大衆承認欺騙 車主卻不願修車
Even as Volkswagen embarks on the task of fixing the emissions systems it disabled on almost 500,000 of its diesel vehicles in the United States, the automaker faces another hurdle: persuading owners to make the repair at all.
汽車製造商大衆公司(Volkswagen)正着手修復美國近50萬輛柴油車上被其關閉的排放系統，但即便在此時，他們也還要面臨又一個障礙：說服車主返修車輛。
That’s because the software that allowed Volkswagen to fool federal emissions tests also lowered the car’s performance and fuel economy while the device was turned on. So for owners, the prospect of having a car’s emissions cleaned up, only to have the car perform worse — whatever the pollution — is not sitting well.
這是因爲，大衆用來在聯邦排放測試中作弊的軟件開啓時，柴油車的性能和節油性就會降低。所以，爲了減少汽車的尾氣排放，結果是使汽車性能下降（不管污染程度怎樣），對車主來說，這可不是理想結果。
“If we take a 10 percent hit in our gas mileage, I can live with that, but I won’t be happy,” said Patrick Downs, who lives in Port Angeles, Wash., and owns a 2013 Jetta TDI.
“如果油耗增加了10%，我可以接受，但肯定是不高興的，”帕特里克·當斯(Patrick Downs)說，他住在華盛頓安吉利斯港，是一輛2013年款捷達TDI車主。
“If it is 25 percent or more and the performance is degraded to the point where the car has a lot less torque and pickup, that is going to make me very unhappy,” he added. “That is going to make me consider not getting the fix.”
“如果是25%或更多，性能下降到了扭矩和加速能力都大幅降低的程度，我會很不高興，”他說。 “那樣我就會考慮不去返修了。”
It was well known among owners of Volkswagen diesels that the cars’ advertised fuel economy — as shown on the window sticker — was almost always lower than their real-world performance.
大衆柴油車車主幾乎都知道，車窗貼紙上宣傳的節油性，幾乎總是比現實使用中低。
Michael Horn, head of Volkswagen’s American unit, told a congressional panel this month that the repairs he outlined — which will take years and require significant new equipment — might result in a slightly lower top speed in the cars. But he was careful to say that the cars’ fuel economy would not be lower than the rating on the window sticker.
本月初，大衆汽車公司美國區負責人邁克爾·霍恩(Michael Horn)告訴一個國會小組，他提出的維修方案將花費幾年時間，並需要使用大量新設備，它可能會導致柴油車的最高速度稍有降低。但他謹慎地說，這些車的節油性不會比窗戶貼紙上的數字低。
That’s not satisfactory, said Jeff Hinton, the owner of a 2013 Passat diesel.
這並不讓人滿意，2013款帕薩特柴油車車主傑夫·亨頓(Jeff Hinton)說。
“Every TDI owner will tell you, ‘I get much better numbers, miles to the gallon, than any number that is on that Monroney sticker,’” Mr. Hinton, 36, said in a telephone interview from Morrisville, N.C., using a term for the window sticker.
“每個TDI車主都會告訴你，‘實際數字，每加侖柴油跑的英里數，比窗戶貼紙標註的數字要高得多，”36歲的亨頓在北卡羅來納州莫里斯維爾通過電話表示。
“On recent trips, 500 miles plus, I’ve gotten 52 to 55 miles per gallon,” Mr. Hinton said. The Environmental Protection Agency rating on the window sticker of his Passat is 40 miles per gallon on the highway.
“最近跑了500多英里，每加侖柴油跑52到55英里，”亨頓說。他的帕薩特窗戶貼紙標註的美國環境保護局（Environment Protection Agency，簡稱EPA）評測是在高速公路上每加侖柴油行駛40英里。
“I wouldn’t want my car recalled or reprogrammed or retrofitted in any way if it is going to hurt the performance, because that is not what I paid for,” he said.
他說，“如果會影響車的性能的話，我不希望我的車被以任何方式召回或重新編程或改裝，因爲我花錢買的不是這樣的車。”
The E.P.A. cannot force owners to repair their vehicles, said Julia Ortiz, a spokeswoman for the agency.
EPA女發言人茱莉亞·奧爾蒂斯(Julia Ortiz)表示 ，該機構無法迫使車主返修車輛。
Automakers also cannot require owners to carry out the emissions recall, just as they cannot force owners to take their vehicles in to complete a safety recall.
汽車製造商也無法要求車主實施排放召回舉措，就像它們無法迫使車主讓車接受徹底安全性召回一樣。
Some states require vehicles to pass emissions tests before they can be registered each year. But those tests are far less sophisticated than the E.P.A.’s, and the Volkswagens that are not repaired are sure to pass them, said John German, a senior fellow at the International Council on Clean Transportation, which played a crucial role in discovering the automaker’s deceit.
國際清潔交通委員會(International Council on Clean Transportation)資深成員約翰·傑曼(John German)表示，一些州要求車輛在每年進行註冊之前通過排放測試。但這些測試遠不如EPA那麼精密。沒有經過修理的大衆汽車肯定能通過這種測試。該委員會在發現該汽車製造商的欺騙行爲的過程中發揮了重要作用。
That loophole means the air pollution consequences of Volkswagen’s action — at least on a small scale — are irreparable if enough owners refuse to have their vehicles fixed.
這個漏洞意味着，如果很多車主拒絕返修車輛，大衆汽車的行爲——至少在小範圍內——造成的空氣污染後果將是無法挽回的。
