VW scandal over engine emissions


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If it is found that certain cars are the wrong side of the emissions league table what might this mean for the ordinary family driver and indeed company car drivers?

I seem to think that road tax is based on the emissions of particular models and company car drivers have their personnel tax adjusted each year against these emissions.

If over a period of time someone has used a car in the wrong band (due to this finding) are the government going to want the tax back?

How long has this been going on?

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They face fines of billions of dollars over here for that little problem, so many thousands per day per vehicle, estimated at over 35,000 vehicles. And still no recall of Vw's and Audis as of yet. And the fines keep climbing.....I'll bet this puts them on a bankcruptcy level in the US before it's finished.

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A valid point was made on the T.V. last night. A 'foreign' car was the subject of the research and findings of the U.S.A. - American cars, e.g. Ford or Chrysler, were not investigated. It was said on the T.V. that our tests are more stringent (?) but this could be the opening of a mighty can of worms.

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It's simply greed.

Lying and cheating.

Whizz kids thinking that they can bend the rules to suit themselves and no-one will notice.

A bit like the Toyota debacle of a few years ago when they started using cheap parts in high price luxury vehicles and when things started to fail they denied there was a problem. Unfortunately people started dying before they admitted that they were at fault.

Such things destroy reputations and brand names built up over many decades.

It is down to executives.

That's why the CEO Martin Winterkorn is a goner !

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The cars in question were diesel engined and made at VW America's plant in Tennessee, not imported. Chrysler is owned by a European car company, both Ford and General Motors are now international companies, all three of the "big three" get into regulatory trouble pretty often. There is no bias on the US regulatory agencies, they just want fossil fueled vehicles off the road period..

California is in the process of introducing new regulations for big rig diesel engines that none of the diesel engine manufacturers will be able to meet. That will add an extra tax on diesel fuel...Who will end up paying??? The consumer of course.

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They call them Hybrids and charge you extra !

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Slightly off topic but similar dishonesty issues. Guy over here, some kind of hedge fund manager bought a phamaceutical company. Then he proceeds to jack up the price of one of it's main products 5000%. $14 pills that folks depend on for certain life threatening condiions now over $700 each. He was interviewed on the news and was quite arrogant about it. Mid thirties greedy little yuppie. There is a hot place in you know where reserved for such greedy, selfish arrogant little......... End of rant but it just rattles my chain. Greed and dishonesty just get more abrasive every day. If they are ever sorry it is just because they got caught.

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Nothing new, everbody's at it today...........

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Re. #16

Yes. That's a drug that treats HIV.

What a complete and utter scumbag.

Unfortunately this kind of untrammelled greed and avarice was encouraged during the 80's and it's still rife now.

These are people who are devoid of morality, who expect to be praised for being complete and utter bastards.

It would be a shame if this guy suddenly contracted HIV and then had to buy these drugs from someone else to stay alive.

If only Karma was instant.

Corporate scandals like VW and other notable scams like Olympus and Parmalat show that people will quite willingly lie through their teeth for the sake of profit - and they are arrogant enough to believe that they can get away with it.

The CEO of VW may have resigned but there must be a whole raft of executives involved.

Someone at the highest level must have suggested it, approved it, signed it off and knew that it was wrong.

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As I understand it, some American states; California in particular, does not have the equivalent of our MOT but does test (yearly?) for exhaust emlssions. If the emission figures for the VWs was over the limit then why was it not recognised before now?

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Probably because they only test an engine idling.

Missouri has a vehicle checkover each year, but no emission tests, Arkansas has neither, California only has an emission test, not sure if that applies to diesel engines though.

Gas engines are tested for nitrous oxide and CO emissions.

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The problem was known in May 2013 and made public around a year and a half ago, according to this article

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/volkswagen-emissions-meet-the-the-man-who-accidentally-discovered-the-scandal-10515626.html

VW did a recall in April in the USA to amend software to try and appease the regulators

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/volkswagen-emissions-scandal-car-manufacturer-issued-recall-in-april-to-appease-suspicious-10515151.html

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