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> selling millions of vehicles VW sold approximately 475000 affected diesel vehicles in the US (compared to approx. 84.5 million car sales in the same time per
by dom0 9y ago
> selling millions of vehicles
VW sold approximately 475000 affected diesel vehicles in the US (compared to approx. 84.5 million car sales in the same time period).
- ams6110 9y agoThis has always been my problem with the whole case. Yes they violated the law and yes they probably should be some punishment but the real impact was almost nothing, the vehicles would have met the restrictions of only a few years prior, and the limits are almost entirely arbitrary and politically motivated.
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoI agree. If we weren't on a forum filled with mostly people from CA who take for granted things like byzantine HOA rules and intrusive bylaws we'd be questioning why emissions requirements made "screw it, we're cheating on this one" a defensible decision for anyone at VW. You shouldn't have to break the law to be competitive.
- simonh 9y agoHow many other car manufacturers broke the law in this way? We're none of the ones that didn't competitive? What a patently ridiculous argument.
- dom0 9y agoLast time I checked all tested diesel cars displayed anomalies between their supposed emissions and their actual emissions. So at this point: Likely all car makers. And while this hasn't been public knowledge, it is not that surprising, because it has been public knowledge how much the mileage tests are gamed, so it's not surprising that all other tests are gamed as well (and, specifically, using defeat devices is also illegal).
- Reason077 9y agoThe technology exists for diesel engines to meet emissions regulations. However, German car-makers secretly formed an agreement not to use certain emissions reduction technologies (such as large, refillable AdBlue tanks) in order to save money: https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/24/16021292/german-car-companies-cartel-diesel-emissions-90s https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/24/16021292/german-car-compa...
- rurban 9y agoThere were a few who actually didn't cheat, or pulled out of the market. Opel is a prominent one as I remember.
- greglindahl 9y ago"Screw it, we know how to meet the law, but we want to save money" is what VW did. Not only did it result in people dying from air pollution, it also left their competition wondering how VW did it so inexpensively.
- tripzilch 9y agothe competition didn't get caught.
- Retric 9y agoIt likely resulted in multiple deaths from air pollution. Now, yes worldwide 100,000's of people die every year from air pollution but simply giving up is a poor solution. Further, you can't make getting caught have similar penalties vs. cheating or you promote cheating as having zero downsides.
- valuearb 9y agoThey knew the law, knew their obligations under the law and broke it with clear intent. How is prosecution arbitrary or politically motivated?