VW News: As the Diesel Emits: Parking Lot Full of TDIs Become A Legal Problem

[William Maley 948]

With Volkswagen buying back a large chunk of the 2.0L TDIs involved the diesel emission scandal, the question arises of where to store them. The answer according to the German automaker is they are storing them at "regional facilities." One of those regional facilities is the parking lot of the Pontiac Silverdome - former home to the Detroit Lions - in Pontiac, MI. However, the vehicles stored there find themselves in a bit of legal trouble.

The Oakland Press reports that the City of Pontiac has filed a lawsuit against the owners of Silverdome, the Triple Investment Group for numerous violations in zoning, safety, and a municipal code dealing with the storage of vehicles; "a special exemption permit is needed for parking and exterior storage of vehicles." A hearing was planned last week, but was adjourned.

“Our client is actively engaged and working with the city. We hope to resolve our differences with the city and we believe we are making good progress and working together. We are still waiting on a schedule for (the hearing) but we are hopeful that we will resolve the differences in the meantime and further hearings won’t be necessary,” said J. Patrick Lennon, a partner at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn, the lawfirm representing Triple Investment Group.

A Volkswagen spokeswoman told Automotive News the company is talking with their “service provider” to see if all of the permits that allow vehicles to be stored at the Silverdome are up to date.

Source: The Oakland Press, Automotive News (Subscription Required)
Pic Credit: WXYZ

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[oldshurst442 2,580]

All these cars belong to VW AG right?

Can't VW take all of the diesel cars and swap them with normal gasoline powered 2.0T engines and sell them on the used market?

Is that a legal path they could follow?

Even if they sell them dirt cheap, some monies are recuperated, non?

[dfelt 4,894 5 Vehicles]

Why not just pack em up and ship them out of the country to places that do not have the EPA laws that these auto's offend. Unload them or crush em. Stop wasting time with storage.

[Robert Hall 5,275 4 Vehicles]

30 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Why not just pack em up and ship them out of the country to places that do not have the EPA laws that these auto's offend.

They would get excoriated in the press if they did something like that...a PR nightmare.  Though I don't see why they couldn't sell them in Mexico, close by, they buy diesels, don't they? 

Edited March 24, 2017 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[William Maley 948]

3 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

All these cars belong to VW AG right?

Can't VW take all of the diesel cars and swap them with normal gasoline powered 2.0T engines and sell them on the used market?

Is that a legal path they could follow?

Even if they sell them dirt cheap, some monies are recuperated, non?

 

 

1. Yes
2. I don't know, but I'm assuming it would cost more Volkswagen to do this than repair the diesels.
3. They are trying to get EPA approval on fixes. We know they got the go-ahead on repairing the latest-generation of the diesel engines involved in the scandal. The concern is what will happen to the older ones. Volkswagen is trying to figure out a fix that will hopefully get approved. Otherwise, they will get crushed (and cause more pollution and waste ironically).
4. Nope
    

1 hour ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

They would get excoriated in the press if they did something like that...a PR nightmare.  Though I don't see why they couldn't sell them in Mexico, close by, they buy diesels, don't they? 

 

I don't believe they can at the moment because of the deal reached with the EPA. But I'll need to check.

[oldshurst442 2,580]

@William Maley

Thanx for the update!

[daves87rs 1,066]

They should get approval to resell them at some point in the near future.

 

Won't be giving them away, but there should be a pretty nice discount....

[Frisky Dingo 934]

As it currently stands, only the last gen diesel cars are able to be 'fixed'. The earliest cars are being crushed. It's already happening. Cars that are newer, but not the last gen TDI's- 2012's-2014's- it sounds like it's up in the air. The later cars will most likely see resale here in the states.

[A Horse With No Name 3,438]

Earliest cars are indeed being crushed....

[dfelt 4,894 5 Vehicles]

I see no problem with crushing, I wonder if the bean counters have taken all the work and time to fix TDI's versus just crushing them all and recycling the scrap. Wonder what the cost difference would be.

[A Horse With No Name 3,438]

46 minutes ago, dfelt said:

I see no problem with crushing, I wonder if the bean counters have taken all the work and time to fix TDI's versus just crushing them all and recycling the scrap. Wonder what the cost difference would be.

Since a whole lot of other people ahve been caught, I think the auto recycling business will probably be a good place to be financially for awhile.

[dfelt 4,894 5 Vehicles]

9 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Since a whole lot of other people ahve been caught, I think the auto recycling business will probably be a good place to be financially for awhile.

Yes, I would totally agree.

[A Horse With No Name 3,438]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Yes, I would totally agree.

...and one more reason for us to go electric....