Don't get me wrong ... I am not encouraging such civil disobedience, but, then again, if our obsessive tree-huggers in government impose regulations that are beyond the limits of the then-current science, should they not expect such shenanigans as Volkswagen tried? And it's not like this VW nitrogen oxide misfeasance was like General Motors' malfeasance with its ignition switches which actually killed people. The evidence for this car's level of nitrogen oxide pollution causing serious short-term health problems seems quite tenuous. And in the long-term we all get felled by who knows what ... perhaps some other stupid government jack-booted regulation.
Sounds like you do support such civil disobedience: cheating is OK as long as you can get away with it
ReplyDeletePutting words in my mouth again?
DeleteWhat I am saying is that stupid regulations need not be obeyed and that there should be a way around such idiocy. If the Supreme Court had not been so politicalized, it might have been the way.
DeleteSo an athlete that saves up clean urine before embarking on a regimen of performance-enhancing drugs to dominate his sport is just working around the idiocy of the rules. Just like VW: The performance you want with compliance in the lab.
ReplyDeleteFalse equivalency ... setting nitrogen oxide limits that are unreachable is not the same as keeping a level playing field in some sport.
DeleteLike the student that arranges to have someone else take exams. You think I am smart and I clearly am because I have someone else take those annoying tests.
ReplyDeleteDitto ...
DeleteYou really should pick up on the air pollution issues in India and China as well as the water pollution issues in Rio.
ReplyDeleteI am verklempt that smoke is constantly demagogued as CO2. Fix the choking air pollution in China and the water pollution in Brazil without bringing lefty politics into the equation.
DeleteIf the determination of 'stupid' is entirely up to the individual, then 'circumventing the regulation' (not cheating!!) must be altogether ethical.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am saying is that we have lost common sense in our current highly-charged political atmosphere. And the fair brokers seem to have disappeared.
DeleteAnd by common sense, I mean that it is crazy to set nitrogen oxide standards at a level that cannot be achieved economically in diesel cars ... particularly when you have already eliminated your smog problem with previous strictures.
DeleteYeah but they DID solve them! Its just when you drive the car with the test-compliant software engaged, the car performs rather poorly. They achieved it economically, but they wanted the best of both worlds. Apparently, you can easily engage the controls fulltime to have a conformant car that putts along ahead of the Priuses, SmartCars, and LeCars.
ReplyDeleteAnd Governor Moonbeam should force all VW drivers to putt along to save that small amount of nitrogen oxide from contributing its very small marginal benefit.
DeleteExactly! Yes!! Everyone driving on a level playing field.
ReplyDelete