Tsunami to Hit Germany: Five Auto Companies Admit to Illegal Cartel

Townhall.com ^ | July 24, 2017 | Mike Shedlock

[Responsibility2nd]

Thanks Bob.

[BobL]

Any time!

[AnalogReigns]

This is shocking and sad....but, I'm not convinced diesel is toast. A gallon (or liter) of petroleum still has more useable btu's in it than any battery. I think the (centrally planned) predictions of an all hybrid-or-full-electric-car future are greatly over-rated.

I heard a news announcement today that the new GM Volt will do 232 miles (in ideal...warm....conditions) before the battery runs out. GM is very proud of this remarkable technological achievement. Woweee!!! (I saw an ad out there for a 1914 electric car...with a similar range, not the ad here, but similar. Notice this one--from over 100 years ago...went 100 miles...about half of a new Tesla.)

For over 100 years, electric cars have always been 5 years away from being practical, and affordable.

For those of us that trust freedom and the free market--why do electrics & hybrids, even now--require MASSIVE government subsidies, if the technology is so great? Aren't consumers intelligent enough to buy them, if they were priced by the market?

Look at the trucking industry, or with farm tractors....no one will switch to electric any time soon...at all. The advantages and disadvantages--which Henry Ford knew 100 years ago, still remain unchanged.

Unless forbidden by foolish government regulation....petroleum vehicles will remain the best, and most popular--criminal German corporations or not.

[Yo-Yo]

Oh look, an animated gif, gee how to argue with that. Oh yeah, with FACTS. It didn’t end with the sunroofs, that’s just an example I picked because it clearly shows they weren’t doing the normal, perfectly acceptable, standards design. They were working on feature matching, which included stalling engine design for performance and efficiency.

Any horse hockey here is coming exclusively from you. The deliberately and illegally engaged in anti-competitive collusion. Sorry that seems to be too complicated for you to understand, but that’s your problem. And Sherman T Potter would get it, and he’d think you’re a pointlessly insulting waste. They were wrong, you are wrong, we are done.

OK, let's return to the facts, without trying to appeal to your sense of humor. Clearly you have none.

Please tell me, in very small words so even a pea brain like me can understand, how German automakers colluding on the speed of retraction of a sunroof affects competition with General Motors, Ford, Kia, Toyota, Honda, or Tesla?

Don't like sunroof speeds? Pick another parameter from the article summary: the maximum size of the tank for the AdBlue chemical, brake systems, seats, suspension, or clutches.

Please tell me how Audi, BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, and Porsche colluding on the maximum allowable clutch pedal pressure has hurt the consumer, hurt competition, or stifled innovation at Fiat, or Honda, or Chrysler, or Jaguar?

Now, if it can be proved that Audi, BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, and Porsche colluded on how to program engine management systems to beat emissions testing, then I will agree with you that something criminal has happened. However, this article doesn't assert that. It asserts that the German companies colluded on the stiffness of the driver's seat.

But then we wouldn't let facts get in the way of a good collusion story, would we. The MSM also like good collusion stories without any facts backing them up regarding our 45th President. So you and the MSM have that in common, at least.

[Abathar]

" Every single industry develops common engineering standards on all sorts of minutiae."

Exactly, where do people think S.A.E. came from?

Now for the really big question on my mind - Did they standardize the cup holder size and depth and collude with the manufactures of said cups? Because if they didn't then screw'em, because that's what really matters to me. I have a BMW 740Il, damn thing won't keep a cup from spilling parked at a drive in, much less Indiana roads...

[momincombatboots]

Of course a manual.. some cars should be banned as an automatic. I would like Vera thrill ride in a hellcat 6 speed.

[US_MilitaryRules]

Forget the Hellcat. You want a ride in a Demon!

[shotgun]

While helping promote the global warming/climate change corporate steward BS, their own engineers know that the rising government fuel efficiency / emissions standards are unattainable.

[xp38]

Uh.....VW owns Bugatti as well as Audi and Porsche. In fact of the 5 auto makers listed only 3 are separate entities.

[Prov1322]

Uh.....VW owns Bugatti

Aware. Gotta believe that for the $3MM there is a firewall between VW corporate and the Bugatti group.

Hey, at least it wasn't Renault, Peugeot or Citroen who bought them...

[CivilWarBrewing]

There would be far FEWER accidents and fender-benders if everyone drove a vehicle with manual transmission.

People who drive automatics have to constantly tap their brakes which desensitizes those behind to the message of the brake light. Also, driving a manual requires increased driver engagement to the vehicle thus lessening likelihood of errors or absentmindedness behind the wheel. Third, manual drivers are LESS LIKELY to do other things like text, drink, eat behind the wheel because THEY DO NOT HAVE A FREE HAND WHILE DRIVING; BOTH HANDS ARE BUSY DRIVING!

[vooch]

API ( american petroleum institute ) has a few hundred little engineering committees where reps from various suppliers battle it out to develop API Specs on zillions of items.

It’s so routine, I am wondering if this story is some sort of set-up.

[Paladin2]

One way.

Diesel won’t fit in gas for most cars these days.

Gas fits in Diesel just fine.

[Paladin2]

Häagen-Dazs,

Gesundheit.

[Paladin2]

Diesels now have multiple miniature chemical plants that need periods of regeneration.

I suspect that these regenerations are NOT scheduled during emissions testing, nor are they required to be.

It’a regulatory/technical response swamp.

[Svartalfiar]

I don't know why anyone would describe this collusion within the auto industry as a "tsunami." The auto industry is so heavily regulated in every modern country that it basically functions as a public utility in many ways.

It's a lot like Nascar and their car of tomorrow crap. So many rules and restrictions, every single car is exactly the same, whether it's a Ford, Toyota, or anything else.

[CivilWarBrewing]

I saw a beautiful white Dodge Challenger with the cool little emblem on the front fender, '392' or some such.. The Hellcat is a bit over the top and I don't think I could bankroll the gas mileage, 13mpg city AT BEST.

Here's a photo of the engine in "my other car", and it's a 4BBL carb. Betcha can't guess what it is..

[pepsionice]

Off and on, since 1978, I’ve had around 20 years in Germany, and have watched the three or four versions come and go.

I can remember the West German version, and the relative safe atmosphere...although with the Red Army still active. Crime as was almost non-existent.

Then I can remember the wall coming down period (1990s) where everyone was hyped up about Berlin now becoming the capital again, and massive building was going on throughout all of Berlin.

Then I can remember the 2000 to 2005 period where the Euro got introduced, and prices escalated, with crime becoming more noticeable.

Since 2013, I’ve arrived at the 4th version....mostly a place where you focus on people around you and continually think about crime. You have sensor lights around the house to scare the break-in crowd. You shake your head over prices. You get amazed that American franchises are showing up (Dunkin, Starbucks, Subway, etc) but then you look at the pricing scheme and laugh. Taxation has created this massive public revenue machine, which wastes billions per year.

I’ll probably be around to see the fifth and sixth versions of Germany, but I have no idea how they will fall into place.

[momincombatboots]

I drive a manual because, it’s faster and more reliable. It’s also cheaper to fix. Trust me the idiots will still try to text and drive, even with a manual.

[Cronos]

were. The % of diesel cars dropped to 36% in the months of this year and look to drop down to 30% by 2018