ydooby

Actually VW's cheating software is more sophisticated than you think. It uses various sensors to activate its emission test mode only when the barometer indicates that the car is indoor, and when the engine is being revved but the four wheels aren't all spinning at the speeds they should be. In other words, one can't possibly trigger the emission test mode outside a lab.

LoveCT

From NY Times,

The members of the presidium have determined that Prof. Dr. Winterkorn had no knowledge of manipulation of emission values,” the group said.

That statement immediately raised the question of why Mr. Winterkorn needed to resign if he had not known about the manipulation. One answer might be that Volkswagen has long been known as a top-down organization, where even relatively minor decisions require approval from the high-rise executive office building, topped by a giant VW grill ornament, which looms over the company’s vast main factory in Wolfsburg, Germany.


Funny, how everything bad that is found big or small, the CEO will have no knowledge of it. But everything else is fine, the CEO's will claim. Something like when a staff brings up an illegal solution to a problem, "I didn't hear that". LOL

bagwell

Following Martin Winterkorn's resignation from the world's largest car company a few minutes ago, the company's Supervisory Board put out a numbered list of "conclusions" it has reached about the growing emissions scandal that threatens to bring the entire company down.

The verbiage is mostly what you'd expect from a handful of suits who are suddenly scrambling to prevent an enormous global institution from falling like a Jenga tower, but it still reads a little strangely.

Here are the weirdest bits.

1. "The Executive Committee notes that Professor Dr. Winterkorn had no knowledge of the manipulation of emissions data."

Is this to say that Winterkorn told the board he didn't know this systematic undermining of federal emissions regulations was going on for six years, and they wrote it down on a notepad?

Do they actually believe him?

2. "The Executive Committee thanks Dr. Winterkorn for towering contributions in the past decades and for his willingness to take responsibility in this criticall [sic] phase for the company. This attitude is illustrious."

"Illustrious" isn't the first word I would've chosen.

3. "All participants in these proceedings that has resulted in unmeasurable harm for Volkswagen, will be subject to the full consequences."

Full Consequences sounds like a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. (Actually, it might be?) In reality, this seems to be a euphemism for termination of employment. Inasmuch that the world's justice departments are interested in prosecuting individual employees — which they may be — "full consequences" could also mean prison time.

4. "The Executive Committee have decided that the company will voluntarily submit a complaint to the State Prosecutors' office in Brunswick."

Prosecutors in Brunswick, Germany had already announced their intention to investigate Volkswagen employees over the scandal, but it seems like VW is being aggressively helpful here by ... filing a complaint against its own staff?

5. "The Executive Committee proposes that the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG create a special committee, under whose leadership further clarifying steps will follow, including the preparation of the necessary consequences."

Preparation of the Necessary Consequences is the action-packed prequel to Full Consequences.

6. "Volkswagen is a magnificent company that depends on the efforts of hundreds of thousands of people."

Depends on the efforts of hundreds of thousands of people? Yes — and the overwhelming majority of those are not complicit in the disgusting deception that Volkswagen underwrote over the last decade. "Magnificent company," though? At the moment, I'd take issue with that.

Maybe putting the Mission E into production would help.


http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/23/93...diesel-scandal

roadbike56

Lost in most of the conversation is, the EPA contacted VW on this issue several times. Instead of fessing up, VW tried deception. In the US, that's serious, someone from VW USA could be in for some serious consequences if they lied to a US Federal investigator.
I'm a consultant to big Pharma/Biotec firms that get into trouble with the government. I don't work in the automotive industry, but based on how big companies work, I doubt that one department at VW decided to go rogue and violate EPA standards on one engine. I don't think all the wrongdoing has been uncovered and I would not be at all surprised to find other VW/Audi products are falsifying test results or using computers to get around a requirement. After all, this isn't the first time VW violated EPA standards. They were fined in the 70s for violations. We'll see how deep the US and EU want to push this but I'm certain that right now, plans are being made to test other VW/Audi products and not just for emissions.

spwolf

indeed... it uses many paramters to ensure that it is only activated in lab during EPA testing. This is what makes it sophisticated deception.

JDR76

http://wot.motortrend.com/volkswagen...s_scandal.html

JDR76

I didn't realize there were tax credits on these engines in the past.

http://wot.motortrend.com/taxpayers_...w_diesels.html

Och

iTrader: (3)

No, I don't think that's how the software works at all. From what I understand the software detects when emissions inspection takes place, and alters the way the engine operates to the point where it actually produces very low emissions. That might include reducing fuel delivery (FYI, diesels don't care about air to fuel ratio, so you can run a diesel very "lean"), substantially raising engine and catalyst operating temperatures, enabling EGR even at full throttle, changing turbo pressure, and/or whatever else VW's engineers could come up with. All of these would reduce engine power output by a huge margin, alter driveability, reduce efficiency but pass inspection. Also, the engine probably can't operate in this mode during long term, its likely only suitable for a short emissions test. When I took my diesel for emissions test, they only run the engine for maybe 10-15 minutes with a sniffer installed into tail pipe. With petrol engines they don't even do the sniffer test, just read the data from the ECU.

Sulu

For the CEO to fall on his own sword (and take responsibility for the bad actions of his company and its employees) was always the honourable thing to do. You can still expect this to be done in cultures where personal honour is still highly regarded, including Japan and Korea; it seems to have fallen out of favour in North America, however.

Remember that the last CEO of GM (before Mary Barra), Dan Akerson, resigned just before the faulty ignition switch scandal broke? He did not fall on his sword. Mary Barra was lucky enough (and smart enough, no doubt), not to be pushed onto an unsheathed sword.

LeX2K

I hope for your sake this is supposed to be satire.

mmarshall

Falling on one's sword is one thing....but when the average CEO of a large firm today "resigns", he or she usually eaves with a pretty healthy retirement and/or severance-package....plus with what they have already earned. He or she is not likely to be sleeping on any grates.



ignition-switches or not, Akerson actually did a lot of good at GM. Under his watch (and with some help from Bob Lutz), GM finally started to switch from a firm making cheap rental-grade junk-mobiles to making respectable products. That pattern continued (and increased) with Mary Barra.

My0gr81

No, in the corporate world, it's all about the severance package. Resigning before the investigation absolves the board on the payout, should the investigation uncover any wrongdoing. For the individual, he/she can then look for something else, specially if the investigation comes up empty.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

ok folks, i've removed the posts about hitler and slaves... way too far off topic. thank you.

Vladi

In order to clean their name I expect VW Group to blast into PHEV and EV market very aggressively while Toyota claims how battery technology is not good enough for RX PHEV or some rubbish to that extent.

Mr Bond

The German government announced that this cheating has been done with Euro cars as well, the 1,6 - 2,0 diesels. They dont know how many cars yet, but I am sure that those engines stands for at least 80 % of the total VW/ Audi diesel sales in Europe.