VW Faces $17B Fine for Emissions Scam

Good point!

I went back to the original image and added the 2006 EPA composite lines:

• The claim that this diesel model gets better than EPA composite is sustained.
  • However, the claim has no utility when comparing Prius and Jetta MPG
• The same year Prius still gets substantially higher MPG.
  • Curious, the pattern is consistent with the cheat-diesel software hack

Bob Wilson

 

Actually, I came to share this: BMW Delaying Launch of 2017 U.S. Diesels | TheDetroitBureau.com

Even as Volkswagen continues to face new problems related to its cheating on diesel emissions testing, other automakers are facing collateral damage.

The latest to be hit is BMW, the automaker confirming that it will delay the launch of its 2017 diesel models because U.S. regulators want to be sure they comply with federal emissions standards.

While the maker said there has been “no indication” that its oil burners don’t meet federal rules, the testing process has been delayed, according to various media sources, which will mean that models such as the 2017 BMW 328d sedan and xDrive35d won’t reach showrooms at the same time as the rest of the ’17 line-up.
. . .​

The irony is a BMW was the field tested unit that showed there are honest diesels. Perhaps just one but it exists. Yet BMW's business plan is impacted by the cheat-diesel.

Bob Wilson

 

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/business/international/volkswagen-ny-attorney-general-emissions-scandal.html?_r=0

Three attorneys general on Tuesday directly challenged Volkswagen’s defense over its emissions deception, calling the decision to thwart pollution tests an orchestrated fraud that lasted more than a decade, involved dozens of engineers and managers and reached deep into the company’s boardroom.

The accusations, leveled in lawsuits by New York, Massachusetts and Maryland, contradict Volkswagen’s portrayal of the deception, representing a new threat to the carmaker’s finances, reputation and management. For the first time, the suits connected Volkswagen’s chief executive, Matthias Müller, to the scandal, saying he was aware of a 2006 decision to not outfit Audi vehicles with equipment needed to meet American clean-air standards.
. . .​

Looks like we have "smoking gun" evidence:


Uh Oh!



Bob Wilson

 

love it, i read that the other day too. maybe someone in the eu will put them on trial for poisoning the world population.

 

Source:  Sorry, Diesel-Lovers, Mazda Diesel Is Probably Off the Table for the US | The News Wheel

Sadly, though, Wards Auto reports as much less optimistic statement. At a dinner with reporters, Mazda’s new North American CEO Masahiro Moro, Moro indicated that, in order to meet with new US emissions standards, Mazda would need to sacrifice too much performance, making the engine too weak for Mazda’s comfort, especially since the automaker wanted to release the models without exhaust aftertreatment systems.


Moro added that, thanks to VW’s diesel scandal, the business case for releasing diesel passenger cars in the US is very shaky, especially for a smaller company like Mazda.​

Mazda may have some interesting technology to make low-emissions diesels as it is a hard problem. But in the USA, it is a hard sell.

Bob Wilson

 

Mazda is just unwilling to face the fact that a diesel will require SCR in order to meet standards. It is why we didn't get a diesel Accord back when the first gen hybrid one was cancelled. Honda was unhappy with the fuel economy and performance after meeting US emission regulations without SCR. In their defense, SCR was quite new back then, and was facing limited acceptance among consumers.

But this is good news for GM. It leaves them as the only car company with a non-luxury diesel car in the market once the new diesel Cruze arrives for 2017. Diesels are a tougher sell now with the fuel prices, but the non-luxury niche helped VW out for decades.

 

Volkswagen has emissions-cheating fix ready - Chicago Tribune

We'll see. "..still has to be approved by CARB and EPA". Personally, I'll take the buyback even if the fix is legit, the only question is when.

 

Any idea about how much incremental cost it would have been to be compliant?

I'm reminded of the Ford fiasco that claimed it was cheaper to pay for deaths than make their cars safe.

Bob Wilson

 

Ford Pinto... it was a case study for us in high school and the reason for ethical engineering was needed.

I see the correlation between that and VW, but in VW defence, they have not yet proven to have killed anyone yet, directly anyway. Still very unethical what they have done. You just hope they do the right things by their (US) owners. The rest of the owners can get stuff...

SM-G900I ?

 

<COUGH> <COUGH> sore throat <WHEEZE>

Source: Paris’s first attempt at car-free day brings big drop in air and noise pollution | World news | The Guardian

Airparif, which measures city pollution levels, said levels of nitrogen dioxide dropped by up to 40% in parts of the city on Sunday 27 September.

There was almost one-third less nitrogen dioxide pollution on the busy Champs Elyées than on a similar Sunday.

Along the Seine in the city centre, levels were down by about 40%. At the busy Place de l’Opera, levels were 20% lower.​

Bob Wilson

 

I recall reading late last year that if VW had designed and built SCR into the Gen 1 cars the incremental cost would have been around $300 per car. I'm pretty dubious that the Gen 1 fix can be implemented via "new software and bigger catalytic converters". We'll see.

 

I saw one described in GreenCarCongress that claimed a labyrinth/folded/reverse flow converter that has superior active area. A NOx trap can work without SCR but it won't be easy and the sensors, controls, and tuning has to be done right this time. They've burned up any 'good will.'

Bob Wilson

 

VW Clears Another Hurdle To 2.0-liter TDI Remedy – News – Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

Preliminary approval at today's hearing, hearing for final approval scheduled for October 18th.

 

Source: Chevrolet To Kick VW When They’re Down With Non-Cheating Diesel

After smogging up the world with its cheating diesels, Volkswagen said—in the most obvious statement ever—that it’d cut back on oil-burners in the U.S., leaving a void in the market. Now Chevrolet tells Automotive News the car company will jump in with its Cruze diesel, non-cheatingly (presumably, anyway) stomping on a severely wounded VW and stealing its sweet, sweet diesel sales.​

Bob Wilson

 

I've heard the Colorado diesel got the okay from the EPA in the more critical inspection after VW was caught.

 

At last some good news: EPA Passes BMW Diesels Using New Tougher Testing | TheDetroitBureau.com

German automaker BMW AG received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to sell diesel vehicles in the U.S. The maker’s engines were subject to a substantive review after ...

Testing was rigorous enough to cause delay in BMW’s certification due to logistical issues.

“We tested the vehicles every which way from Sunday,” Chris Grundler, head of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, told reporters at recent automotive conference. “We asked for more data from the company.”

The approval is important because 6% of all BMWs sold in the U.S. are diesel-powered vehicles.​

By word-count, most of the article referenced stuff we already know about VW and Mercedes. Still, they managed somehow to actually include some news about BMW diesels. ... Amazing!

Bob Wilson

 

Uh Oh!

Source: U.S. finds unapproved emissions software in VW Group 3.0-liter diesel engine, report says

U.S. authorities have found three unapproved software programs in 3.0-liter diesel engines made by Volkswagen's Audi unit, German weekly Bild am Sonntag reported, without saying where it obtained the information.

The software allowed the turbocharged direct injection engines used in the Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg models to shut down emissions control systems after about 22 minutes, the paper said. Official methods to measure emissions usually last about 20 minutes, it added.​

Warning: unattributed sources are unreliable. But if true, the recent VW settlement is at risk.

Bob Wilson

 

it will never change, it's in their blood.

 

They are doing a FIAT!

SM-G900I ?

 

it's the east german influence, kings of olympic steroid cheating. nothing ever changes.