There's been some articles on the subject (which is, admittedly complicated, since so many things shoot toxins into the air, and our understanding of its impact

There's been some articles on the subject (which is, admittedly complicated, since so many things shoot toxins into the air, and our understanding of its impact is still uncertain): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/29/vw-emissions-estimated-to-cause-59-premature-us-deaths https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/29/vw-emiss... http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/upshot/how-many-deaths-did-volkswagens-deception-cause-in-us.html http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/upshot/how-many-deaths-did... I guess it's possible to look at these numbers, and compare them to the number of deaths caused by autos in general (even the ones that follow all the rules), and consider it a small thing; something that doesn't justify a massively disruptive response. But, from my perspective, VW made a conscious decision, and an ongoing choice over many years, to violate the law, and caused illegal levels of dangerous emissions in exchange for greater profits. So...I don't think I'm responding irrationally when I am extremely critical of a company that would make those decisions over a span of many years, knowingly trading human life and human health for greater profits. I'm critical of internal combustion auto companies, in general, but I'm not calling for them to be destroyed, and I don't go out of my way to talk trash about them. I'm pretty specific in my ire toward VW (though others have suggested several car manufacturers are pulling similar tricks and emitting illegal and dangerous levels in real world environments), and if that's the case, I'd consider those to be criminal companies, as well. I hope such companies will also be investigated, and also face consequences. But, "everybody's doing it" shouldn't be a defense when the stakes are this high.