F.B.I. Arrests Volkswagen Executive

[BenK]

About time corporate CEO's get held accountable for their management decisions and/or mandates !!!!!!


F.B.I. Arrests Volkswagen Executive on Conspiracy Charge in Emissions Scandal

NYTimes wrote:


The F.B.I. has arrested a Volkswagen executive in Florida, accusing him of playing a central role in a broad conspiracy to keep United States regulators from discovering that diesel vehicles made by the company were programmed to cheat on emissions tests.

The executive, Oliver Schmidt, a German who is the former top emissions compliance manager for Volkswagen in the United States, was arrested on Saturday by investigators in Florida on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. He is expected to be arraigned on Monday.

The arrest of Mr. Schmidt is an escalation of the criminal investigation into emissions cheating by Volkswagen and comes amid talks between the company and the United States Justice Department about what penalties the carmaker should accept as part of a settlement.

After a study by West Virginia University first raised questions over Volkswagen’s diesel motors in early 2014, Mr. Schmidt played a central role in trying to convince regulators that excess emissions were caused by technical problems rather than by deliberate cheating, Ian Dinsmore, an F.B.I. agent, said in a sworn affidavit used as the basis for Mr. Schmidt’s arrest.

Mr. Schmidt deceived American regulators “by offering reasons for the discrepancy other than the fact that VW was intentionally cheating on U.S. emissions tests, in order to allow VW to continue to sell diesel vehicles in the United States,” the affidavit said.

Mr. Schmidt continued to represent Volkswagen after the company admitted in September that cars were programmed to dupe regulators. He appeared before a committee of the British Parliament in January, telling legislators that Volkswagen’s behavior was not illegal in Europe.



snip...

[hone_eagle]

And in other but related news Fiat/Chrysler stock trades are halted due to a Epa charge of cheating on diesel emissions.

Thats gona hurt

[mich800]

STANG23L wrote:
The VW scandal has shaken up the industry for sure. And it was just announced that Fiat Chrysler will be investigated for defeat software.

Which I am not surprised as all 2017 Ecodiesel's have been delayed and have yet to hit dealer lots. Here's to hoping my truck is in the clear and it is just Cummins that will be the problem?

I have been thinking about that. I am curious about the new diesel flashes some are doing for MPG could have defeat code in them to meet EPA tests. There could be some wide nets cast after all this shakes out.

[STANG23L]

The VW scandal has shaken up the industry for sure. And it was just announced that Fiat Chrysler will be investigated for defeat software.

Which I am not surprised as all 2017 Ecodiesel's have been delayed and have yet to hit dealer lots. Here's to hoping my truck is in the clear and it is just Cummins that will be the problem?

[John___Angela]

Stefonius wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I didn't read what happens to the cars that are bought back? Are they crushed? If so, that's messed up.

VW is required to make it so that the engine cannot be reused. The car can be junked as-is provided that a certain number of holes of a certain size are drilled through the engine block. It is also acceptable to crush or shred the car.

A sad and unnecessary end to a great vehicle.

Sad yes, unnecessary, they could not be made to comply so that is the fault of the manufacturer. Clean air trumps everything and manufacturers need to know they can not deliberately deceive governments. This is not a Canadian thing or an American thing this is a world wide thing. A TDI puts out 40 times more pollution than what it was advertised to produce. That is simple false advertising. A TDI emits 600 times more emissions than a Prius. Just because you can't easily see it doesn't make it any less harmful to health.

[brulaz]

And now 5 more German execs have been indited (sp?).

But I doubt they will ever again visit the US, and probably will not be extradited by Germany?

[Stefonius]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I didn't read what happens to the cars that are bought back? Are they crushed? If so, that's messed up.

VW is required to make it so that the engine cannot be reused. The car can be junked as-is provided that a certain number of holes of a certain size are drilled through the engine block. It is also acceptable to crush or shred the car.

A sad and unnecessary end to a great vehicle.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

I didn't read what happens to the cars that are bought back? Are they crushed? If so, that's messed up.

[Stefonius]

BillL1356 wrote:

Stefonius wrote:

BillL1356 wrote:
We just turned in our 2012 Passat yesterday. Total shame, it was the best car I have ever owned. Plenty of power, torque, very reliable and the mileage was outstanding.

Despite VW's problems we liked the Passat enough that we bought the gas version to replace the TDI. The new Passat is also a very nice car.

If it was the best car you ever owned, why didn't you just keep it?

It made no ecconomic sense to keep a car that was worth 1/2 what VW is paying me. I took the money and ran.

Ahh. I tend to keep cars for at least ten years. They're not worth anything when I'm done. I've never had to consider trade-in value. 🙂

[BillL1356]

Stefonius wrote:

BillL1356 wrote:
We just turned in our 2012 Passat yesterday. Total shame, it was the best car I have ever owned. Plenty of power, torque, very reliable and the mileage was outstanding.

Despite VW's problems we liked the Passat enough that we bought the gas version to replace the TDI. The new Passat is also a very nice car.

If it was the best car you ever owned, why didn't you just keep it?

It made no ecconomic sense to keep a car that was worth 1/2 what VW is paying me. I took the money and ran.

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

sky_free wrote:

Bedlam wrote:
I don't believe the current owners have a choice. They will not be able to renew registration due to non-compliance to US standards.

Actually, they will be able to register it according to the settlement terms. VW is paying a large fine to "pay for" their over-emissions for the approx. 15% of people who choose to keep the cars. If they don't reach the 85% mark, they have to pay more depending on whatever the percentage is.

They are bribing us to turn in our cars so they don't have to pay more fines. The payout is so good that even though it is the best car I've ever owned it would be stupid to not sell it back. With 112K on it, the market value would be much less than half of the $ I will get by turning it in.

Not completely true, only the 2.0 can renew the vehicle registration.
"What vehicles are covered under the consent decree?
The consent decree covers all 2.0L diesel vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen and Audi between 2009 and 2015. These include:

VW Jetta Sport Wagen (MY 2009 - 2014)
Audi A3 (MY 2010 - 2013, 2015)
VW Beetle (MY 2013 - 2015)
VW Golf (MY 2010 - 2015)
VW Jetta (MY 2009 - 2015)
VW Passat (MY 2012 - 2015)
VVW Golf Sport Wagen (MY 2015)
The consent decree does not cover 3.0L diesel vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche that the governments allege are also equipped with defeat devices. These vehicles will be addressed later." note this is for California not sure how this affects other states. Note this is from Dec.16, 2016 LINK

For those who say it's a great vehicle and makes great mileage....well no kidding they turned off the emissions so it could make that mileage. I owned a tdi Jetta and loved it. Was it flawless? No, no it wasn't. Was it a great car? Yes, yes it was and if I was not working for FCA I would own another tdi in a minute!

Don

[John___Angela]

VW realized that to pursue the TDI development was a waste of time as cities like Paris, Berlin and many others were simply never going to let them in the city again as they are trying to reduce smog using every means available. This isn't about green house gases, this is about pollution. The exhaust systems alone were going to be north of 11,000 dollars and thats if they could get them to work. Even if the USA dismantles the EPA some cities like LA will be looking so close at them that it just won't be worth it to try and make it work.

I would expect VW to be putting all of its efforts into developing a full line of electric vehicles, no chance of rejection in any market. Give em a couple years, they'll bounce back....maybe. It will be interesting to see how they will compete with the technology companies offerings in the next 4 years. Google, apple and Uber are all releasing a car in the next 4 years, none of which will be sold through a dealer network.

[brulaz]

pconroy328 wrote:
According to the complaint, it goes higher than Schmidt:

"An FBI complaint unsealed on Monday against Schmidt said he and other VW employees told executive management about the "existence, purpose and characteristics" of an emissions cheating device in July 2015, and that the executives chose not to immediately disclose it to U.S. regulators."


But looks like his concerns fell on deaf ears:

"Even as the company obfuscated details of its cheating program from regulators, Mr. Schmidt warned executives in Germany that the company could face criminal charges for its actions, the affidavit says."


We'll see how high they can get.

They got Schmidt when he came back to the US briefly.

The "executives in Germany" will probably not be visiting the US any time soon.

For some reason (German laws are different?) extradition does not seem to be an option. Or maybe Schmidt has just not specified who these German Execs are.

[sky_free]

Bedlam wrote:
I don't believe the current owners have a choice. They will not be able to renew registration due to non-compliance to US standards.

Actually, they will be able to register it according to the settlement terms. VW is paying a large fine to "pay for" their over-emissions for the approx. 15% of people who choose to keep the cars. If they don't reach the 85% mark, they have to pay more depending on whatever the percentage is.

They are bribing us to turn in our cars so they don't have to pay more fines. The payout is so good that even though it is the best car I've ever owned it would be stupid to not sell it back. With 112K on it, the market value would be much less than half of the $ I will get by turning it in.

[pconroy328]

According to the complaint, it goes higher than Schmidt:

"An FBI complaint unsealed on Monday against Schmidt said he and other VW employees told executive management about the "existence, purpose and characteristics" of an emissions cheating device in July 2015, and that the executives chose not to immediately disclose it to U.S. regulators."


But looks like his concerns fell on deaf ears:

"Even as the company obfuscated details of its cheating program from regulators, Mr. Schmidt warned executives in Germany that the company could face criminal charges for its actions, the affidavit says."


We'll see how high they can get.

[Bedlam]

I don't believe the current owners have a choice. They will not be able to renew registration due to non-compliance to US standards.