Jan-09-2017 08:50 AM
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...
Jan-13-2017 02:49 PM
Jan-12-2017 02:19 PM
Jan-12-2017 01:52 PM
Turtle n Peeps wrote:John & Angela wrote:Stefonius wrote:Turtle n Peeps wrote: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.
I didn't read what happens to the cars that are bought back? Are they crushed? If so, that's messed up.
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.
Do you have credible links to those numbers? (not saying they aren't legit, but after the new conference the other day, I'm worried about fake news.) :B
Jan-12-2017 11:54 AM
RPreeb wrote:Wild Card wrote:John & Angela wrote:Stefonius wrote:Turtle n Peeps wrote: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.
I didn't read what happens to the cars that are bought back? Are they crushed? If so, that's messed up.
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.
Uhh, No. This is a United States thing not a world thing. We are the only dumb @$$'s stupid enough to regulate ourselves right into the grave.
I'm sorry, but that's a fairly ignorant comment. Removing environmentally friendly policies would put us closer to the grave than adhering to them. All you have to do is look at the photos of Beijing to see what it would be like if we just ignored vehicle and industrial emissions. The improvement in the air quality of most US cities in the last 30 years can be directly linked what you consider "stupid".
By that I don't mean that everyone needs to drive a Prius (I wouldn't own one myself), but a relatively clean environment is essential to our health and quality of life. If it takes government regulation to achieve that, then such regulation is a necessity. It's been proven time and time again that companies won't take ownership of such precautions on their own.
Jan-12-2017 10:22 AM
Jan-12-2017 10:21 AM
drsteve wrote:R Preeb wrote:
Uhh, No. This is a United States thing not a world thing. We are the only dumb @$$'s stupid enough to regulate ourselves right into the grave.
Much of the advanced world has even stricter standards. I'm confused, though, as to how clean air will kill us?
Jan-12-2017 09:08 AM
John & Angela wrote:Stefonius wrote:Turtle n Peeps wrote: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.
I didn't read what happens to the cars that are bought back? Are they crushed? If so, that's messed up.
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.
Jan-12-2017 09:07 AM
drsteve wrote:I am curious about the new diesel flashes some are doing for MPG could have defeat code in them to meet EPA tests.
It has been unlawful to tamper with or defeat the emissions system of a motor vehicle since the passing of the Clean Air Act. This is probably going to bring more attention to these aftermarket companies.
http://www.motortrend.com/news/epas-real-target-the-automotive-aftermarket/
Jan-12-2017 08:43 AM
R Preeb wrote:
Uhh, No. This is a United States thing not a world thing. We are the only dumb @$$'s stupid enough to regulate ourselves right into the grave.
Jan-12-2017 08:29 AM
Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote: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
Jan-12-2017 08:25 AM
John & Angela wrote:Stefonius wrote:Turtle n Peeps wrote: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.
I didn't read what happens to the cars that are bought back? Are they crushed? If so, that's messed up.
A sad and unnecessary end to a great vehicle.
(snip) 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.
Jan-12-2017 08:14 AM
Wild Card wrote:John & Angela wrote:Stefonius wrote:Turtle n Peeps wrote: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.
I didn't read what happens to the cars that are bought back? Are they crushed? If so, that's messed up.
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.
Uhh, No. This is a United States thing not a world thing. We are the only dumb @$$'s stupid enough to regulate ourselves right into the grave.
Jan-12-2017 07:52 AM
I am curious about the new diesel flashes some are doing for MPG could have defeat code in them to meet EPA tests.
Jan-12-2017 07:35 AM
John & Angela wrote:Stefonius wrote:Turtle n Peeps wrote: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.
I didn't read what happens to the cars that are bought back? Are they crushed? If so, that's messed up.
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.