VW Vs EPA drama ?

[Noeleter]

I take it marijuana is legal where you are Skydrol?

 

[mpower]

That is right; we want reparations for crimes against humanity and the planet.

Before we going to Wolfsburg (VW HQ), let me grab the pitch fork and all get on the solar powered Kombi !


Came to realize, Wolfsburg means Wolf's Castle or Wolves Castle, which one is, not sure. But is a take to Wolfenstein Castle ? That was a pretty cool online game called Enemy Territory based on Wolfenstein Castle. Sorry for going on a tangent... dam VW, cheaters.

You can agree or disagree with what's behind it all you want, it changes nothing.

Car manufacturers have a standard to attain and agree to, they failed in that from an engineering standpoint so to gain an unfair advantage in the market they cheated, then they promoted themselves on the back of environmental cred they just didn't have. On top of that they brazenly went ahead and claimed tax credits as well based off those falsified credentials.

It's a failure on every level from them.

It's black and white nothing more, nothing less.

The environmental impact debate is a totally separate issue and completely irrelevant.

 

[Skydrol]

Yes you are right and is very easy to go off on tangent with this types of discussions. Still saying, they passed the test and got certified. What VW did was to proved the test is BS. Just bureaucratic red tape to get a certificate.

Is all about money and many other things.
Autoblog Report

With the#Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal#going on almost two months now, theWall Street Journal#is reporting that Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel met with California regulators and politicians, including ex-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, more than five years ago in Beverly Hills, CA, to#complain that the Golden State's emissions rules, especially concerning nitrogen oxide limits, were hurting California sales of German vehicles. Which begs the question: did Ms. Merkel not notice all of the#Audis, Bimmers, Benzes, andPorsches#regularly being paraded around that well-heeled city?

The#Journal#cited comments California Air Resources Board (CARB) Director Mary Nichols made to German publication#WirtschaftsWoche, and other CARB officials verified Nichols' recollection. Nichols said no other political foreign leader had ever been that specific when it came to the state's emissions mandate and its impact of sales on vehicles from a particular country, but, then again, the automotive industry does make up a substantial chunk of Germany's gross domestic product.

California has long been at the forefront of stricter US emissions standards, taking a lead role in pushing for catalytic converters, smog-testing, and other anti-pollution efforts that since have become standard, so state officials may take the chancellor's complaints as a compliment of sorts. Of any state, California represents by far the largest concentration of the about 500,000#diesel vehicleswith so-called "cheat" software that have been sold in the US. About 11 million of these vehicles have been sold globally.

Last month, CARB said it would give#Volkswagenuntil November 20#to detail how and when the diesel vehicles with such software would be#repaired.

 

[Skydrol]

This is a **** that refuse to die... I mentioned the Dyson Vacuum Cleaners/Hoover company going after Bosch for lying on their test on electric motors. Now the EPA hounds are after Bosch because the PCM is made by them, therefore, the software is coded by them.

EPA Investigating Bosch

This is like one big floater in your toilet; does not matter how many times you flush, still bobbing up.

Victoria Nuland cannot say it any better "F-u-c-k the EU'.

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

It's black and white nothing more, nothing less.

Except for the massive amount of grey area that surrounds the whole debacle, you're correct.

 

[Skydrol]

After sucking up VW's money....

Volkswagen Expected to Pay Another $1 Billion in Emissions Scandal

Volkswagen
agreed on Tuesday to buy back or fix the remaining diesel cars caught up in its emissions cheating scandal, at an expected cost of about $1 billion, in what has become one of the United States’ largest consumer class-action settlements ever.

The settlement — which involves Volkswagen and the federal government and covers about 80,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche cars — was announced after last-minute negotiations that forced a California judge to reschedule hearings several times.

Owners of those cars will also receive compensation from Volkswagen, although the company and lawyers for the car owners were still negotiating the exact terms. Judge Charles R. Breyer of United States District Court in California, who is overseeing the case, said compensation would be “substantial.”

The agreement addresses vehicles that were not included in Volkswagen’s agreement in June to pay nearly $15 billion to settle claims about a separate batch of 475,000 Volkswagen vehicles with smaller engines.

Some details were still being worked out on Tuesday by the parties, which include Volkswagen, the Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board and the Justice Department.

“This settlement is about taking pollution out of the air we breathe,” said Cynthia Giles, the E.P.A.’s assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance.

“It’s also about showing what a strong E.P.A. enforcement presence means for those who may break the law,” Ms. Giles said, highlighting the agency’s record of pursuing those who pollute illegally. Questions have been raised about how tough an enforcer the E.P.A. will be under the incoming Trump administration.

Altogether, Volkswagen’s civil settlements are the largest ever in the United States by an automobile company. The agreement in June included a $2.7 billion payment into an E.P.A. fund to offset the cars’ excess diesel emissions and an additional $2 billion investment in zero-emission vehicle projects.

The owners of the cars covered by the June agreement may also have their cars fixed, although regulators have yet to approve any fixes.

The latest settlement, for the 80,000 cars, is similar. But Volkswagen has told the government that it believes about 60,000 of them — the newer models — can be fixed to comply with federal emissions standards. If that remedy can be shown to work, Volkswagen will not have to buy back those newer cars, according to the consent decree.

The agreement “is another important step forward in our efforts to make things right for our customers,” Hinrich J. Woebcken, the president and chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, said in a statement. He said the company was committed to resolving outstanding claims “as quickly as possible.”

Elizabeth Cabraser, the lead lawyer for the car owners, said lawyers were working to resolve remaining issues and had no further comment.

The estimated $1 billion cost to Volkswagen from Tuesday’s agreement assumes Volkswagen can fix the 60,000 cars. If it cannot and must buy them back, the company’s costs would soar because many are expensive luxury vehicles.

But an E.P.A. spokesman, Nick Conger, said a technical review and discussions with Volkswagen indicated that it was “very possible that the newer vehicles can be fixed to comply with the emission standards.”

The $1 billion figure also includes an additional $225 million payment that Volkswagen will make into the E.P.A. fund to offset the environmental effect of the excess emissions.

The settlements come at a challenging time for Volkswagen. On top of the scandal, Volkswagen is facing plunging sales in Brazil and Russia as those previously red-hot markets cool. Last month, the automaker said it would cut about 30,000 jobs worldwide under a plan meant to save $3.9 billion a year.

Volkswagen also stands to lose if President-elect Donald J. Trump follows through on plans to raise trade barriers with Mexico. Volkswagen opened a factory in the Mexican state of Puebla this year to serve the United States market.

Volkswagen still faces a criminal inquiry by the Justice Department and an investigation by attorneys general in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The automaker is also under investigation in a number of other countries, including South Korea, and back home in Germany, over its diesel cheating.

Volkswagen acknowledged last year that it had fitted 11 million cars worldwide with illegal software that made the vehicles capable of defeating pollution tests.

The cars detected when they were undergoing emissions testing and would turn on pollution-control systems, curbing toxic emissions at the cost of engine performance. But those emissions controls were not fully deployed on the road, where the company’s cars spewed nitrogen oxide at up to 40 times the levels allowed under the Clean Air Act.

The terms of Tuesday’s settlement could yet change. They require a review by Judge Breyer and must go through a period of public comment.

Volkswagen owners affected by the settlement are not bound by it, and some may decide to press for better terms or not to participate at all.

EPA: Fiat Chrysler software enabled emissions cheating

The Environmental Protection Agency accused Fiat Chrysler on Thursday of installing software that appeared to enable certain diesel trucks to emit lower emissions during pollution tests. The company denied those accusations, saying its software meets regulatory requirements.

The vehicles involved were the 2014 to 2016 model year Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks and Jeep Grand Cherokees with 3.0-liter diesel engines. The allegations affect roughly 104,000 vehicles, EPA officials said.

Janet McCabe, head of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said “no immediate actions are necessary” for owners because their vehicles are still safe and legal to drive.

The software reduced the amount of nitrogen oxide emitted during emissions tests, obscuring the fact that they spew more of the pollutant than is allowed under the Clean Air Act, officials said. They stopped short of calling the technology a “defeat device,” which is illegal, but said the company has not yet offered another explanation for the software.

The technology was brought to light after the EPA expanded its vehicle testing to look for so-called defeat devices in September 2015 following a similar scandal at Volkswagen. FCA did not disclose the software to regulators, which may itself be a violation of the law, the EPA said.

“Failing to disclose software that affects emissions in a vehicle’s engine is a serious violation of the law, which can result in harmful pollution in the air we breathe,” Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement.

Fiat Chrysler officials denied those claims in a statement Thursday. Every automaker must use “various strategies” to reduce tailpipe emissions without compromising the durability and performance of its engines, FCA said, adding its emission control system complies with necessary requirements.

The company also said it has offered to make extensive changes to its software to address EPA concerns.

“FCA U.S. intends to work with the incoming administration to present its case and resolve this matter fairly and equitably and to assure the EPA and FCA U.S. customers that the company’s diesel-powered vehicles meet all applicable regulatory requirements,” the company said in a statement.

Fiat Chrysler’s stock price dropped as much as 18 percent Thursday morning and trading was temporarily halted.

EPA officials said on a call Thursday that they are looking into whether other automakers may be using similar devices.

“We continue to investigate the nature and impact of these devices,” Giles said in a statement. “All automakers must play by the same rules, and we will continue to hold companies accountable that gain an unfair and illegal competitive advantage.”

The agency’s move is similar to the initial steps it took at the start of the German automaker Volkswagen emissions scandal, which eventually led to about $20 billion in fines and charges against seven employees over the course of the last year and a half. Federal prosecutors announced a settlement that forced Volkswagen to plead guilty to defrauding regulators and consumers, a rare admission of criminal wrongdoing for a large corporation.

“Once again, a major automaker made the business decision to skirt the rules and got caught,” California Air Resources Board Chair Mary D. Nichols said in a statement. “CARB and U.S. EPA made a commitment to enhanced testing as the Volkswagen case developed, and this is a result of that collaboration.”

David Uhlmann, who served as head of the Department of Justice environmental crimes section from 2000 to 2007, said it remains to be seen whether the Fiat Chrysler violations are as “egregious” as Volkswagen’s. But after the VW scandal, it makes sense that regulators would take a closer look at the industry.

“It is no surprise that the VW investigation has prompted enhanced focus on the automotive industry,” the University of Michigan law professor said. “When corporate misconduct occurs, it often reflects industry practice, not just the wrongdoing of a single company.”

Advocacy groups were quick to praise the EPA for holding corporations accountable and chide those companies for actions that they say are harmful to public health.

“As polluter lobbyists mass at the gates of Congress and the White House, this case underscores the critical importance of keeping the environmental cop on the beat,” said Frank O’Donnell, president of the advocacy group Clean Air Watch. “Otherwise, the breathing public could be harmed, and consumers scammed.”

“Chrysler, which owes its existence to a generous bailout by American taxpayers, is now demanding weakening changes to anti-pollution laws, even as it is charged with illegally polluting,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign. “In fighting the charges and looking to the new administration for exoneration, perhaps Chrysler hopes that Donald Trump will tell the company it’s OK to cheat and lie.”

The witch hunt continues......

 

[Zeke Topanaga]

Look at all the people who are trying to block off the EGR nowadays, one idiot came to me yesterday ranting a whole load of BS about EGR.
If you live in the big city, it's just a responsible thing to look after all the ADR emission laws, it's just about servicing things correctly and putting up with the added cost. end of story.

With all the VW load of BS that the media carried on about is just truly madness, the bloody things were clean as, but they just did not meet the madness of the standards set nowadays, and that's what has become a sad joke that's gone to far.

 

[Skydrol]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-...ashed-half-million-rigged-cars-around-country