![\"VW_Blog.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/VW_Blog-1.jpg\" "\\"VW_Blog.jpg\\"")
<\/span>\ufeff<\/P><\/p>\nWe loved that car and it was one of many VWs that my family tooled around in. Its successor, a sky blue Golf 2 we called the Blue Peanut, led a very adventurous life involving 3 teenage drivers. It ended up in Mexico with a rebuilt engine and more than 300,000 kilometers on the odometer. But that is another story completely.<\/P><\/p>\n
Even post-crisis, I still love my VW. They\u2019re people cars: practical, functional, efficient and with just enough personality, you want to give it a nickname. We call my current car, the Umizoomi mobile.<\/P><\/p>\n
Love of the brand aside, I have to admit I bought my current make and model because of its official 109g\/km CO2 emissions figure. This seemed sorta low compared to other models that I was looking at, but I thought, hey it\u2019s a Volkswagen, I am sure it\u2019s alright. The number was the one I wanted to see \u2013 even if there was a little bell ringing in my head* that it just didn\u2019t quite seem to make sense. Comparable cars were reporting CO2 figures in the 130-150 range and an compact SUV that I glanced at even hit the 160 range.<\/P><\/p>\n
109 was low enough to equal a nice tax break in Belgium and I admit it was one of the criteria when I bought the car, but certainly not the only one. Brand loyalty played a huge roll in the process. And as a marketing person, I can tell you that a big part of brand loyalty is trust in the brand. And unfortunately, VW has lost its trust mojo.<\/P><\/p>\n
That being said, it boggles my mind why a car manufacturer like VW would cheat on this scale and why they would have to in the first place. VW makes great and highly efficient cars and they had\/have super brand loyalty, including your truly and many like me. But this scandal seems to be dragging on without a clear-cut explanation or any answer to the baffling why? I will always have a soft spot in my heart for VW, but honestly, my next car a VW? I am not 100% sure. I think I might be shopping around a bit more. Audi? Tesla anyone?<\/P><\/p>\n