The discovery of intentional fraud committed by VW in installing secret software to defeat EPA standards is quite shocking, and will lead to billions of dollars in recalls, lawsuits, and possible criminal lawsuits. Nevertheless, as the NYT points out today, carmakers from many companies have a long history of trying to deceive the regulators. The damage to Germany's reputation for precision and rectitude, these days, certainly will be serious. I feel sorry for anyone stuck with a VW Diesel, as it apparently spews out 40 times the EPA recommendations for pollutants, and after it is recalled, who knows what kind of gas milage it will get.
Of course, VW has never been my favorite company. It was sponsored by Hitler during WW II as the the Folk Car that every German family could have, and 80% of VW labor during the war was supplied by concentration camps. Speaking of Hitler, here's one of those parodies of him venting about the VW problem.
The discovery of intentional fraud committed by VW in installing secret software to defeat EPA standards is quite shocking, and will lead to billions of dollars in recalls, lawsuits, and possible criminal lawsuits. Nevertheless, as the NYT points out today, carmakers from many companies have a long history of trying to deceive the regulators. The damage to Germany's reputation for precision and rectitude, these days, certainly will be serious. I feel sorry for anyone stuck with a VW Diesel, as it apparently spews out 40 times the EPA recommendations for pollutants, and after it is recalled, who knows what kind of gas milage it will get.
Of course, VW has never been my favorite company. It was sponsored by Hitler during WW II as the the Folk Car that every German family could have, and 80% of VW labor during the war was supplied by concentration camps. Speaking of Hitler, here's one of those parodies of him venting about the VW problem.