The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced a 2010 Volkswagen Beetle recall that would sound very weird if you give a second or two to mull over it. The NHTSA has found that certain vehicles of the Volkswagen produced in September 2010, have failed to meet the new Federal crash test requirements. These new requirements came into effect the same month these Volkswagen Beetle were manufactured, that is in September, 2010.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Volkswagen is to recall certain 2010 model year New Beetle and New Beetle Convertible. These vehicles were manufactured between September 1, 2010 and September 22, 2010. According to the NHTSA, these models have failed to comply with the barrier test requirements of federal motor vehicles safety standards No. 208. The barrier test requirements of federal motor vehicles safety standards No. 208 or the Occupant Crash Protection came into effect on the of 1st of September, 2010.
Why is a recall announced?
Vehicles that don’t meet the new requirements may fail to offer the protection that comes with these requirements
If there has ever been a safety recall the emphasis on the recall repair is to reduce casualties and fatalities
Safety laws are made to save lives
Crash testing is put in place to prevent injury or death in the event of an accident
Failing these tests should warrant some sort of recall from the manufacturer
The recall of the model year 2010 New Beetle and New Beetle Convertible started on the 1st of February, 2011. Citing concerns about the crash worthiness of Beetles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered a recall of 27 of the 2010 Volkswagen Beetle produced in September 2010.
The crash standards being applied only went into effect in September
Cars that were safe in the beginning of 2010 have ceased to be safe as the complaints against the VW Beetle seem legitimate
The vehicles that don’t meet with requirements that went into effect on September 1, 2010 will be replaced by dealers with vehicles that were produced prior to September 1, 2010
The NHTSA suggests a remedy for the problem that defeats the very purpose of a safety recall:
The NHTSA would like the owners of these Beetles to return them to their dealership
In return, Volkswagen will give owners an older model as a trading down and this recall will only risk the consumer as badly if there were no recall at all
These replacement vehicles are not any better in meeting these crash requirements than the ones that are recalled
Those that are getting their vehicle replaced are not any safer than when they were with the ones made in September 2010
These replacement cars are just as good, or for that matter as bad as the ones made in September 2010
This kind of remedies would lead people into wondering if the laws are made to protect consumers or happy insisting only on their compliance.