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Volkswagen Boss Blames Software Engineers For Scandal (bbc.co.uk)
hattig writes: Today VW's Michael Horn is testifying to Congress and has blamed the recent scandal on engineers saying: "It's the decision of a couple of software engineers, not the board members." However, 530,000 cars in the U.S. will need to be recalled for significant engine modifications, not a software fix. Only 80,000 Passats are eligible for the software fix. There is no word on the effects these modifications will have on the cars' performance, fuel consumption, etc. The BBC reports: "The issue of defeat devices at VW has been a historic problem, points out a Congress panel member questioning VW US chief Michael Horn. In 1974, VW had a run-in with US authorities regarding the use of defeat devices in 1974, and in December 2014 it recalled cars to address nox emissions."
"Yeah, I'm sure, a few rogue software guys got together and said"...
More like - "The beancounters won't let us add a few hundred Euro in hardware so we can pass emissions tests, and the boss promised us a large bonus if we can do it with software. Hey! I've got an idea."
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
If they were really engineers they would be civilly and legally responsible and would have to carry malpractice insurance.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Actual the software was from Bosch. However, the Bosch guys said it would be illegal to use this specific feature. Looks like someone did not get the memo ;-)
Think a little bigger:
"The two men, Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi’s chief engineer, and Wolfgang Hatz, developer of Porsche’s Formula One and Le Mans racing engines, were among the engineers suspended in the investigation of the emissions cheating scandal"
I doubt these gents have been software engineers for a long time.
Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/vw...
Are you suggesting only hiring psychopaths as managers? If you eliminate both the sociopaths and the psychopaths, where are you going to find managers?
Actually, I think part of the problem is that either they didn't have enough space available for the extra emissions hardware needed to do it right (urea injection), or it would have driven the cost up too much. The cars this affects are their smallest cars, which don't have much extra space in the engine bay, and probably have a lower profit margin as well; on larger models like SUVs, this stuff probably isn't a problem.
Bosch Egrs wrote and tested the software and not VW. Someone at VW requested the change and paid Bosch to do it. Also, Bosch later sent a letter to VW telling them it would be illegal if they deployed this software. So apparently just a couple software engineers at VW not only write software but also come up with "innovative" ideas on companies largest project, manage their largest vendor, perform project management meetings with that vendor, and receive/answer the physical mail. No wonder they they made "mistakes". Other than attending board meetings, those couple of engineers basically run the entire VW company!!
None of them broke any laws, so what are they guilty of?
They're software engineers in Germany.
The laws being broken are USA laws for importing and certifying cars. The engineers didn't import anything in to USA.
Reminds me of the grape juice concentrate that used to be sold during Prohibition with step-by-step instructions on how to ferment it into wine--solely so you could avoid accidentally breaking the law by doing it, of course.
This is when corporate lawyers start echoing the standard refrains of "Don't destroy any records", "where is your search warrant" and "don't talk to investigators or the press without a lawyer present" lines to everybody.
Somebody is likely going to jail, or at least facing criminal charges in both the EU and the USA.... Expect there to be a lot of finger pointing from here on out.
I agree withe everything up to "don't talk to investigators or the press without a lawyer present." Never forget that a corporate lawyer doesn't represent you, he or she is their to protect the corporation and will throw you under the bus at the first opportunity. Anytime a lawyer is sent to "help" the first thing to ask is "Who you represent?" followed by "are you my lawyer?" and "is everything we say confidential and privileged?" if the answer to the last two isn't yes and yes they are not on your side.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
Is this the one place where embedded automotive code has no traceability? Nobody knows who checked in the mods, who approved the changes, and whether that approval is traceable back to a defect/requirement/change request? Was I totally misunderstanding how the automotive industry handled its microcontroller firmware? It seems to me "Where did this code come from, who approved it, and what was the justification?" should be just about the easiest questions in the world for this type of engineering shop to answer. Maybe things could get sketchy when the manager who approved it points a finger at unwritten orders from his superior, but until that point, the paper trail should be completely clear. Right?
Right?
An interesting anagram of "BANACH TARSKI" is "BANACH TARSKI BANACH TARSKI"
What then? That's really why this is blowing up so much. Seriously. VW is going to get fined a couple of billion. That's not even chump change. Nobody at that level gives two shits about pride, and the average consumer will forget this same as they forgot Toyota's acceleration problems. What _has_ come out is that _everyone_ was cheating, they were just better at it so that when they got caught there was some doubt and nobody got in real trouble. So what the hell do you do if you're an engineer and this is industry practice?
It's like a buddy of mine who used to drive truck and followed the rules. He went from company to company and they all promised him he'd never drive over limit. And when he didn't they eventually stopped giving him runs. For all you're talk that's not the way the real world works.
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I don't know what movies you watch, but real life doesn't really work like that.