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Volkwagen Finally Pleads Guilty On 'Dieselgate' Charges (cnet.com)
Friday Volkswagen admitted in court that they'd committed fraud in their diesel emissions tests, also pleading guilty to falsifying statements and obstruction of justice. An anonymous reader quotes CNET:
It marks the first time VW admitted guilt in any court in the world, according to a VW spokesman speaking to Reuters. The judge overseeing the case in the U.S. District Court in Detroit accepted the plea and will issue a sentence at a hearing on April 21. "The agreements that we have reached with the US government reflect our determination to address misconduct that went against all of the values Volkswagen holds so dear," Volkswagen said in an emailed statement... The road to Dieselgate's conclusion still has plenty of pavement, though. The company is still under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Internal Revenue Service. And that's in the US alone.
"VW AG is pleading guilty to all three counts because it is guilty on all three counts," the company's general counsel told the judge. Reuters also reports that VW offered to buy back half a million vehicles just in America, and agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the U.S. to address claims from unhappy owners.
"VW AG is pleading guilty to all three counts because it is guilty on all three counts," the company's general counsel told the judge. Reuters also reports that VW offered to buy back half a million vehicles just in America, and agreed to spend up to $25 billion in the U.S. to address claims from unhappy owners.
We know how that turns out!
"all of the values Volkswagen holds so dear"
Profits above everything else?
With all of the funny electronics running in these vehicles, unless I can audit the code being used I'm going to assume every automaker is doing the same thing and Volkswagon forgot or didn't think to pay the campaign *cough bribe cough* contributions.
American cars (except Ford) have barely any presence in Europe, because they are lower quality than most other cars. So I guess Americans buying VW's were looking for quality.
Hopefully this means there will be a really packed used market of ultra cheap Diesel VW's with patched firmware. The real problem here is the severity of the regulations, not the cars themselves. If passenger trucks were held to the same standard there wouldn't be a single redneck "rollin' coal" out there.
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This really saddens me too.
I used to avoid Ford like the plague because they were the American vehicle with quality issues while GM was the reliable one.
I know from my Saturn with a stick-shift that GM transmissions turned to crap, as did many other things from GM in the recent decade or two. Ford decided to stop building trash and stepped up their game. I now have a Ford Transit Connect outfitted for passenger as a family vehicle. We love it, we get lots of questions about it, lots of people tell us how much they like it and are considering getting one. It's got a great reliability rating from consumer reports. The GM and Ford of the 80's and 90's switched places in the 2000's / 2010's.
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1. Whether the penalty is "huge" can only be decided if we know how much VW profited from the deception.
2. They miscalculated the chance of being caught.
Wait till she runs into classic CRV problems and there are many
They are far less reliable than "Japanese" cars, and probably "American" cars.
You've clearly never owned an American car. Well actually that's not fair, no one ever owns an American car, they are more salves to its workshop needs.
What I don't understand is why anyone in the US would buy a VW in the first place? They are far less reliable than "Japanese" cars, and probably "American" cars. Maybe German immigrants would buy them for patriotic reasons?
You're a troll.
I'm not German and I bought a brand new Golf 6 and 1/2 year ago. Maybe I'm just lucky but it's been ultra-reliable. It now has 64000 miles on it and the only thing I've had to fix was replacing the battery and the rear brakes this winter. Front brakes are due for a change maybe next year.
I think it was rated very highly for reliability at the time I bought it. It certainly was near the top and nowhere near lemon status like you suggest.
Yes. A fact that is generally universally accepted. I take it you have had a Japanese car and a bad experience with it? Pick 6 numbers between 0 and 42. I'll make sure never to play them in the Lottery.
If you need your car to bring excitement into your life, perhaps you're doing something wrong?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
no one ever owns an American car, they are more salves to its workshop needs.
Axle grease.
I miss my 240SX like the desert needs the rain. That was truly one of the best cars ever made. I now have an Audi ABZ V8 just lying around that would love to go into a 240SX. It would be sad what it would do to the electronic reliability, but at least the rest of the car would still be simplicity incarnate.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I've owned *one* Japanese car, lots of American cars and a *ton* of German cars. I currently drive the latest Suburban... and while I do indeed love it, I should point out that it's common fucking knowledge that Toyota makes the most reliable cars - i.e. the best cars one can own... while Audi makes the best cars you can drive... but damn are they problematic pieces of shit.
Why choose VW over the Japanese offerings? Because the Japanese are always about two years behind everyone else when it comes to incorporating new technology in their vehicles. And, they're boring. Just look at the Camry and Accord -- how boring and bland can you get?
The logical conclusion if you were thinking about a VW is to buy a Nissan. It's one step better than VW in both of those areas. The styling is more inspiring than VW. That's not saying much, to be fair, but it's still true. In some cases it is saying a lot, like the Juke, although they've taken away some of its personality in the latest refresh. They are a little too enamored of CVTs, but the interesting Nissans are still available without it. I've also found Nissan to be extremely friendly to the garage repairman. Their service manuals are absolutely top-notch with the best diagrams in the business bar none, and very easy-to-follow troubleshooting charts. Nobody does that stuff better than the Japanese, and IME nobody is better among them at doing it than Nissan. They also make the documentation available at quite reasonable prices, and then go on to actually carry things that you need like harness repair kits for specific years. I was able to get the fuel injector harness repair kit specific to only the 1989 240SX, for example — the injector connectors are keyed differently than for any other model. I could have sourced them direct from some other AMP dealer, but the point is that I didn't have to. The prices were actually reasonable, as well. I have plenty of experience buying parts for other makes, and Nissan was one of the best for me.
Alternately, Subaru isn't too much further up the chart, and it's a much more interesting vehicle than any VW. For what VW will charge you for a Haldex whose shortcomings are mitigated by EBD, Subaru will give you an electronic VCD.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Interesting, how'd you manage to wear out the rear brakes before the front?
This is pretty standard on most European cars (and in fact true of all modern vehicles with traction control). The braking system is biased towards the rear brakes, which keeps the car from nose diving during hard braking. Also, in slippery conditions prior ABS/ESP kicking in, it allows the front wheels, which steer, to stay turning longer before locking up (and triggering ABS/traction control).
My VW typically goes through 3 sets of rear pads before I have to replace my fronts.
...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
and unique and well, doing that for real is hard and moderately risky. Using your purchases to differentiate yourself is an easy/safe solution. Yeah, it's shallow, but that's also what makes it easy. For a more extreme example look for anyone who owns a Scout or a Saab.
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it's not a person, it's an abstract concept commonly known as a company...
I don't suppose anyone who actually made/forced these decisions will be pleading guilty to anything? A pound of weed'll put you in jail for half a decade or more but I'm guessing these guys will just pay a token fine that's less than 1/3 what they made off the cheating.
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Interesting, how'd you manage to wear out the rear brakes before the front?
Are you kidding? Most cars have hugely different front and rear brake systems. They should wear out roughly equally but in many cases the front is far overspec'd. Hell it's quite common on the bottom end of the market to have discs at the front and drums at the rear. And drums don't last nearly as long.
Well, I submitted my buyback in December and haven''t heard a word from Volkswagon on the issue.
On top of that, when I call about my car they consistently tell me my signed papers aren't in order, or my papers are blank, or my papers are not received from their settlement portal or they are notorized wrong...the excuses are endless, and of course all false.
It is starting to get sorta irritating and although I signed papers to not pursue further damages, I didn't sign papers with the intention they would lie to me on the phone, obfuscate the return or just simply ignore my phone calls, which I am starting to consider that the offer was in bad faith.
They better start responding to my inquiries about my 2015 TDI or I am going to get an attorney and sue them based on bargaining in bad faith.
Got Geometrodynamics? Awe, too hard to figure out? Too bad.
Japanese cars are much more reliable, but German cars are much more fun. If you can afford car repairs and/or have a spare car or two, it's hard to beat German cars for fun.
I don't respond to AC's.
If you need your car to bring excitement into your life, ...
... then you need to cut your brake lines. That'll solve your problem right quick.
Old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times.
If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
If you're pro Audi then you probably are aware that Audi is made by VW, who also own a multitude of other car companies too. Toyota cars are rubbish, they always appear with at least 1 on the worst cars list.
I've had several Toyotas and they've been incredibly reliable. Took them in for a service twice a year, and nothing ever went wrong. Didn't even need to top up fluid levels in between.
Do you wear khaki Dockers and a blue shirt every day?
sig: sauer
Interesting that you mentioned the Juke, because I think it's the only car Nissan makes that isn't ugly. I really like it, minus the CVT. But, starting at the bottom, the Versa is one of the ugliest cars on the road. The Altima and Maxima are both bland -- just like the Accord. Their sports cars are nice, but I guess I just don't pay much attention to that niche. But, the Pathfinder --- this one actually irritates me a bit. It used to be THE BEST looking SUV on the market, and now it looks like a minivan. And, the Xterra... yup, it's still an Xterra, waiting for a redesign so it doesn't look exactly the same as it did almost twenty years ago.
Overall, I think Nissan has really dropped the ball in the last 5 - 10 years with their styling.
sig: sauer
I refuse to comment on anything that uses that ridiculous suffix.
Look- it's clear from their behavior that volks wagon doesn't hold any values dear except making a profit.
They are an amoral, asocial corporation.
The instant their feet are not to the fire, they will return to being amoral and asocial.
Put the CEO and management in prison for 6 months.
THEN the volkswagon corporation may have concious because future CEO's and management will know they are personally at risk.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
If you need your car to bring excitement into your life, perhaps you're doing something wrong?
Usually that something is commuting a long distance. I, for one, do like a car that is exciting to drive on a back road. But because I am getting older, I have a luxo-barge...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Not traction control, yaw control. Traction control is when you're accelerating. But that can cause rear brake wear as well; on slippery surfaces vehicles often use the brakes to slow a spinning wheel.
For vehicles whose system is split diagonally instead of front/rear, they also may overapply the rear brakes if ABS isn't working correctly, because proportioning is handled in software.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
American cars (except Ford) have barely any presence in Europe, because they are lower quality than most other cars. So I guess Americans buying VW's were looking for quality.
That makes very little sense because European cars are among the worst when it comes to reliability. Japanese tend to be the most reliable, with American second, and European third. Volvo, Volkswagen, and Fiat in particular all tend to be horrid.
Finally; now, at last, Volkswagen will be thrown in jail like it deserves. In an orange, VW shaped jumpsuit, I assume. Oh, and the fines; that will surely punish those ... um, mutual funds, maybe? Finally, justice, just like we all hoped. Now let's all take a deep breath (or, [cough], maybe not just yet).
I'd say things are pretty easy on VW considering what they should have had to produce for all of their customers (complete corresponding source code including build tools licensed under a free software license or, for the cars that never should have been sold in the first place, buy-back of the car at whatever price the person paid).
Management is eager to get this behind them in a way where people think it's over and done with, but there's no reason to trust any of the auto manufacturers involved in the conspiracy (not just VW used code designed to fool tests). VW's got self-driving cars to try to position (they appear to be pushing this concept now) and sell, after all. Can't have memories of how they ripped off customers lingering in the minds and 'tainting' future products, even though that's precisely what's fair and reasonable for would-be customers to do.
Digital Citizen
Volkwagen Fnally Plads Gilty N 'Dieselgte' Chrges - FTFY
Sigger than your average
This is pretty standard on most European cars (and in fact true of all modern vehicles with traction control). The braking system is biased towards the rear brakes, which keeps the car from nose diving during hard braking. Also, in slippery conditions prior ABS/ESP kicking in, it allows the front wheels, which steer, to stay turning longer before locking up (and triggering ABS/traction control).
All of these conditions are a sign that it's time to ease up on the loud pedal. You should not be activating traction control, ABS, etc. routinely on public roads.
That if, if anything only a small part of the issue.
American cars are built with the needs and desires of American customers, American roads, American gasoline and American parking spaces in mind.
Elsewhere in the world:
a) You don't drive a pickup truck to haul your tools and supplies if you're a small business, you drive a van or an actual small truck.
b) You want a car that fits into the local parking spaces. Which in most places are smaller than American ones.
c) You want a car that's designed for local speed limits, which may be higher than the speed limits in the US.
d) You want a car that makes optimal use of the locally available gasoline. In Europe, that's usually higher octane rating stuff than in the US.
e) You want a stick shifter if you're used to it. Stick shifters are almost nonexistent in the US, while still fairly common in Europe.
f) You may not want an AC, especially in countries that don't become as hot and humid as parts of the US do.
Volkswagen should have told the American authorities to stick their fines wherever they like and pulled out of the US market completely. They may have bought it of at great cost this time, but sooner later the Americans will find or invent something else to steal billions again. Someone should send a message that it is time for them to repair their legal system and that agressive regulatory agencies functioning as a thinly-veiled protectionism tool scares away foreign investors and jobs. Playing along and handing over many billions of hard-earned money may make the problem go away for now, but it sends the wrong message entirely and is unlikely to do any good in the long term.
I always said that Volkswagen was German for failed engineer. Having dealt with a number of early 2000s VW they were all just basket cases and have things laid out in poor ways.
Time to offend someone
They'll be sending me a check for up to $350 once (if) the settlement is accepted by the courts. The hearing is on May 11.
Sounds like someone will be getting a coupon for 5 free pine tree air fresheners.
Time to offend someone
I'm hardly "pro Audi." Volkswagen (including Audi, Porsche, Seat, Lambo, etc) can go fuck themselves. They deliberately design Audis so that once they're out of warranty, they're virtually impossible to maintain and certainly not economically. The last Audi I'd be willing to own would be an early 2000's A6/S6/All road and only because I can do everything myself. BTW, the thing that single-handedly makes Audis the best cars to drive is their use of Torsen center differentials; VW's and "fake Quattros" like the A3 and TT use Haldex differentials (pfft) while other manufacturers use equally ineffective systems: if you've ever compared a 4Matic Benz (Borg Warner center diff) to an Audi in terms of how well they do in the snow, the results speak for themselves.Regarding Toyota, you simply do not know what the fuck you're talking about; I've *lost count* of the number of experienced American and German car mechanics who drive Corollas.
Link above broken. I assume this is the correct link. And the parent is correct, in this 2015 article Toyota placed #2. Audi happens to be #3.