vw scandal

[SteveP]

This is almost unimaginable.. these guys thought this emissions scam would never get caught.

Summary. Their clean diesel engines are not clean. The engine alters the reading only when being tested.

I would think jail would be in the picture and a remarkablly large fine.

Will be interesting to watch this develop. Have to be a pretty large group of levels of involvement.

[Too Tall]

Say it ain't so. It will be a HUGE penalty for VW. Steve, I have not read the background. Is this for Euro models also?

[SteveP]

just breaking
I thk its all diesel models.
plenty to come on this I thk.

[monadnocky]

I am shocked... SHOCKED that the presumably hundreds to thousands of people involved in this scam couldn't keep it secret...

Does not look good.... impressive in its scope, though.

[Too Tall]

Just did some reading.

Fine est. at 18 billion + a class action suit from consumers on lost value (I would not have paid that much for the car had I know...)

How could they NOT know this would happen?

[SteveP]

pretty stunning...
of the 12,000* people who knew it was happening...
one probably got fired and threw them under the bus.

* my estimate. not fact based.. like the republican debates

I seem to remember these diesel cars could not be sold in California.. is that still true?
you have to wonder if they will be able to be registered in some states.

the ripples from this are deep.

[MarkC]

18 billion is apparently the maximum possible civil penalty. 37.5K max fine per event times 482K affected cars = 18 billion. The fine will be negotiated / litigated but likely a lot less than 18 when all is done and dusted. Wouldn't surprise me if VW comes out ahead in the end.

This type of corporate malfeasance seems to more and more frequently favor the law breakers. It is almost the perfect crime --> the larger the payout the harder it is for governments to affect a meaningful penalty without hurting uninvolved employees. Maybe need to find the real guilty individuals and let them spend some time breaking rocks in the hot sun?

[robin3mj]

And on a personal, micro level, when they "fix" this shady sleight of hand to make the emission system work all the time, hoe much worse is my gas mileage going to be?
VW charges a tidy premium for the TDI versus the gasser, and the math on that payback period is about to get flushed down the toilet.

[Matthew Strongin]

And on a personal, micro level, when they "fix" this shady sleight of hand to make the emission system work all the time, hoe much worse is my gas mileage going to be?
VW charges a tidy premium for the TDI versus the gasser, and the math on that payback period is about to get flushed down the toilet.

Would you expect it to drive differently, as well?

[robin3mj]

Would you expect it to drive differently, as well?

Honestly, I am the furthest thing from a gear head so I have no idea. Very curious to see how this plays out.
(I should probably stop reading the comments section on Jalopnik...)

[Matthew Strongin]

Honestly, I am the furthest thing from a gear head so I have no idea. Very curious to see how this plays out.
(I should probably stop reading the comments section on Jalopnik...)

Same here. My gear head tendencies are mostly bike. I've been a VW fan for many years, loved my GLI, and planned on another for my next car. This is disappointing on a micro level and shocking on a macro level.
(I will definitely be heading over to Jalopnik...)

[mjbabcock]

18 billion is apparently the maximum possible civil penalty.

This type of corporate malfeasance seems to more and more frequently favor the law breakers. It is almost the perfect crime --> the larger the payout the harder it is for governments to affect a meaningful penalty without hurting uninvolved employees. Maybe need to find the real guilty individuals and let them spend some time breaking rocks in the hot sun?

I'll take $1 billion and 20 years (+99% of earnings) in Graterford for the highest levels of the management team.
Go get em Ms. Lynch

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/10/us...ives.html?_r=0

[SteveP]

Think about the lawsuits from owners also.

In addition to the fines.

Mindboggling.

[Dallas Tex]

Whew. Glad we discovered the only nefarious act of this kind ever perpetrated on the public. That's a load off.....

[Jonathan]

How many people will go in for the recall knowing they will kill the performance?

[SteveP]

this will be the motherload of all time class action suit.
you can bet on it.

law firm will get $6b.
owners will get a $4.00 voucher for purchase of next vw.

[SteveP]

How many people will go in for the recall knowing they will kill the performance?

but it wont pass emissions tests without the recall, so they will have to to get a sticker... right?

who does know... can they sell these cars in california or not?

[Will Neide]

but it wont pass emissions tests without the recall, so they will have to to get a sticker... right?

Do all states do emissions testing on OBD-II cars? They don't in my state. They just plug in and check for codes.

[Saab2000]

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out and I'll bet the rest of the industry is watching closely. I own a VW but not that model. I own a gas-powered 2006 GTI. As for inspections, Virginia does an annual safety inspection but I don't believe they do an emissions test. Not sure though.

There will be a massive lawsuit but in the end I'll bet the total they pay out will be less than the profits they've made from lying. That's how these things work. I was involved in such an event involving my own company and the payout to the aggrieved parties was far less than the company gained by being deceitful even though the judge found them to have been deliberately misleading. The remedy was pennies on the dollar.

Lying and cheating pay for the most part it seems.

[SteveP]

saab,
the like new aged veloflex i sold you actually was on my rear wheel for 1,800 miles.
to compensate you i offer you a certificate worth $.25 off on your next purchase.
stevep enterprises