Comments on: Blognation goes a little too hard on VW http://drrobevans.com/2007/09/04/blognation-goes-a-little-too-hard-on-vw/ Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:34:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Oliver Starr http://drrobevans.com/2007/09/04/blognation-goes-a-little-too-hard-on-vw/comment-page-1/#comment-210 Oliver Starr Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:22:11 +0000 http://drrobevans.com/2007/09/04/blognation-goes-a-little-too-hard-on-vw/#comment-210 ps: here's the link to that report: http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/clean_vehicles/autorank_brochure_2007.pdf ps: here’s the link to that report: http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/clean_vehicles/autorank_brochure_2007.pdf

]]> By: Oliver Starr http://drrobevans.com/2007/09/04/blognation-goes-a-little-too-hard-on-vw/comment-page-1/#comment-209 Oliver Starr Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:21:46 +0000 http://drrobevans.com/2007/09/04/blognation-goes-a-little-too-hard-on-vw/#comment-209 Rob, I replied to your comment on my blog but thought I should do so here (albeit with more brevity). Perhaps I am being hard on Volkswagen but I do wish to correct your position regarding my reasons for directing my commentary at VW. I DID NOT go to the site of a local vw dealer. I went directly to the Volkswagen of America site located at http://www.vw.com. There is in fact no mention of a specific dealership until you're deep into the process by which time you have already provided your personal information. Beyond that, as I said on my other response to you the fact that the principal domestic VW site is the source of the referral puts the onus on them to enforce their policies. If I recommend someone as trustworthy to be a housekeeper and on my authority you hire them and they rip you off, it might not expressly be my fault but I'll bet you wouldn't be too happy with me and you probably wouldn't ask for (or take) any further recommendations from me. So why should a company be exempt from a standard to which we hold ourselves? I realize that you like VWs. I do too. Enough that I was truly intending to get another one in the near future. The interesting thing is that as a result of this experience I learned something else (besides that VW doesn't handle your information well) and it's this: Did you know that Volkswagen makes vehicles that are such significant polluters that the parent company of VW, Daimler/Chrysler, which also apparently owns Bentley and a few other car companies manufactures a full 33% of the worst polluting vehicles in production at this time? Maybe I wasn't tough enough on them after all.... Oliver Rob, I replied to your comment on my blog but thought I should do so here (albeit with more brevity).

Perhaps I am being hard on Volkswagen but I do wish to correct your position regarding my reasons for directing my commentary at VW.

I DID NOT go to the site of a local vw dealer. I went directly to the Volkswagen of America site located at http://www.vw.com.

There is in fact no mention of a specific dealership until you’re deep into the process by which time you have already provided your personal information.

Beyond that, as I said on my other response to you the fact that the principal domestic VW site is the source of the referral puts the onus on them to enforce their policies.

If I recommend someone as trustworthy to be a housekeeper and on my authority you hire them and they rip you off, it might not expressly be my fault but I’ll bet you wouldn’t be too happy with me and you probably wouldn’t ask for (or take) any further recommendations from me.

So why should a company be exempt from a standard to which we hold ourselves?

I realize that you like VWs. I do too. Enough that I was truly intending to get another one in the near future.

The interesting thing is that as a result of this experience I learned something else (besides that VW doesn’t handle your information well) and it’s this:

Did you know that Volkswagen makes vehicles that are such significant polluters that the parent company of VW, Daimler/Chrysler, which also apparently owns Bentley and a few other car companies manufactures a full 33% of the worst polluting vehicles in production at this time?

Maybe I wasn’t tough enough on them after all….

Oliver

]]> By: Chris Brogan... http://drrobevans.com/2007/09/04/blognation-goes-a-little-too-hard-on-vw/comment-page-1/#comment-208 Chris Brogan... Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:05:22 +0000 http://drrobevans.com/2007/09/04/blognation-goes-a-little-too-hard-on-vw/#comment-208 This is exactly the kind of blog advocacy that I think should be happening out there for the big guys. You did a great job of explaining the differences in your comment. It's funny, because I also realized that VW proper probably couldn't make that response. Think about it: it'd come off like crapping on their distributor. So in a way, you've uncovered a 3rd service: fan-sourced help. Think about it: YOU can address this but VW cannot. I mean, not without looking bad. Swell! This is exactly the kind of blog advocacy that I think should be happening out there for the big guys. You did a great job of explaining the differences in your comment.

It’s funny, because I also realized that VW proper probably couldn’t make that response. Think about it: it’d come off like crapping on their distributor. So in a way, you’ve uncovered a 3rd service: fan-sourced help. Think about it: YOU can address this but VW cannot. I mean, not without looking bad.

Swell!

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