Volkswagen Group Massive Emissions Fraud Scheme

[WetEV]

Getting worse.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-03/volkswagen-emissions-woes-deepen-as-800-000-more-cars-affected

 

[EVDRIVER]

We all know that farfegnugen spelled backward in German means "We love to mess with your emissions control systems"

 

[LeftieBiker]

We all know that farfegnugen spelled backward in German means "We love to mess with your emissions control systems"

I thought it meant "Diesels that smell like farts."

 

[TomT]

Another 800,000 cars in Europe with an emissions problem..

http://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/11/volkswagen-says-800000-cars-may-have-false-co2-emissions-levels-too/

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

There’s One Thing Volkswagen Can Do to Stop the Bleeding - Bloomberg
https://apple.news/A-vw2xvKCS56XHvkFCRqs-Q

300 miles for < $30k? That would be nice.

 

[GRA]

Bob Lutz' opinion on what led to the diesel debacle, in his monthly R&T column:

One Man Established the Culture That Led to VW's Emissions Scandal

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a27197/bob-lutz-vw-diesel-fiasco/

 

[GRA]

C&D's Aaron Robinson on why he thinks it happened; this is the most measured, detailed op-ed piece I've seen so far, from a car guy:

Caught Black-Handed: Why Did Volkswagen Cheat?

http://blog.caranddriver.com/caught-black-handed-why-did-volkswagen-cheat/

 

[JeremyW]

The larger Passat got a urea system in 2012, but VW programmed it so that, apart from the emissions test, it would be stingier with the urea injections, meaning that the owner wouldn’t be inconvenienced with refilling the tank as often.

While true, I stand firmly that this was done to lessen the wear on the catalyst and save VW money in emissions equipment replacement (they may also have gone with a weaker catalyst design too), not to save any money or convenience for the owner.

 

[edatoakrun]

The VW diesel scandal has metastasized into a scandal of how all VW emission/economy ratings have been falsified, and how the Euro self-certification system has failed.

The drip goes on: Defeat devices not limited to VW diesel cars

Yesterday, Volkswagen admitted that actual emission tests were fudged, either by manipulating the test routine, or by submitting doctored vehicles. Writes the Wolfsburger Allgemeine, Volkswagen’s hometown paper:

“Once more, technical tricks make sure that VW cars don’t keep their written and officially approved promises.”

According to the paper, the new series of bogus emission tests gives “the emission scandal a whole new dimension.” As it had been whispered all along, this is not just a diesel scandal, it is a scandal engulfing all of Volkswagen. If it says Volkswagen on it, there may be a defeat device in it.

http://dailykanban.com/2015/11/the-drip-goes-on-defeat-devices-not-limited-to-vw-diesel-cars/

More details:

Cheat, or get fired: Scared Volkswagen engineers pour diesel in gasoline cars to fool CO2 tests

The stink is getting bigger

Under pressure from above, and worried for their jobs, Volkswagen engineers doctored tests to make VW cars look cleaner and thriftier than in real life. Today, Germany’s BILD Zeitung [German, paywall] has the details to a story that broke yesterday.

According to the paper, Volkswagen engineers uses a number of tricks to improve the official mileage of new cars. Tires were over-inflated. Diesel fuel was added to gasoline to lower friction and to increase energy. Data that had no relation to real life results, was compiled into official reports, used for type approval, and to determine the car’s vehicle tax.

“Employees have indicated in an internal investigation that there were irregularities in ascertaining fuel consumption data. How this happened is subject to ongoing proceedings,” a Volkswagen spokesman told Reuters, declining to comment on the Bild report...

The cheating also puts the spotlight on Europe’s powerful technical services that perform the tests and process the paperwork before it is submitted to government agencies. Companies like Germany’s TUV or DEKRA are paid by automakers to process the results...

http://dailykanban.com/2015/11/cheat-or-get-fired-scared-volkswagen-engineers-poured-diesel-in-gasoline-cars-to-fool-co2-tests/

 

[Stoaty]

The cheat goes on, cheat goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

Apologies to Sonny and Cher

 

[evnow]

C&D's Aaron Robinson on why he thinks it happened; this is the most measured, detailed op-ed piece I've seen so far, from a car guy:

Caught Black-Handed: Why Did Volkswagen Cheat?

http://blog.caranddriver.com/caught-black-handed-why-did-volkswagen-cheat/

This seems to corroborate with the dailykanban story above.

Essentially, VW executives demanded engineers deliver (the impossible) or be fired. Engineers (and their mangers, I guess) came up with fraudulent means of satisfying the decree so as to not get fired.

"I'll give you the recipe. I called all the body engineers, stamping people, manufacturing, and executives into my conference room. And I said, 'I am tired of all these lousy body fits. You have six weeks to achieve world-class body fits. I have all your names. If we do not have good body fits in six weeks, I will replace all of you. Thank you for your time today.' "

 

[ydnas7]

those 'executives' are not executives in the American sense of the word

more like uber engineers

 

[edatoakrun]

As panic spreads in Wolfsburg, a familiar name emerges from the rumor mill...

Hallway Radio: More bad news, and Volkswagen’s Mueller is out. Really bad news, and Ghosn is in

Nerves are frayed in Wolfsburg, laid bare by the never-ending barrage of bad news. The suffering is getting so huge that cutting Volkswagen’s head off to end the pain becomes a viable option. Should the scandal spread from diesel to a large number of gasoline driven cars, VW’s new CEO Matthias Müller, along with Volkswagen’s complete Board of Management, will be replaced, says the Hallway Radio.

As none of the supervisors raised alarm in the past, members of Volkswagen’s Supervisory Board would be part of the manager mass exodus, says Volkswagen’s rumor mill.

...In the event of a near-death of Volkswagen, the Hallway Radio recommends calling Carlos Ghosn, head of Renault and Nissan. He would thoroughly clean house, one of the voices on the Hallways Radio said with a tremble, and if he brings Renault and Nissan with him, that World’s Largest Automaker goal could be reached after all.

http://dailykanban.com/2015/11/hallway-radio-more-bad-news-and-volkswagens-mueller-is-out-really-bad-news-and-ghosn-is-in/

 

[evnow]

People bring up Ghosn's name whenever a big OEM is in trouble (like GM was). I doubt he will take over this kind of mess.

 

[dgpcolorado]

People bring up Ghosn's name whenever a big OEM is in trouble (like GM was). I doubt he will take over this kind of mess.

I sure hope he doesn't. For some time now my concern has been that Ghosn would retire from Renault/Nissan and the EV push would be spiked by the new guy. My sense has been that he has been the driving force for EVs at the top management level.

 

[dgpcolorado]

A look at emissions testing in the era of cheating auto companies:

NYT: Galvanized by VW Scandal, E.P.A. Expands On-Road Emissions Testing

 

[edatoakrun]

People bring up Ghosn's name whenever a big OEM is in trouble (like GM was). I doubt he will take over this kind of mess.

As opposed to this (incomprehensible, to me) political mess ?

France opposes Renault-Nissan merger, French Prime Minister Valls says

November 9, 2015 - 12:01 am ET

PARIS (Bloomberg) -- France, Renault's biggest shareholder, wants the alliance with Nissan Motor to continue and would oppose a merger of the French carmaker with its Japanese partner, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said.

"What we want is to conserve the alliance," Valls said Sunday on Europe 1 radio. "We don’t desire a merger."...

The structure of the alliance has become a source of tension after the French government bought a bigger stake in Renault without warning Carlos Ghosn, who is CEO of both carmakers.

With backing from Renault’s board of directors, Ghosn is opposing the government’s attempt to make use of a new rule, the so-called Florange law, to get double voting rights as a long-term investor...

http://www.autonews.com/article/20151109/COPY01/311099898/france-opposes-renault-nissan-merger-french-prime-minister-valls-says

While I think CG might accept another CEO position and/or Chairmanship, I think it's a long shot that VW will offer it.

"Mr. Fix It" would probably like the opportunity of finishing his career by leading VW's recovery, perhaps even leading it to being the world's largest Carmaker, but it's not like he needs the work...

...currently the Chairman and CEO of Paris-based Renault, Chairman and CEO of Japan-based Nissan, and Chairman of Russian automobile manufacturer AvtoVAZ.[3] Ghosn is also Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the strategic partnership overseeing Nissan and Renault through a unique cross-shareholding agreement. The Alliance, which includes AvtoVAZ, has held approximately 10% of the global market share from 2010 through to 2014, and as of 2014 is one of the top four automobile groups worldwide.[4][5][6][7]

After his radical restructuring of Renault that returned the company to profitability in the late 1990s Ghosn became known as "Le Cost Killer".[8] In the early 2000s, for orchestrating one of the auto industry's most aggressive downsizing campaigns and spearheading the turnaround of Nissan from its near bankruptcy in 1999, he earned the nickname "Mr. Fix It".[9]...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Ghosn

 

[evnow]

My sense is that Ghosn wants EVs to be his legacy - and leaving Nissan/Renault now would be job half done. I doubt he can actually oversee 3 major OEMs - esp given VW's legal mess (unlike a "normal" messy alliance like Nissan-Renault).

Ofcourse, the chances of Germans asking a French guy to head their #1 company is very very low.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

A look at emissions testing in the era of cheating auto companies:

NYT: Galvanized by VW Scandal, E.P.A. Expands On-Road Emissions Testing

Something about that picture of a German car with a hose coming from the exhaust fed into the window is just wrong. The jokes may write themselves but they're all in really bad taste.

 

[GRA]

A look at emissions testing in the era of cheating auto companies:

NYT: Galvanized by VW Scandal, E.P.A. Expands On-Road Emissions Testing

Something about that picture of a German car with a hose coming from the exhaust fed into the window is just wrong. The jokes may write themselves but they're all in really bad taste.

You mean something like this (certainly not a joke): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_van