Volkswagen Group Massive Emissions Fraud Scheme

[LTLFTcomposite]

It continues to get more interesting.

They are not cooperating any longer it seems....

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/business/vw-refuses-to-give-us-states-documents-in-emissions-inquiries.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fgraphics8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fbusiness%2Findex.jsonp&_r=0

I really don't understand how they are still being allowed to sell cars in the United States. It's like they think if they ignore it it will go away.

Porsche, Audi, VW, stop them all at the ports and stop all new vehicle registrations.

You'd have to be crazy to buy one of these cars right now.

 

[mbraun]

BTW, did anyone even get charged for the BP oil spill ?

I wasn't aware that the deep water horizon explosion was an intentional act.

It was. As often the case with corporate malfeasance, deliberate decisions are made to either safe on costs, cut and/or ignore safety features, and a variety of other indirect choices that have significant financial and bodily costs in terms of harm. Relative to street crime, this kind of corporate misbehavior dwarves the damages to our environment, economy, and persons.

It's a shame that our media and general population will consider someone getting on a subway and shooting three people a "spree murderer" but if someone behind a desk regularly ignores OSHA regulations, even despite numerous documented violations, and three people die in a mining or oil catastrophe resulting from those decisions it's considered an "accident."

 

[GRA]

Surprised no one else has posted this from one of the numerous stories (via GCC):

California ARB rejects VW 2-liter diesel recall plan and issues Notice of Violation

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/01/20160112-arbvw.html

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is rejecting VW’s submitted recall plan for 2-liter diesel passenger vehicles sold in California between 2009 and 2015 which were sold with the software defeat devices. It also notified VW of violations of California air quality regulations associated with the company’s use of a defeat device in those cars.

Are you ready to Rummmbbbllle?

MODERATORS NOTE: Please respect fair use quoting guidelines when quoting other people's work. Massive copy/paste above trimmed. -drees

 

[dm33]

It continues to get more interesting.

They are not cooperating any longer it seems....

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/business/vw-refuses-to-give-us-states-documents-in-emissions-inquiries.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fgraphics8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fbusiness%2Findex.jsonp&_r=0

I really don't understand how they are still being allowed to sell cars in the United States. It's like they think if they ignore it it will go away.

Porsche, Audi, VW, stop them all at the ports and stop all new vehicle registrations.

You'd have to be crazy to buy one of these cars right now.

We're actually considering buying a gas VW. Discounts are great right now. Sounds like this is going to get worse before it gets better, but eventually it will be resolved and resale value should recover. We need something to tide us over to a Bolt or model 3 or leaf 2. Nissan reportedly will not allow us to extend again. Lease and purchase rates are currently high.

 

[Valdemar]

Amusing read:

'We Didn't Lie,' Volkswagen CEO Says

 

[JeremyW]

Great article on the technical details for the 3.0 engine: http://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/670488/4350e3873e2fa15c/

No doubt this was 100% intentional to get around the stricter US regulations, but you knew that already.

Again, I think the use of less adblue was to make the catalyst last the length of the warranty period. I think running in "legal" mode will cause issues down the line.

 

[DaveEV]

Great article on the technical details for the 3.0 engine: http://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/670488/4350e3873e2fa15c/

Really good read, Jeremy. The method chosen to trigger "conformance mode" is actually pretty cool. Too bad it's a neat trick applied to a problem that needed to be solved in a different manner.

I wonder if the non-SCR vehicles use a similar method?

Also need to get this guy's skills so we can hack the LEAFs ECU so we can unlock more power and regen!

 

[keydiver]

Amusing read:

'We Didn't Lie,' Volkswagen CEO Says

How stupid does he think Americans are?? They just didn't understand the US laws?? Really?? :? I can't believe that is the story they are going to stand by, and expect customers to believe it! :roll:

BTW, a good friend of mine has one of these cars, a Jetta, and they tried to trade it in. The VW dealership would give them virtually nothing on trade-in value, and other car dealers, like Honda, that they talked to will not even touch the car. They absolutely won't even consider taking the Jetta in trade. It has put my friend in a bad situation, as his wife really wants/needs a new car.

 

[mwalsh]

How stupid does he think Americans are?? They just didn't understand the US laws?? Really?? :? I can't believe that is the story they are going to stand by, and expect customers to believe it! :roll:

Oh, they understood them alright. They just chose to interpret them in a way that was beneficial to the company and dishonest with the American people. Corporations pull this **** all the time; rarely get caught; and when they do get caught all they get is a slap on the hand (and maybe a fine).

 

[Valdemar]

BTW, a good friend of mine has one of these cars, a Jetta, and they tried to trade it in. The VW dealership would give them virtually nothing on trade-in value, and other car dealers, like Honda, that they talked to will not even touch the car. They absolutely won't even consider taking the Jetta in trade. It has put my friend in a bad situation, as his wife really wants/needs a new car.

Hopefully this works out well for your friend when VW buys it back.

 

[lorenfb]

Great article on the technical details for the 3.0 engine: http://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/670488/4350e3873e2fa15c/

No doubt this was 100% intentional to get around the stricter US regulations, but you knew that already.

Again, I think the use of less adblue was to make the catalyst last the length of the warranty period. I think running in "legal" mode will cause issues down the line.

Which further confirms what was indicated up-thread, i.e. the ECU firmware modeled the conditions of the NEDC/EPA
tests and used that as an additional emissions' parameters input to use when defining the final SCR mode.

 

[GRA]

Surprised no one else has posted this from one of the numerous stories (via GCC):

California ARB rejects VW 2-liter diesel recall plan and issues Notice of Violation

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/01/20160112-arbvw.html

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) is rejecting VW’s submitted recall plan for 2-liter diesel passenger vehicles sold in California between 2009 and 2015 which were sold with the software defeat devices. It also notified VW of violations of California air quality regulations associated with the company’s use of a defeat device in those cars.

Are you ready to Rummmbbbllle?

MODERATORS NOTE: Please respect fair use quoting guidelines when quoting other people's work. Massive copy/paste above trimmed. -drees

Note that the majority of the quoted text was taken directly from CARB's press release and/or the Notice of Violation. GCC just quoted most of it verbatim, so I feel no fair use issues arise.

 

[evnow]

How eaxactly does the cheating software work ? Someone has done reverse engineering work on this ...

http://lwn.net/Articles/670488/

These "unlock conditions" would force the ECU to use the standard model under a fairly odd set of conditions. The engine must be at 15°C or more and it must be running where the atmospheric pressure is more than that at 750m. But, most strangely, the driving profile must also fit within a set of seven linear "curves" that were defined in terms of minimums and maximums of distance-driven versus time-since-motor start.
[ECU curves + NEDC]
As might be guessed, converting the NEDC curves to that system results in a curve that neatly fits in between two of those defined in the ECU.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Diesel owner getting some traction under FL lemon law. Could be an ugly precedent for VW.

http://www.wptv.com/news/region-n-palm-beach-county/jupiter/florida-lemon-law-board-holding-hearing-over-volkswagen-emissions-scandal

 

[redLEAF]

Interesting twist; make them offer more EV's as part of the resolution ...

VW has invested heavily in electric cars, even though its electric offerings in Europe dwarf those in the U.S. both in volume and variety. At a conference attended by VW executives and EU officials, the automaker even made a case for expanding electric car infrastructure ... but not in the U.S. Shifting production of certain models to the U.S. and creating EV infrastructure (or at least paying for it) may be a tougher pill to swallow than a monetary fine.


http://autoweek.com/article/vw-dies...w-make-electric-cars-us-penance#ixzz410H1GdOz

kind of looks a bit like the BMW i3 from the rear; more conventional 5-door hatch body though

 

[paulcone]

EPA comes up with novel way for VW to atone for emissions cheating

http://grist.org/business-technology/epa-comes-up-with-novel-way-for-vw-to-atone-for-emissions-cheating/

 

[o00scorpion00o]

Has anyone seen or heard about this ?

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/28/eu-emissions-limits-nox-car-manufacturers

 

[GRA]

Has anyone seen or heard about this ?

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/28/eu-emissions-limits-nox-car-manufacturers

There've been several articles about it at GCC, ievs, GCR, ABG etc.

 

[redLEAF]

Some may consider this hilarious but at least the VW board member took it in stride and came back with a quick retort ...

VW e-Up! almost receives unwanted defeat device at Geneva motor show

http://autoweek.com/article/geneva-...eat-box-during-press-conference#ixzz41lnuPicy

 

[GRA]

Via GCC (surprised no one beat me to it):

President and CEO of Volkswagen of America steps down

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/03/20160309-horn.html

Volkswagen Group of America today announced the departure of Michael Horn, president and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America. Through mutual agreement with Volkswagen AG, Horn will be leaving to pursue other opportunities effective immediately. . . .

. . . and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. Unless they've got proof he knew about it, this seems a shame, as he's been a lot more forthright than some VW execs higher up the food chain. NYT article covering the same story: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/business/international/volkswagen-us-chief-michael-horn-leaves-the-company.html?_r=0

Meanwhile, via ABG:

CARB official believes full VW diesel fix might not be possible

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/03/09/carb-full-vw-diesel-fix-not-possible-report/

California Air Resources Board enforcement division boss Todd Sax told the state legislature that it might not be possible for Volkswagen to offer a fully compliant fix for its faulty diesel engines. The two sides could compromise so that the automaker lowers the vehicles' emissions but doesn't bring them completely in line with the law, according to Reuters. . . .