Volkswagen Group Massive Emissions Fraud Scheme

evnow said:

The hundreds of millions spent by Blink was a disaster. Would this $800M by VW be any different ?

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LTLFTcomposite said:

Also, how do you know it doesn't just displace investments that would have been made otherwise? Maybe Nissan would have spent some $$$ for DC chargers, now they're going to say "thanks VW, we can use that money for an Armada redesign instead".

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LTLFTcomposite said:

I wonder how long that 8 speed transmission would go pulling a 7700lb trailer before it scatters its parts on the road.

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VW won't relaunch 'clean diesels' as part of its US core, execs say

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Automotive News reported Tuesday that Volkwagen's North American chief said the brand won't bring back most of its diesels to the U.S. anytime soon.

“We are not stopping diesel. Wherever diesel makes sense as a package to the car, we’ll continue,” Hinrich Woebcken told Automotive News. “But in reality, we have to accept that the high percentage of diesels that we had before will not come back again.” . . .

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Lawsuit claims VW executives are to blame for emissions scandal
Things are getting worse for Volkswagen, and its current CEO.

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Ever since Volkswagen's emissions-cheating scandal came out, the automaker claimed that a group of rogue engineers were the cause of the defeat devices. While it was rumored that former CEO Martin Winterkorn, who resigned shortly after the news went public, knew about the devices, there's been no evidence out in the public to back the claim up. A recent lawsuit filed by New York and Massachusetts attorneys general accuse Winterkorn and current VW CEO Matthias Müller of being aware about the devices.

According to a report by The New York Times, the suit draws on internal documents that claim Müller knew about the decision to not equip Audi vehicles with the proper equipment needed to meet US standards in 2006. The suit claims that the automaker, with Müller's go ahead, knowingly chose to install the devices onto its vehicles and is the first document that connects the executive to the ongoing scandal.

The suit also claims that more than 24 engineers and managers, including former head of engine and transmission development at VW and Audi Wolfgang Hatz, former head of development for VW Heinz-Jakob Neusser, and former head of development for Audi Ulrich Hackenberg, were involved in the scandal. Due to Germany's privacy laws, the country's prosecutors have only named Winterkorn as a suspect. . . .

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DNAinaGoodWay said:

http://patch.com/massachusetts/beaconhill/mass-ag-suing-volkswagen-again

Be nice if we get more DCFC from this.

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Handelsblatt report: Tensions easing between Volkswagen, California ARB

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Mary Nichols, the Chair of the California Air Resources Board (ARB), says that Volkswagen has improved its cooperation with California regulators to resolve the diesel emissions scandal, according to a snippet from an exclusive interview with her to be published tomorrow (Monday) in Germany’s business and finance daily Handelsblatt. . . .

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VW suspends sales in South Korea ahead of government meeting
VW will stop selling 79 different models starting on July 25.

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. . . VW will halt sales starting on July 25, the same day that its officials are to sit down with the South Korean environmental ministry, which will likely punish the German company. The Wall Street Journal reports that Korea's response to the situation will likely come in the form of an outright sales ban on Volkswagen products by revoking certifications on 79 different models based on 34 different vehicle types. Affected models include the VW Golf, Jetta, and Tiguan and the Audi A3 and A6, the WSJ reports.

Essentially, it looks like VW is merely trying to get out ahead of the South Korean government. If the revocation goes through, it'd likely lead to fines and a relatively large recall of around 79,000 vehicles, the WSJ reports. Despite the dreary forecast, Volkswagen reaffirmed its commitment to the South Korean market. . . .

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Participation sought for survey on perception of Volkswagen brand in US and Germany

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Handelsblatt: Prosecutors expand VW emissions investigation to engineers and managers

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Germany’s Handelsblatt reports that prosecutors in Braunschweig have expanded their investigation over Volkswagen’s diesel emissions cheating scandal to engineers and managers.

Fresh raids were conducted into engineers and managers. The number of managers under investigation has also expanded from 17 to 21 people. . . .

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GRA said:

Let's just say that the marks I gave them for eco-friendliness and trustworthiness will not be making the board of directors happy.

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Washington State slaps VW with $176M fine for diesel cheating
VW called the state's decision "regrettable."

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. . . "It is regrettable that some states have decided to seek environmental claims now, notwithstanding their prior support of this ongoing federal-state collaborative process," the company told Automotive News Europe in a statement.

Washington is the second US state to issue its own fine to the automaker this month, following California's example earlier this month. . . .

The fine isn't set in stone, yet. According to ANE, Volkswagen hasn't said whether it will appeal the punishment. It has 30 days to decide. . . ;.

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New info on how VW, Porsche, Audi V6 TDI engine cheat works
After 22 minutes, the emissions controls shut off. Here's why.

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The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag is reporting that US investigators have found three pieces of software that work in concert to turn off the emissions control equipment in certain diesel models after a set period of time.

The engine in question, the 3.0-liter TDI turbodiesel, was found in certain Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, and Porsche Cayenne models – the sale of which was suspended in the US late last year. Since most emissions compliance testing takes around 20 minutes, the software in the three VW Group models shuts off the emissions control equipment after 22 minutes, a straightforward end run around the testing. . . .

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True confessions of a jilted VW TDI lover
Oil burners I've loved and lost – and the turbocharged future without diesel.

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VW diesel acts were likely criminal, U.S. finds; settlement talks underway

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. . . Justice Department officials have uncovered evidence that would qualify VW's actions as criminal, according to an exclusive report in The Wall Street Journal (may require registration). . . .

Any such settlement would be separate from the $15 billion VW has agreed to spend on compensating owners, buying back or modifying their cars, and established two separate remediation funds to offset emission damage.

Settling the potential U.S. criminal charges would also likely run to several billion dollars, the report says. . . .

Prosecuting specific VW Group employees individually for criminal acts under U.S. law would be complicated by the fact that most of the employees under investigation are German citizens, working in that country. . . .

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