All US e-Golfs being recalled

9758 Views 92 Replies 21 Participants Last post by Fourdiesel, Apr 8, 2016

Oregon TDI

Discussion Starter · Mar 29, 2016

Volkswagen's Electric Car Offensive in the U.S. Just Stalled - Fortune

Volkswagen is recalling all the electric versions of its Golf compacts sold in the U.S., after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration discovered a fault in their batteries that makes the car stall.

VW began the recall on March 15, due to “oversensitive diagnostics for the high-voltage battery management system (that) may falsely detect an electrical surge resulting in the vehicle’s electric drive motor shutting down unexpectedly.”

1 - 20 of 93 Posts

zagg

· #2 · Mar 29, 2016

That's it....I can't take anymore.....I'm going Tesla

Reactions: 1

m-fine

· #3 · Mar 29, 2016

I can't believe they managed to sell more than 5500 of those things.

Oregon TDI

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 29, 2016

If this was a Tesla they'd probably be able to push out a software update without going through the hassle of a recall.

If my local dealer is any indication, many of those 5500 e-Golfs were leased to dealer employees. They drive them to work every day and charge them on the dealer's dime. I bet not many e-Golfs have actually been sold.

Reactions: 1

FSJ Guy

· #5 · Mar 29, 2016

They'd sell more if they were available outside of just the "compliance" states.

Oregon TDI

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 4, 2016

If the e-Golf had the 200-mile range of a Tesla Model 3 at the same price, would there be 250,000+ pre-orders for the e-Golf?

http://venturebeat.com/2016/04/03/tesla-model-3-pre-orders-surpass-10-billion/

m-fine

· #7 · Apr 4, 2016

Oregon TDI said:
If the e-Golf had the 200-mile range of a Tesla Model 3 at the same price, would there be 250,000+ pre-orders for the e-Golf?

Tesla Model 3 orders surpass $10 billion | VentureBeat | Business | by Blaise Zerega

Not looking like a regular old hatchback. Tesla is selling a brand name and an image, a unique looking car, performance, and other features beyond just range. Also, unlike an eGolf where you actually have to buy it, the Model 3 has so far sold nothing more than a fully refundable deposit.

Reactions: 1

Oregon TDI

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 4, 2016

m-fine said:
Not looking like a regular old hatchback. Tesla is selling a brand name and an image, a unique looking car, performance, and other features beyond just range. Also, unlike an eGolf where you actually have to buy it, the Model 3 has so far sold nothing more than a fully refundable deposit.

Tesla should have required a $5K deposit, to weed out tire kickers. But even if only 20% of those pre-orders are real, it's still a big deal.

Myself, I'd take a 200-mile e-Golf at the Tesla 3 price.

m-fine

· #9 · Apr 4, 2016

Oregon TDI said:
Tesla should have required a $5K deposit, to weed out tire kickers. But even if only 20% of those pre-orders are real, it's still a big deal.

Myself, I'd take a 200-mile e-Golf at the Tesla 3 price.

The Tesla event and pre-order wasn't really about selling cars. They are rapidly burning through cash and this event was more about selling the company to investors so they can raise the funds they need. Big numbers and news stories are more valuable than hard sales right now. Tire kickers are more than welcome!

nickm

· #10 · Apr 4, 2016

Lots of people with 1000 bucks to buy a car that doesn't exist, from a car maker that can't make more that a few thousand cars per year.

Believe the hype or there's a sucker born every minute, I'm not sure which slogan is more appropriate here

Tesla is just the next iPhone for the minions, if they really wanted an electric car the 100mile range egolf, Nissan leaf and Ford focus are available right now

Oregon TDI

Discussion Starter · #11 · Apr 4, 2016

nickm said:
Lots of people with 1000 bucks to buy a car that doesn't exist, from a car maker that can't make more that a few thousand cars per year.

Believe the hype or there's a sucker born every minute, I'm not sure which slogan is more appropriate here

Tesla is just the next iPhone for the minions, if they really wanted an electric car the 100mile range egolf, Nissan leaf and Ford focus are available right now

Personally, I have a mental block about less than 100 miles on a charge. I would want at least 200 miles in a passenger car. I can work with that. Like I said, I'd be more interested in a $35K-$40K e-Golf with 200 mile range than a Tesla, but hey, that's coming from a self-confessed VW-a-holic.

I'm pretty sure even Elon Musk is surprised at 250K+ preorders for the Model 3. Time will tell if Tesla can build & deliver a real car as promised, and whether all those pre-orders turn out to be real too.

Other e-car builders including VW have undoubtedly taken notice of this though.

182RG

· #12 · Apr 4, 2016

nickm said:
Lots of people with 1000 bucks to buy a car that doesn't exist, from a car maker that can't make more that a few thousand cars per year.

Tesla delivered 50,580 vehicles in 2015.

x10003q

· #13 · Apr 4, 2016

Dropping down to the '$35K' market is a whole new set of issues. There will be very little room for the errors that now plague the S. The claimed 215 mile range is just that - claimed. From the side, the 3 looks like a smoothed out Elantra behind the A pillar and a Ford Fusion in front of the A pillar. I might be interested when the 3 is in its 5th year of production - 10 years from now.

N_Jay

· #14 · Apr 4, 2016

m-fine said:
The Tesla event and pre-order wasn't really about selling cars. They are rapidly burning through cash and this event was more about selling the company to investors so they can raise the funds they need. Big numbers and news stories are more valuable than hard sales right now. Tire kickers are more than welcome!

X100!

Tesla's business plan is to absorb as much subsidies as possible before running out of investor cash.

They are a shell game of the worse type.
Lucky for them, the greenies who love electrics also don't understand business.

richyrich2

· #15 · Apr 4, 2016

N_Jay said:
X100!

Tesla's business plan is to absorb as much subsidies as possible before running out of investor cash.

They are a shell game of the worse type.
Lucky for them, the greenies who love electrics also don't understand business.

Bit of an exaggeration - they're no worse than any of the other vehicle mega-corps and their own subsidy-driven operating models these last few years. Exactly how is Tesla the "worst kind"?

Personally I don't get the greenies/oilies narrative - I'm interested in technology, and in vehicles as a particular technology I rely on daily. The only area anyone is really innovating these days is around electrics, and Tesla are at the forefront. I think it's something to support. If near-zero fuel costs and "insane" acceleration are only for "the greenies" then count me in right there. If there's environmental benefits too, great.

x10003q

· #16 · Apr 4, 2016

richyrich2 said:
Bit of an exaggeration - they're no worse than any of the other vehicle mega-corps and their own subsidy-driven operating models these last few years. Exactly how is Tesla the "worst kind"?

Personally I don't get the greenies/oilies narrative - I'm interested in technology, and in vehicles as a particular technology I rely on daily. The only area anyone is really innovating these days is around electrics, and Tesla are at the forefront. I think it's something to support. If near-zero fuel costs and "insane" acceleration are only for "the greenies" then count me in right there. If there's environmental benefits too, great.

The narrative is watching 276,000 people drink Reverend Musk's Kool-Aid.
"I need to drop a $1000 on the good Reverend Musk otherwise he might not sell me a car." Its laughable. Before I give Tesla $1000 reservation for a non-existent $35K car I might want to at least sit in it.

Built4Sin

· #17 · Apr 4, 2016

The hate is strong in this thread.

It seems like a lot of you possibly just scrape headlines and then build unsupported theories about Tesla.

It's ok, in a decade you'll have forgotten how much you hate them, when that technology starts to permeate into the rest of the auto world.

Matter of fact, I bet you'll retell the story about how you where the only forward thinking guy on your block that could see how Tesla was making the right moves!

BeemerMikeTX

· #18 · Apr 4, 2016

Bob Lutz thinks the Tesla electric car business model is unworkable economically as a stand-alone company. Pretty much all I need to know.

Reactions: 1

m-fine

· #19 · Apr 4, 2016

Built4Sin said:
The hate is strong in this thread.

It seems like a lot of you possibly just scrape headlines and then build unsupported theories about Tesla.

It's ok, in a decade you'll have forgotten how much you hate them, when that technology starts to permeate into the rest of the auto world.

Matter of fact, I bet you'll retell the story about how you where the only forward thinking guy on your block that could see how Tesla was making the right moves!

When a company with a wildly successful brand name and positive public image is burning through over a billion dollars per year more than they bring in, it is perfectly reasonable to question the feasibility of their business model. When their top selling product is still 18+ months away, all deposits are 100% refundable, and there are competitors planning to enter the market, it is only reasonable to question if the market interest will turn into actual sales or not.

The fact is, Tesla does not have the money to last the next 18 months and deliver the model 3 and supercharger stations they have promised. They need to get investors to bet on their future success or they won't even have a chance to try. Their tech is nothing special, and the more established and experienced auto makers are poised to pounce when market acceptance and profitable price points coincide.

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ToolmanJohn

· #20 · Apr 4, 2016

Doesn't each electric vehicle sold get a $XXXX taxpayer funded price break? The electric car is still massively overpriced for what it does, but everyone else foots the bill while the choir sings the praises of electric vehicles. If the taxpayer subsides did NOT exist, would Tesla sell as many?

Please don't talk about how this "new" technology needs government funding to get started. Electric vehicles have been around since BEFORE gas powered ones. But power, recharging, and range are still the biggest obstacles, and still not overcome.

Can someone say "THIS is the date that the subsidies will end, and Tesla will be profitable without the subsidy" ?

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