Re: Only VW?
"OTOH I simply cannot make it belch smoke like an earlier diesel of mine back in the 1990s; that was British made (defunct Rover Group"
That was most likely mechanical injection. You can't control mechanical injection nearly as well as electronic injection, so there will be times when you inject fuel faster than it can burn completely. I notice a lot of older Diesel cars nowadays pouring out black smoke because people won't pay to renew injectors and decarbonise heads (costs more than the residual value of the vehicle). Of course, the carbon gets onto the turbo blades and reduces their effectiveness, thus reducing boost and so creating more soot, till the engine dies expensively. It will be worse, much worse, for people who use Diesels for short journeys where the components never really reach optimal operating temperature.
This was the problem with Diesels and still is, which is why as I approached retirement and lower annual mileage I moved over to normally aspirated petrol. With the failure of the hedge funds to force the oil price to $200 a barrel (couldn't happen to a nastier lot of dysfunctional sociopaths) this looks more and more like a sensible decision.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
