Articles
1. Do you think the VW diesel emissions scandal has damaged the reputation of engineers as a whole?
Yes: 37%
No: 58%
Don't know: 4%
There’s no doubt that the Volkswagen emissions testing scandal has damaged the German carmaker’s reputation. But has it also inflicted harm on the wider profession? A majority of readers don’t think so, saying you cannot tar everyone with the same brush.
2. Have you felt any professional embarrassment by the actions of those involved?
Yes: 23%
No: 76%
Don't know: 1%
One reader wrote in to PE to say the scandal was evidence of engineers acting like bankers. Should that be a cause of professional shame? More than three-quarters of our readers said No, arguing that only those responsible needed to hang their heads.
3. Do you expect any proven wrongdoing to lead to criminal charges?
Yes: 70%
No: 19%
Don't know: 11%
Who was responsible for what at Volkswagen will no doubt come out in the wash. Audit trails exist, and chains of command will be identified. And that, according to the majority of our respondents, will lead to criminal charges. Lots of readers did say that bankers avoided such punishment after the financial crash, though.
4. Do you expect any other car manufacturers to be revealed as cheating emissions tests?
Yes: 78%
No: 7%
Don't know: 15%
At the moment, Volkswagen has taken almost all the flack for the diesel testing emissions scandal. But the responses to this question show that engineers fear it will spread like contagion. The write-in replies were full of comments along the lines of “if one carmaker was guilty of such a fraud, then you can bet that others were in on the act too”.
5. Do you expect widespread changes to diesel emissions testing procedures as a result of the scandal?
Yes: 81%
No: 13%
Don't know: 6%
A strong Yes vote here, with many readers saying they expected and hoped to see changes in testing procedures.
6. Do you think we are now on the road to the ‘death of diesel’ as a mainstream power source?
Yes: 16%
No: 72%
Don't know: 12%
There have been kneejerk calls for an outright ban on diesels. But engineers know this would have ramifications, such as more petrol cars with higher CO2 outputs.
7. Would you buy a new diesel-engined car?
Yes: 62%
No: 30%
Don't know: 8%
PE’s technically informed readership knows that diesel cars have become much cleaner in recent years, and many readers said that technological developments such as engine optimisation through turbocharging, NOx storage catalysts and selective catalytic reduction would reduce NOx emissions to virtually zero within a few years. So there was little evidence of guilt around buying a diesel car. What were the options, asked readers? Petrol cars have their own environment impact, and even pure electrics mean shifting emissions to areas where power stations are located.
8. Would you like to see a global push for the uptake of more electric cars?
Yes: 48%
No: 37%
Don't know: 15%
A stronger Yes vote might have been expected here, and would probably have been recorded if the same question was asked to the population at large. Electric cars are surely a cleaner option than diesels? But many respondents clearly aren’t convinced by their environmental credentials. The energy has to come from somewhere, many readers pointed out, while others argued that electric cars simply couldn’t match the range and performance of diesel counterparts. So the replies were actually quite even.