“It’s the sort of thing you just don’t go around accusing companies of doing unless you’re absolutely sure”, saysJohn German, with the worldwide Council on Clean Transportation – the group that commissioned the test. German immediately suspected Volkswagen had done something not completely unheard of in the vehicle business: install what’s called a defeat device. Matt DeLorenzo, managing editor of news for Kelley Blue Book, guesses VW cheated on the emissions standards for the same reason lazy students cheat: the tests are hard, and passing takes effort-time and money.
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Only when the EPA and the California Air Resources Board refused to approve VW’s 2016 diesel models for sale did the company admit earlier this month what it had done.
The circus that has followed fits a familiar pattern.
Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigned over the scandal but insisted he was not aware of “any wrongdoing on my part”.
The European authorities are investigating over Volkswagen’s issue. “But first VW has to demonstrate to us what they are going to do and that it will be effective”, he said. By September 23, Winterkorn was out.
The testing would be in addition to the standard emissions test cycles already in place, the EPA said.
USA environmental regulators said on Friday they are sending a letter to all automobile manufacturers saying they are stepping up emissions-testing activities in response to Volkswagen’s alleged violations of pollution laws. But VW’s problems differ in striking ways from the safety investigations into General Motors, for defective ignition switches, and Toyota Motor Co., over unintended acceleration. The suit accuses VW of fraudulent concealment and false advertising, among other misdeeds.
Federal regulators are putting USA automakers on notice. The Environment Protection Agency in the U.S. discovered a device in Volkswagen diesel cars that gave false emission tests. “And then after that, when we were getting the data we were like ‘OK, we’re going to write a lot of journal papers, and we’ll be happy if three people read these journal papers.’ That’s our happiness at that point”.
It turns out the iconic Beetle isn’t the only bug in the Volkswagen lineup.
Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s transport minister, said VW had confirmed the affected vehicles include cars with 1.6-litre and 2-litre diesel engines in Europe. Though the technology is widespread throughout Europe, VW invested heavily over the past decade in marketing the concept to Americans as a green alternative to hybrids without the typical trade-offs in acceleration or handling.
“I don’t think it’s fair to say that this would never have been uncovered”, he says. The 35-year-old restaurant owner bought a 2014 Passat TDI.
“They don’t need to know”, Grundler, speaking to reporters on a conference call, said of the automakers. “We’re also seeing the stock of other vehicle companies stocks declining”. What is your take about the current issue involving a trusted vehicle brand, feel free to share and comment below. Google and Uber are both working on self-driving vehicles.
He added that VW vans as well as cars are caught up in the scandal.
In the past the EPA has been mostly focused on emissions from heavy-duty vehicles but it is improving testing of light-duty cars, agency officials said.
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However, the real impact could be in the longer term.
