The Rise & Fall of an Icon

Oh where to start...

I worked within the Group at both Volkswagen and Audi brands for over a decade.

I was proud of the work I did there, and proud to work alongside talented and interesting people.

The products were cool, and our customers were loyal and friendly.

I loved my job.

"During normal driving, the cars pollute 10 times to 40 times the legal limits"

This was the EPA finding.

The continuing use of 'countermeasures' to attempt to remedy the internal combustion engine's unintended consequences in operation will only get tougher and more expensive.

VW, amongst others, have lobbied to slow the pace of change down.

So now more than ever it seems we need to see fresh blood in the auto arena. If the transition is too tough for the old guard - then I look forward to helping 'the cavalry' ride into the picture. Tesla is at the front of that charge of course with laudable support from EV stalwarts BMW, Renault, Nissan,

BYD and a few others.

Without doubt Apple, Google, and some 'surprise guests' will enter stage left very soon.

My conclusion to it all then is this. People allude to technical innovation heralding the tipping point for electric vehicle mass adoption. Especially with the battery - without doubt we need that of course.

But perhaps it is more likely to come from flagrant corporate breaches of trust and a seemingly total lack of integrity... Perhaps the legacy of VW's action will be to deliver an unintended acceleration of the switch from 'ICE to NICE'....

Oh, and I suspect the recent Richard Branson wager on the demise of the internal combustion engine (ICE) looked a bit better following the VW revelation.