German ministers were reportedly warned...

[wemay]

German ministers were reportedly warned of VW test-beating software

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/09/24/...ating-software/

German government ministers reportedly turned a blind eye to Volkswagen installing cheat devices to fool U.S. diesel emissions tests, raising the possibility that the mushrooming scandal could cause embarrassment for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Britain's Daily Telegraph, citing a German parliamentary answer, reports that German ministers were warned months ago of "defeat device" software installed on Volkswagen’s diesel cars. The transport ministry answered a parliamentary question about the country's car industry on July 28 saying, "The federal government is award of (defeat devices), which have the goal of (test) cycle detection," according to The Telegraph.

The paper reported that while the government's statement did not specifically mention Volkswagen, the question that precipitated it, from a member of the country's Green Party, implied that the carmaker engaged in such practices.

“The government told us in July that it knew about this software, which has been used in the U.S.A.,” Green Party Deputy Leader Oliver Krischer told Germany's N24 television Wednesday. “It’s clear they knew the software was widely in use."

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Volkswagen sent recall letters to California owners of its diesel-powered cars this past April, telling them to take their cars to a dealer for new software that the company said would ensure emissions were "optimized and operating efficiently."

Reuters reported that the company had sent the letters in an effort to fend off suspicious U.S. regulators who investigating discrepancies between the company's laboratory emissions test results and the amount of real-world pollution emitted by the cars.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) confirmed to Reuters that the letters were part of a voluntary recall that the state agency, the EPA, and Volkswagen had agreed to in December of last year. At the time, the car maker insisted that the discrepancy stemmed from a simple technical glitch.

"This is one of the fixes they presented to us as a potential solution." CARB spokesman Dave Clegern told Reuters. "It didn't work."

 

[OneEyeJack]

While you can watch the Germans figure out their end of the deal you can watch or very own EPA start dancing around claiming they discovered the problem. The next part of the dance will be to expand and grow the budget. The problem with EPA claims is that their only business to to punish the sometimes even imaginary transgressions. VW has supplied them with the very kind of windfall that drives the EPA. The two parties harmed, the VW customers and the environment will be long forgotten before the EPA is done.

 

[wemay]

After year of stonewalling, Volkswagen stunned U.S. regulators with confession (sequence of events)

http://foxsportswausau.com/news/articles...ith-confession/

After more than a year of stonewalling investigators, Volkswagen stunned two senior officials with the U.S. Environmental Protective Agency and California's environmental watchdog by admitting the automaker hacked its own cars to deceive U.S. regulators about how much their diesel engines pollute.

That disclosure on Aug. 21, confirmed by two people with knowledge of the exchange, shows Volkswagen buckled to pressure from environmental regulators almost a month earlier than the scandal was made public. The admission to regulators came after a year during which VW officials insisted to regulators that tests on its diesel cars showing a spike in pollution levels on the road were in error.

U.S. officials exposed the deception on Sept. 18, triggering Volkswagen's admission that it had installed software in its cars to detect when they were being tested and alter settings to conceal the true emissions of 11 million cars sold worldwide. The delay between VW's confession and the U.S. exposure of the scandal occurred as regulators prepared their response to the disclosure.

As a result, Volkswagen, the world's largest automaker by sales, faces EPA fines that could reach $18 billion, class action and other lawsuits that could add billions of dollars more in liability and a U.S. criminal investigation. VW's leadership is in turmoil after chairman Martin Winterkorn was forced to resign and sources said other executives including the head of U.S operations were soon to follow.

Now, the story of how investigators unraveled systemic cheating in the face of consistent denials from the company may have implications for the sanctions VW will face and for an auto industry certain to face more scrutiny about its environmental claims. The company's lack of cooperation could figure into punitive action by the government.

At first, regulators were surprised that Volkswagen would make its confession at the conference, held in Pacific Grove, California. Minutes before Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA's transportation and air quality office, was to deliver a 9 a.m. speech to the conference, a Volkswagen representative told him about the deception. At the same meeting, representatives of the California Air Resources Board, a state agency that had been pushing VW hard, were also given a verbal notice of the deception, people with knowledge of the events said.

Volkswagen declined to comment on the sequence of events described to Reuters. It isn't clear who the VW representative was who delivered the news of the deception to Grundler and the CARB. Stuart Johnson, head of VW's engineering and environmental office in the United States, was registered to attend the Aug. 21 conference, which was organized by the University of California, Davis. Johnson, who still works for VW in Auburn Hills, Michigan, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Norbert Krause, who was head of VW's U.S. environmental office until 2009 and who retired from VW in 2011, said nobody at Volkswagen of America was involved in the process of engineering the diesel cars.

"I don't know anything about the modification of the software," Krause said when reached by telephone in Germany. "The software was okay when we certified the vehicle and we made our durability runs. Everything was fine."

DECEPTION ACKNOWLEDGED

A formal acknowledgement of the deception came on Sept. 3, when the EPA and California officials held a conference call with Volkswagen executives in Germany and the U.S. During the call, the automaker went over written details provided to the participants explaining how software used in its diesel cars was able to manipulate emissions tests in the United States.

That admission came after the EPA threatened to withhold approval for the company's 2016 Volkswagen and Audi diesel models, according to a letter sent by the EPA to Johnson and VW's attorney. The letter detailed some of the timetable of the EPA's actions.

So ended 15 months of back-and-forth between Volkswagen and U.S. and California regulators who had come to suspect that the diesel engines were producing higher nitrogen oxide emissions during normal driving conditions than what was certified by the EPA and California, people involved said. Nitrogen oxide emissions have been linked to smog and acid rain.

 

[CourierDriver]

It will be a money trail, just wait and see, always a money trail. Act 2 will begin soon and new actors will pop up.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: wemay



Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Volkswagen sent recall letters to California owners of its diesel-powered cars this past April, telling them to take their cars to a dealer for new software that the company said would ensure emissions were "optimized and operating efficiently."


If I got one of these letters I'd immediately go to an owner forum (like vwvortex or tdiclub) to see who got the flash and how they like it. On a car like this there have to be people that drive 50k a year and are hyper into their cars' performance.

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: wemay



Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Volkswagen sent recall letters to California owners of its diesel-powered cars this past April, telling them to take their cars to a dealer for new software that the company said would ensure emissions were "optimized and operating efficiently."


If I got one of these letters I'd immediately go to an owner forum (like vwvortex or tdiclub) to see who got the flash and how they like it. On a car like this there have to be people that drive 50k a year and are hyper into their cars' performance.


But apparently it didn't work so the proposed 'fix' must be more aggressive.

 

[Reg# 43897]

I'm betting that current, up-to-now satisfied TDI operators ain't gonna like the 'fix' that is jammed down their throats for this one. Poorer felt performance & reduced efficiency is in the offing.

If I had one, there's no way in [censored] that I'd be letting anybody re-flash my TDI... No way, no how.

John.

 

[InfmousCornholio]

$18 billion is a LOT of money.

Kiss any Veyron profits good-bye - oh, wait, didn't they LOSE money on each of those?? ...

 

[Panzerman]

This isn't the first time engine makers got caught. Catapillar and Detriot Diesel both got caught cheating on emissions. Cummins is the ones that turned them in. Catapillar finally just said F it and got out of the heavy truck motors all together. Now they drag C-15 engines out of junk yard rebuild them and put them in glider kits. No body wants the new emission ridden new trucks.

 

[Burt]

Originally Posted By: Reg# 43897
I'm betting that current, up-to-now satisfied TDI operators ain't gonna like the 'fix' that is jammed down their throats for this one. Poorer felt performance & reduced efficiency is in the offing.

If I had one, there's no way in [censored] that I'd be letting anybody re-flash my TDI... No way, no how.

John.


That's okay. The regulators just won't allow you to drive it. But feel free to sit in it and look at it.

 

[Burt]

What gripes me is the CEO saying he was shocked to find out about this. Like he found out last week. Excuse me, but the only reason VW fessed up was that the EPA wasn't going to allow you to sell cars. Are you telling me that while this took years to come to a head, you only found out recently? Typical CEO drivel.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Originally Posted By: Burt


That's okay. The regulators just won't allow you to drive it. But feel free to sit in it and look at it.


Nope, not going to happen, now a state like CA might try that but you can bet that it will likely be the only one. As for the feds trying to prevent them from being driven as is, never will happen.

 

[DaveInIreland]

Meanwhile, VW's venture into commercial aviation is proving a winner...

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: DaveInIreland
Meanwhile, VW's venture into commercial aviation is proving a winner...

2016 Toureg i believe...with a sunroof.

 

[dlundblad]

Ah yes. The guberment getting in on a corporation's business.

Seeing how Germany's top exports are autos, I understand why they wanted to keep this hush hush.

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: dlundblad

Seeing how Germany's top exports are autos, I understand why they wanted to keep this hush hush.


Great point.