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  • Re: VW in trouble

    Volkswagen has reached an agreement to buy back or repair nearly half a million “cheating” diesel cars, the U.S. Department of Justice said today. The $14.7 billion settlement comes after certain Volkswagen diesel engines were found to emit up to 40 times more pollutants than legally allowed.

    There are two distinct settlements announced today. First, Volkswagen must offer to buy back or terminate the leases for any owner of cars with a 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine. That affects up to 475,000 owners in the U.S.; cars impacted by that agreement include the 2010-2015 Beetle, 2009-2015 Jetta, 2012-2015 Passat, 2013-2015 Golf, and 2010-2013 and 2015 Audi A3.

    The Justice Department says VW must buy back the cars “at their retail value as of September 2015” (before the emissions scandal was publicly announced), and estimates owners will be eligible for $12,500-$44,000 per car, depending on mileage and age. And VW must pay off any outstanding car loans up to 130 percent of the car’s retail value (e.g. a $26,000 loan payoff for a car worth $20,000). That program will cost a maximum of $10.033 billion, according to the settlement terms.

    Customers who lease their diesel cars can either have their leases terminated, or can have the cars modified to become emissions compliant at a later date. Yet Volkswagen has not yet determined how it will fix the cars so they meet EPA rules.

    The second part of the settlement requires VW to pay for environmental cleanup projects. The automaker must spend $2.7 billion to fund projects that aim to reduce NOx emissions, the type produced by the company’s diesel engines. VW will spend another $2 billion to improve infrastructure and development of zero-emissions vehicles over the next 10 years.

    “By duping the regulators, Volkswagen turned nearly half a million American drivers into unwitting accomplices in an unprecedented assault on our environment,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates said today. “We can’t undo the damage VW caused to air quality, but we can offset that damage by reducing pollution from other sources.”

    “We take our commitment to make things right very seriously and believe these agreements are a significant step forward,” Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Müller said in a statement. “We know that we still have a great deal of work to do to earn back the trust of the American people.”

    VW also announced today that it has settled outstanding claims with 44 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia over consumer protection claims around the diesel issue. That will cost $603 million.

    This announcement doesn’t mean that the Dieselgate scandal is over. The government is still investigation VW’s 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 engines for emissions irregularities, and may pursue civil penalties under the Clean Air Act. The Justice Department also said it is still determining whether it will bring any criminal charges against companies or individuals involved in the VW scandal.
    Blair
    Former Cars: '12 Fiat 500, '10 VW GTI, '05 Smart Fortwo, '96 VW Jetta GLX, '02 VW GTI 337.........

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    • Re: VW in trouble

      As Volkswagen Group of America announced its huge $14.7 billion settlement over diesel cars with emissions “cheat” software, a rival carmaker said the scandal didn’t come as a surprise. Speaking to Australian reporters, Volvo vehicle line executive Kent Falck said VW’s cheating was an “open secret” in the car industry.

      Falck told News.com.au that Volvo engineers knew they couldn’t meet increasingly strict U.S. emissions standards for diesel cars, despite using the same basic technologies and parts as VW. Volvo hasn’t sold diesel cars in the U.S. for many years.

      “We have the same suppliers, we have Bosch, we have Denso, we are working with the same partners, so we know this technology doesn’t exist,” he said. “We sat in a room and reviewed all the facts, figures, whatever we have, with the specialists… We can’t manage it, how are the others doing it?”

      This isn’t the first time a rival auto executive has claimed to have known about VW’s “cheat” device. Earlier this year, former General Motors executive Bob Lutz told a Detroit radio station that his engineers also had doubts about VW emissions.

      “Our people told me that they had studied the Volkswagen products and that they could not get the hardware to perform the same way to satisfy California’s emissions standards,” he told WJR-AM in February.

      Emissions scandals aside, Volvo is moving away from diesel technology. The company has publicly committed to focusing on hybrid and electric technology, in part because Volvo believes diesels will become more complicated and expensive as emissions requirements become stricter. The Swedish automaker has also said it hopes to have one million electrified cars on the road by 2025, with its first battery-electric model launching in 2019.
      Blair
      Former Cars: '12 Fiat 500, '10 VW GTI, '05 Smart Fortwo, '96 VW Jetta GLX, '02 VW GTI 337.........

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      • Re: VW in trouble

        Component supplier Bosch has been accused of having an integral role in the development of Volkswagen’s emissions cheating defeat device by lawyers acting on behalf of VW owners, Automotive News Europe reports.

        In a U.S. court filing, it is alleged that Bosch was an “active participant in a massive, decade-long conspiracy with VW.”

        Bosch admitted soon after the ‘dieselgate’ scandal broke that it supplied software and hardware used in engine control units to VW. However, it said the calibration of those systems was down to VW, effectively absolving itself of any responsibility for the cheat.

        But the lawyers claim Bosch worked closely with VW to develop the defeat device, citing a 2011 email to the California Air Resources Board that makes clear “Bosch’s deep understanding of what regulators allowed and would not allow, and what Bosch did to help VW obtain approval.”

        The filing goes on: “It is inconceivable that Bosch did not know that the software it was responsible for defining, developing, testing, maintaining and delivering contained an illegal defeat device.

        “Bosch played a crucial role in the fraudulent enterprise and profited handsomely from it.”

        Though German prosecutors have looked into whether or Bosch employees were involved in the scandal, no agency has accused the company of any wrongdoing. Nor is it involved in the $15 billion settlement VW has negotiated in the U.S.

        Further allegations against Bosch have been declared confidential by Volkswagen, the filing adds.

        A spokeswoman for Bosch said the company is taking the allegations seriously, and is co-operating with a number of investigations, but did not comment further on the matter.
        Blair
        Former Cars: '12 Fiat 500, '10 VW GTI, '05 Smart Fortwo, '96 VW Jetta GLX, '02 VW GTI 337.........

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        • Re: VW in trouble

          I thought Bosch had said earlier that they created the defeat mode for VW's test cars only and it wasn't supposed to be put on the production cars?

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          • Re: VW in trouble

            Originally posted by witchcraftz View Post
            I thought Bosch had said earlier that they created the defeat mode for VW's test cars only and it wasn't supposed to be put on the production cars?
            Probably more of a "don't use this in production" *wink wink*
            Stefan
            -> '19 Deep Black Pearl Alltrack
            -> '05 Urban Grey Passat Wagon TDI.
            -> Past rides: '14 Allroad, 06 Mazda5, '98 Jetta K2, '01 Jetta TDI, '91 Mazda B2200, '81 Toyota Cressida
            -> FutuRe Ride...??!

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            • Re: VW in trouble

              Any news if Canada will get some buyout for the cars similar to the US? I'm not planning to sell mine but will gladly take a buy out.
              Jay

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              • Re: VW in trouble

                We could be waiting until Dec 20 for the Canadian settlement to be reached (announced?). I'm curious how the Canadian options will compare to the american settlement. I too will probably take the buyout. If you take the buyout, which car would you roll the money into next?

                For the rest of the eurodrivers, what do you plan to do when the settlement is reached?

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                • Re: VW in trouble

                  I doubt I'll take the buyout. Will take the $5k and repair though.

                  Comment


                  • Re: VW in trouble

                    Allegations against German engineering company Robert Bosch GmbH are deepening as a legal case against Volkswagen proceeds. Though it had already been made clear that Bosch was involved in developing the emissions-cheating software and devices that allow VW diesels to avoid certain emissions laws, new legal filings suggest that Bosch asked to be indemnified from any accusations of wrongdoing.

                    Bloomberg reports that plaintiffs suing VW in U.S. District Court have found documentation that Bosch asked the automaker for legal protection over the cheating device’s use in the U.S. market, citing a letter than Bosch sent to VW in 2008.

                    “Plaintiffs do not have a full record of what unfolded in response to Bosch’s June 2, 2008, letter,” the filing says. “However, it is indisputable that Bosch continued to develop and sell to Volkswagen hundreds of thousands of the defeat devices for U.S. vehicles.”

                    In January, Bosch tried to distance itself from the ‘dieselgate’ scandal. The company admitted it had supplied parts that VW used in the cheating diesel engines, but claimed that the automaker should take final blame for the engines’ performance.

                    Volkswagen Group of America, for its part, already agreed to a preliminary settlement over the VW scandal that would see the car company buying back hundreds of thousands of vehicles with 2.0-liter turbodiesel engines featuring cheat software. The automaker also plans to compensate dealers who may have lost revenue as a result of the diesel scandal.
                    Blair
                    Former Cars: '12 Fiat 500, '10 VW GTI, '05 Smart Fortwo, '96 VW Jetta GLX, '02 VW GTI 337.........

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                    • Re: VW in trouble

                      The Volkswagen brand is looking for even deeper cost savings in the wake of its international diesel emissions scandal, and the company’s labor union in Germany is starting to push back. In total, the division wants $4.1 billion (3.7 billion euros) in additional savings by 2021, and those reductions are on top of a $5.5-billion (5-billion-euro) in cuts that the company started in 2014.

                      According to Automotive News, management and the company’s German labor representatives can’t come to an agreement on the cuts. Making the negotiations even harder, about $3.3 billion (3 billion euros) of the savings would come from changes to the operations in Germany. The workers representatives want the automaker to provide them with fixed numbers for future production quotas and investments.

                      "A collapse of the future pact continues to be possible because we are still lacking essential commitments from the company," the VW works council told employees in a memo, Automotive News reported.

                      VW management and labor leaders recently came to a compromise for avoiding layoffs. Rather than actively getting rid of workers, the automaker simply doesn’t plan to rehire 25,000 employees when they retire. This solution allows the business to reduce its workforce, and the works council can boast about saving the jobs.

                      Over a year after the start of the emissions scandal, we are beginning to see its toll on Volkswagen Group – particularly the VW brand and Audi. The judge handling the case in the United States recently said that was “strongly inclined” to accept the automaker’s $10.03 billion buyback program for about 475,000 vehicles with the 2.0-liter TDI engine. He also agreed to a $1.2 billion settlement with the brand’s dealers.

                      Budget cuts at Audi will delay the luxury automaker from building a tech center and test track in Ingolstadt, Germany. The site would have spearheaded development of autonomous driving systems and electrification.

                      The VW brand will dig its way out of these problems in part by bringing an onslaught of new products to the U.S. There will be plenty of additional crossovers in the lineup, including the Atlas and long-wheelbase Tiguan. In addition, VW Commercial Vehicles and Skoda are also at least considering entering the American market, too.
                      Blair
                      Former Cars: '12 Fiat 500, '10 VW GTI, '05 Smart Fortwo, '96 VW Jetta GLX, '02 VW GTI 337.........

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                      • Re: VW in trouble

                        Another dieselgate causality...

                        The announcement brings a conclusion to VW's ultra-successful WRC program, with the marque capturing four successive manufacturers' titles and four drivers' titles – all courtesy of Sebastien Ogier – since its full-time entry in 2013.

                        Arriving three days on after VW clinched its 43rd WRC victory and its fourth title at Rally Wales, the news follows on from fellow Volkswagen Group manufacturer Audi's recent exit from the World Endurance Championship.

                        Both developments are believed to be intrinsically tied with the losses VW Group suffered from its highly-publicised emissions scandal in 2015.

                        "The Volkswagen brand is facing enormous challenges. With the upcoming expansion in electrification of our vehicle range we must focus all our efforts on important future technologies.

                        "We far exceeded our sporting goals in the WRC, now we are realigning Volkswagen Motorsport and moving the vehicle technology of the future more starkly into focus,” said VW's Frank Welsch.

                        “At the same time, Volkswagen is going to focus more on customer racing. As well as the Golf GTI TCR on the circuit track and the Beetle GRC in rallycross, we also want to offer customers top products and will develop a new Polo according to R5 regulations."

                        With Volkswagen bowing out, the WRC is set to feature four constructor teams – Citroen, Hyundai, M-Sport and the newly-arriving Toyota – in the 2017 season, where new technical regulations will come into effect.

                        Ogier and teammates Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen, who have looked set to continue in the WRC on an already-developed 2017-spec VW Polo R, will now all have to find new avenues for the continuation of their careers.

                        "I want to give our heartfelt thanks to our drivers and co-drivers for their outstanding achievements. They are not only unbelievably quick, but also extremely effective ambassadors for the Volkswagen brand," added Welsch.
                        Blair
                        Former Cars: '12 Fiat 500, '10 VW GTI, '05 Smart Fortwo, '96 VW Jetta GLX, '02 VW GTI 337.........

                        Comment


                        • Re: VW in trouble

                          Looks like they pulled the plug on US TDIs for good. :(

                          https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/y...finitely-long/
                          Stefan
                          -> '19 Deep Black Pearl Alltrack
                          -> '05 Urban Grey Passat Wagon TDI.
                          -> Past rides: '14 Allroad, 06 Mazda5, '98 Jetta K2, '01 Jetta TDI, '91 Mazda B2200, '81 Toyota Cressida
                          -> FutuRe Ride...??!

                          Comment


                          • Re: VW in trouble

                            Originally posted by stefan View Post
                            Looks like they pulled the plug on US TDIs for good. :(

                            https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/y...finitely-long/
                            They'll find other ways of selling them here eventually I'm sure. I've read a bit about VW considering bringing Skoda here, so they'd probably sell TDIs under that badge instead. They're supposed to make a decision next fall I think.
                            Scott
                            '23 Audi Q5 Technik | Ultra Blue Metallic | Black​
                            '01 DC5 Honda Integra Type R | Championship White | Red

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                            • Re: VW in trouble

                              no updates from Audi yet on this one either and nothing for Canada..

                              i was asking about my Q7 but in Canada we don't have that lemon law stuff so no clue what is going to happen here.. probably some form of settlement but VW will have a lot of pissed off customers.

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                              • Re: VW in trouble

                                Originally posted by CGY_GTI View Post
                                They'll find other ways of selling them here eventually I'm sure. I've read a bit about VW considering bringing Skoda here, so they'd probably sell TDIs under that badge instead. They're supposed to make a decision next fall I think.
                                Even better I hope they consider the SEAT. Imagine having a Cupra R here.

                                This is sad though. But you never know, the lack of resources may make some engineers more innovative with less.. who knows. I currently don't like where VW is going with its designs. The vehicles look like designer bars of soap.
                                Current: 2002 Zonda CRV
                                2004 VW MK4 1.8T GTI
                                2001 Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec (European)

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