much sleep right now…
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons
Oct 1, 2015
As of today, it’s illegal to smoke in cars carrying anyone under 18. The new law applies to England and Wales initially, with Scotland and Northern Ireland to consider their respective approaches in the near future.
A fine of £50 will be charged to anyone disobeying the law, but according to a BBC report, the authorities have stated that they will be taking a “non-confrontational approach” to enforcement. It’s not completely clear what this will mean in practice – in some circles people believe it means that the law won’t actually be enforced.
Even so, the law should emphasise people’s moral duty not to expose children to second-hand smoke in their cars. Although one would assume most smokers would refrain from lighting up in cars with their children, the British Lung Foundation state that nearly half a million under-18s have to share cars with smokers each week.
Two exceptions apply to the law: one is an exemption for convertibles with the roof open, and another for e-cigarettes, which produce vapour rather than smoke.
It remains to be seen just how seriously drivers and police will take this new legislation. In the BBC report, the Police Federation chairman states that the police are “struggling to attend burglaries” with their current resources. One wonders, on that basis, how they’re going to have the time to catch people having a cheeky cigarette in their own cars, even if the well-intentioned law is intended to protect the health of children.
IMAGE CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons
Sep 29, 2015
In the coming months, drivers on the M5 will be able to take advantage of new petrol price displays on the roadside, which will help them to decide whether to stop at the next service area or keep driving a little longer if fuel is better value at the next one.
An article in The Times suggests that the presence of these displays could “end rip-offs.”
While it seems unlikely that fuel at motorway service areas will drop in price to match costs available nearer to towns, this added transparency may well stimulate competition and can only be a good thing for drivers. These roadside price displays are already in use in several other countries, including Portugal, where they are commonplace on major motorways.
The new signs are being placed on a trial basis. The plans were actually announced under the previous coalition government at the end of last year, but confirmation of the signs going up on the M5 “this winter” appeared in The Times today.
The report also states that the average motorway services fill up costs as much as £8 more than it would elsewhere. Anything that could be done to reduce this sum is sure to be a hit with drivers, so let’s hope this trial results in a national roll-out.
Sep 23, 2015
A scandal over what the New York Times describes as a “diesel deception” has caused car manufacturer Volkswagen to lose a third of its value already this week.
Volkswagen is accused of using special software to cheat on emissions tests on its diesel vehicles, making them appear to be far more environmentally friendly than they really are.
The story has grown so large that The Telegraph is live blogging the scandal at the time of writing. The loss of value at Volkswagen has hit the global stock and currency markets, with the scandal expected to rapidly spread to VW’s sister brands Skoda, Seat and Audi.
As if this weren’t proof enough of how serious this revelation is for Volkswagen, it’s also emerged that the car firm has hired the same lawyers used to defend BP in the wake of their 2010 oil spill disaster.
It’s thought that up to 11 Million VW vehicles could be affected.
If you own a diesel Volkswagen, there’s every chance it could be included in a forthcoming recall to resolve a high emissions problem. Your dealership should contact you if this is the case. Do not ignore any recall as it could result in you driving an unsafe vehicle and affect your car’s resale value.
Sadly, if you do drive a Volkswagen, that resale value has probably already taken a dive. The firm’s credibility has taken a serious knock this week, which will take major work (if not a miracle) to recover from.
