Of course, which is why I say “which we all obviously know” in my post. But what is discussed online is very different vs. what facts are going to be used to support any criminal cases, civil cases, and dare I say it, governmental intervention that plays out. This article helps me understand how that approach may be formed.
Much more evidence will be forthcoming. It will be interesting to see what communications existing amongst the key players and leadership. I suspect this rigid German company over-documented ;).
Short version: expect more EGR, and consequently reduced engine life/reliability. Good news for VW owners in the US: this fix probably won’t be applied to your cars, just to European ones.
Which is bullshit, since the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon and BMW X5 were given certificates of compliance after the EPA confirmed they don’t pollute more on the road than in the lab. Again, what they’re really saying is “it’s impossible to meet US regulations and keep the cars as cheap as you want to sell them for.”
C’mon, VW is just adopting the language of America in calling its fraud a series of “errors”.
We routinely have athletes, politicians and regular citizens framing their crimes and sleazy behavior as “mistakes”, so why shouldn’t VW try the same ploy?
Perhaps they are simply asserting the European “right to be forgotten.” Emails detailing how VW conspired to pollute could really have an impact on VW’s reputation.
I heard an interview with the CEO on Marketplace, probably the same one quoted in the NYT story. He was totally not owning up to fraud or lying. It’s all a misunderstanding and a technical issue. Weasel.
Again, the the comparison between this and how General Motors handled the ignition switch crisis is like night & day. GM admitted from the beginning that they screwed up, and the problem was allowed to fall thru the cracks. VW is acting like a teenager trying to talk his way out of trouble after he crashed the car.
Unfortunately, tho, we’re not talking about teenagers, and I’m seriously starting to wonder if VW might try to use the plant in Chattanooga as a bargaining chip. The governor of Tennessee is already worried that VW might shut down the plant.
Another thought: The theoretical maximum fine the EPA could impose is (IIRC) $46 Billion. If they decide to hit for the bleachers and impose the maximum fine, then I’ll bet VW will decide to walk away from the North American market before it pays the fine. After all, VW may own the European market, but in America they’re a second-string player. Even if the fine is “only” $10 Billion, that would probably eat up VW’s North American profits for the next decade.
Depending on how the math ends up working out, it’s possible they could end up following a strategy of walking away from the US for a few years, and then (when there’s a different administration in the White House) they’d come back and offer to re-enter the US market (creating a lot of jobs) if the US agrees to forget about that little “misunderstanding.” I can definitely see them using the threat of walking away (destroying thousands of jobs) to try to strongarm the government into imposing a relatively small fine.
But nobody who is making decisions on what VW penalties may have to pay gives a rat’s ass about some Tennessee plant. It’s 2,500 jobs. Why would CARB – which seems in the driver’s seat in terms of determining the technical fix to the problem – or the plaintiffs in the class action suit, or the Federal judge in California overseeing the suit, care about 2,500 jobs in Tennessee?
If VW threatened to abandon the United States, either by closing the factory or as a strategic decision, it would make everything worse. Like you said, GM owned up to its mistakes, and for VW to literally run and hide from the law would make this scandal a thousand times worse.
No clue. But if the country of Argentina could end up in a U.S. court sued by some investor hedge funds for trying to devalue their bonds, I suspect VW could be hooked in somehow.
I guess my observation would be that the U.S. is typically probusiness and will actively look for ways to slap a wrist and move on. Were any Financial players convicted coming out of the Recession? But if you behave like VW, it appears like they are actively asking to be put in their place.
Corporate malfeasance doesn’t usually involve jail time, unless you’re talking about something wildly malevolent. So-called “criminal charges” usually involve just levelling a fine, and perhaps forcing an agreement for better oversight.
Argentina has to deal with US courts because they’re broke and need access to the US credit market. If they could get money somewhere else, they would happily e-mail a picture of their middle finger to their US creditors.
The French government has announced that several of Renault’s vehicles do not comply with their air quality standards, but that it appears to be a case of sloppy/unsupervised testing, not intentional fraud.
ETA: Diceman, yeah, I was just being silly. But I do think a large class-action suit will happen in the U.S. and that there will be some sort of deeper action by the U.S. government, but not sure what shape it will take.
Well, it was an active conspiracy, approved and vetted by the top management of the company. At the very least, the senior management CEO, board of directors are guilty of fraud, misrepresentation, and violation of USA EPA laws. They could easily face jail time, if convicted in a Federal Court. It is sorta like DeBeers…you won’t see any DeBeers Mines executives travelling to the USA-they would be subject to immediate arrest. As for VW playing “hardball” (threatening to close a USA plant iof the charges are not dropped)-that would cause serious diplomatic rifts between the USA and Germany.
Most likely, VW will mount a big “public apology” campaign, and pay a lot of Washington lawyers to get the charges dropped.