I think the essay would have been better served getting to what appears to be the point much more directly: - The VW scandal was so shocking because executives

I think the essay would have been better served getting to what appears to be the point much more directly: - The VW scandal was so shocking because executives and engineers exploited a societal taboo against lying - Was sustained for so long by exploiting another taboo against placing personal advantage over honesty - Signs of fraud were dismissed because people assumed successful executives would never violate these taboos, leading them to accept misleading explanations and discounting the possibility of a cover-up.