A good start. It's interesting that you brought up both Bosch and Asian car makers actually. I was going to compare how people view Bosch and NGK sparkplugs and how one is distinctly German and the other distinctly Japanese and people feel that there is a real, quantifiable difference in quality. On spark plugs. Seriously. In the realm of complexity, they're one step above light bulbs. The difference is there though. Similarly, bringing up Japanese car makers and their difficulty with making diesel engines, a lot of people harp on Toyota for pursuing hydrogen fuel cells. A lot of people seem to be making fun of them, saying their pursuing a technology that has lost the race before it even left the starting line. I wonder if it's because Toyotas engineers figured diesel was a lost cause and wanted to look at something where they at least had a chance. If I had to guess, cars with hydrogen fuel cells will be a lot like cars running on compressed natural gas. It's something that works and has its place, but it's not something that can be readily used by everyone. I worry though. About the people who work in VW's factories and supply VW with parts. I have a few friends that used to work in manufacturing for a company that made car parts. The restructuring of GM cost them their jobs. It was painful to watch and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Maybe if everything goes through, VAG will be drawn and quartered and their assets distributed to other car companies, such as Ford, GM, Toyota, etc. At the very least, they could take advantage of their distribution network.Q: what's a million dead volkswagens at the bottom of the ocean?
Don't dog on spark plugs too hard. You're right: they aren't complex. But they have to function in the kilohertz range, at more than a thousand degrees, in megapascal environments, under high voltage, for years. That makes minor quibbles of metallurgy and impedance take on an outsized importance. By the way, NGK all the way. To diesel or not to diesel is a more complex issue than you think. All countries measure emissions differently and all countries tax fuel differently. German standards for diesel emissions are low and their diesel taxes are low. Thus, Germans buy a lot of diesels. American standards for diesel emissions are punishing and their diesel taxes are higher than petrol. Thus, Americans buy almost no diesels. I don't know what the standards are like in Japan, but they aren't selling a lot of cars to Germany. Also keep in mind: Japan has no oil reserves but their grid is (was) largely nuclear. Hydrogen becomes the way to go, because a hydrogen fuel cell is effectively a roundabout battery. 'member when the UK had a car industry? And how they lost it by producing abject pieces of shit? That was painful to watch, too, but it was also inevitable. And at least the British didn't hide their piece-of-shititude.
I wonder if that's why CNG is a thing here in The States. We seem to have it in abundance. I was talking to a guy for a brief while online who had a Camaro with an Iron Duke that he was trying to convert to run on CNG because he could get it for a discount from where he worked. I asked him why and his answer was "What else are you going to do with an Iron Duke? Turn it into a planter?" That's actually a pretty compelling argument when you think about it. I think British carmakers are actually a pretty decent parallel. The ones that remain, Aston Martin, Jaguar, etc. are all high end car makers. I think part of it is because when you have money, a failing car is more of an inconvenience instead of a potentially life crippling problem. VAG has both Audi and Porsche, both higher end marques. I think even if VW takes a big hit, Audi and Porsche might be able to ride out the storm.To diesel or not to diesel is a more complex issue than you think. All countries measure emissions differently and all countries tax fuel differently. German standards for diesel emissions are low and their diesel taxes are low. Thus, Germans buy a lot of diesels. American standards for diesel emissions are punishing and their diesel taxes are higher than petrol. Thus, Americans buy almost no diesels. I don't know what the standards are like in Japan, but they aren't selling a lot of cars to Germany. Also keep in mind: Japan has no oil reserves but their grid is (was) largely nuclear. Hydrogen becomes the way to go, because a hydrogen fuel cell is effectively a roundabout battery.