John: Correct as you are, if a sale of a car fails to delivering items that were sold, it becomes a problem. I think if VW cannot and does not deliver on the part of the sale that promised OTA updates so as to always have an up-to-date vehicle operating system, then by definition they have sold one thing and delivered another. Maybe it's not a lemon per se, but it is certainly bait and switch. OTA is supposed to mean that your car's (phone, computer, etc) less likely to be outdated and therefore have a longer useful life.
I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that is grounds for victorious litigation. Is this r-e-a-l-l-y different from lying about the MPG? I'm unconvinced. Either they stop promising updates they can't or won't deliver, or they'll eventually get sued and lose. How many Dieselgates do they want? Listen to the Youtube reviews today and EVERYBODY is saying the buzz on VW is they can't deliver (or won't) on updating the Op system, and the owners are unhappy. If the Op system had been up to speed at issue, maybe it wouldn't be a problem. But it stunk. The public knows it. VW knows it. And so they promised, "Don't worry, it will be fixed in the next Op System release, and we'll do that every 3 months." Really? I'm betting they weren't expecting folks to count in base 10, huh? This used to be the joke about Microsoft's answer to the Blue Screen of Death. Maybe that's not a good precedent? Nah... it stinks.
Sandy Munro even mentions the dissatisfaction of VW owners in one of his recent videos on Tesla. Yep. VW wasn't even the topic of discussion. VW's problem isn't my car. My car's decent. I accept the car for what it is... but they promised more. Their problem is they're now succeeding in converting other non-VW owners like me to an EV... and that's a measurable accomplishment. However... what's the one thing you want as an EV owner? I think in part it's an EV that delivers fully on the promise... and so their risk to emulate Tesla is that they actually succeed in converting a whole slew of owners who buy an ID.4 into subsequent disposal to buy a Tesla - or some other brand that is willing and able to deliver in full on the standard Tesla set. Yes they set the standard. And if you're going to do something different... and not update diddly 'cause you can't, you need to say "Oh... and part of cutting costs? Yeah... we don't update nothing unless you buy a new USB memory stick with the update on it."
And since part of VW's effort with EV's has been to demonstrate good faith....VW's the one who raised the ante, right? Question I'd ask is, "Have they?" I'm unconvinced. I think Audi has done more to deliver on expectations. VW.... it's beginning to look as though they've over promised and under delivered. That's a cardinal sin if they want to survive. They need to underpromise and overdeliver. They've got a good car. So what's wrong with their now 3 months delayed update. Seriously... this was announced as deliverable in July back in June. November... nothing. Europe... something. What's the logic in this? Management at VW Germany has some issues. But VW America seems to have made a promise to themselves to not be left in the dust... "Let's attest that we have even more issues prevent our success then our German CEO!"
Yeah... that makes the leadership in both places look really really great.
