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Still a straw man argument. Why not drag in the Corvair? Because we are focusing on VW cheating on emissions laws and the possible effects of this scandal on sales.
This is quite different than Toyota's sludge, Audi's sudden acceleration, or GM's ignition keys. This is a very clear cut case of culpability. VW doesn't even have a case to defend.
"An emissions scandal like the one engulfing Volkswagen would not be possible at Daimler, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said on Thursday in an unusual dig at another carmaker.
In general, he does not criticise competitors, Zetsche said at a reception in the German capital.
"But with the VW affair, there is nothing else to do," he said, because the scandal affected the whole auto sector."
Daimler boss criticises VW over emissions scandal (Reuters)
They have a great defense if it was in fact Bosch the developed the software and did not tell anyone at VW.
German auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH has been accused of conspiring with Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) to evade diesel emissions standards in at least 11 million vehicles worldwide in a class action lawsuit filed late on Monday.
The lawsuit filed by a New York diesel owner in U.S. District Court in Detroit names Bosch - the world's largest auto supplier - along with VW, former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and VW U.S. chief Michael Horn.
"Volkswagen's fraudulent scheme was facilitated and aided and abetted by defendant Bosch, which created the software used in Volkswagen's defeat device," said the 56-page lawsuit, which accuses the parties of violating civil racketeering laws and consumer fraud.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-bosch-idUSKBN0TK5OK20151201
"Under American law, that decision to profit from what Bosch knew was Volkswagen's ongoing fraud makes Bosch and aider and abettor of that crime and a RICO co-conspirator with Volkswagen that is jointly liable for treble the damages that Volkswagen's fraud has caused U.S. consumers," reads the amended suit.
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/10/volkswagen_suit_in_alabama_gro.html
But VW will settle because it will be cheaper and faster than entertaining all kinds of individual lawsuits. So it looks like your money will be going to the US Treasury! But you can join a class action I'm sure. Might get you a coupon or a few hundred bucks.
Not sure that will be valid in cases of fraud or other felony convictions. That tends to void a lot of commercial agreements.
MUNICH -- Robert Bosch warned Volkswagen in 2007 that it would be illegal to use engine management software at the heart of the diesels emissions scandal in production cars, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag said.
VW was also warned by one of its own engineers in 2011 about illegal emissions testing practices, a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's Sunday edition said, citing initial results of a VW internal investigation.
Bild am Sonntag said Bosch supplied diesel software to VW for test purposes but it ended up in vehicles on the road. Bosch wrote to VW saying that such use was unlawful, according to the paper's report, which did not cite sources.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150927/COPY01/309279989/bosch-warned-vw-about-illegal-software-use-in-diesel-cars-report-says
Popular Mechanics recently (Jan 16th) did an editorial in which they speculate that this might signal the end of the diesel car in America. And this was from a journalist who is a known diesel fan boy.
I don't expect that leaving the U.S. diesel market will hurt VW all that much, numbers-wise, but their reputation as a whole could suffer.
GM, Toyota had their "bad days" and now I guess it's VWs turn.
Renault's shares got hammered today. But whose didn't?
Lots of maintenance required on diesels. Not as care-free as advertised.
Let's presume that VW will lose a lot of diesel car business. So who is in a position to pick up that market share? GM!
Toyota is committed to hybrids, so they're out of it.
Now, once the Germans move in on Tesla, it'll probably go belly up, which will leave the low-end EV market to......GM!
So there's definitely a chance for GM to gain market share on Toyota.
http://jalopnik.com/audi-focusing-on-electric-cars-as-reparations-for-diese-1754186805
Gefter, citing the Ford, GM and Toyota’s brush with scandal, thinks it can.
“Eventually this VW scandal will become a thing of the past. The combination of money, actions taken on behalf of the consumer, a brilliant public relations plan and some new technology/models will help them endure the tough road ahead,” Gefter said.
Cornell’s Wheaton is optimistic too.
“Yes and I don’t think in five years time it will be much different from now. It’s not a very big player in the U.S. and never even came close to 10 per cent of the market,” he said."
Dealers, States Pose Bigger Theoretical Threat To Volkswagen Than EPA (Forbes)
A lawsuit filed on behalf of the EPA by the Department of Justice seeks up to $48 billion in fines. Wheaton said though that the EPA likes to start out with a big, scary number, then negotiate it down, so it’s possible $48 billion could become, say, $100 million.
As for all the silly people like Melnyk, after a few Lemon Law losses it will be hard finding attorneys that will waste their time pro bono. If Melnyk was paying his attorney you think he would be so belligerent. VW can write off millions to attorney fees. Not sure they can do that with buying back vehicles?
The Volkswagen Group in Germany placed 2nd behind Toyota, as 2015 sales fell 2 percent to 9.9 million. VW had to halt sales of diesel models in some markets and will recall some of those models to repair or replace faulty emissions control systems.
General Motors nearly closed the gap with VW, as the U.S. automaker saw global sales rise 0.2 percent to 9.8 million, largely on strength in China and its home market."
Toyota Retains Crown as World's Top-Selling Automaker
I'm not sure what VW will do with those cars that can't be fixed with software. They'd have to install a UREA system, with all the tanks, plumbing and electronic controls. Even if VW worked it all out at HQ, it would still take a technician at least a full day to retrofit each car. And there are some...what?....400,000 of them give or take that would require retrofits?
You bring up an interesting point though, about VW just buying them up and dumping them in states that don't care what comes out of cars' tailpipes. That might create all kinds of snarls though with interstate commerce. And I'm not sure any state would suffer the indignity of being VW's toxic waste dump, even if the toxicity is more symbolic than a real threat.
How Volkswagen Really Blew It: It Was China, Not Dieselgate (Forbes0
Exploding Steel Mill Disrupts Toyota (Forbes)
[VW] had found "irregularites" with the amount of CO2 pumped out by 800,000 of its vehicles.
While this is only a fraction of the 11m diesel engines VW has previously admitted it fitted with "defeat devices" so they could beat emissions tests, the news is potentially more serious.
This raises the possibility that the company's entire range of vehicles may have been cheating to hit pollution control targets."
Crisis-hit Volkswagen's troubles worsen as internal investigation reveals inconsistencies in the amount of CO2 emitted by diesel and petrol cars (telegraph.co.uk0
"In what has already evolved into a sprawling court battle filled with legal stars, all of the cases against Volkswagen have been assigned by a special national panel to San Francisco U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, a veteran of some of the Bay Area's most high-profile cases and brother of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer."
Volkswagen scandal: legal assault lands in San Francisco courts (mercurynews.com)
VW replaces head of U.S. legal department (timesfreepress.com)
"German automaker Volkswagen saw its sales in the United Kingdom fall by 13.9 percent in January, compared to the same month a year ago. The fourth consecutive dip in its monthly sales — since the company’s emissions-cheating device in its diesel cars came to light — happened even as sales of new cars in the U.K. grew by almost 3 percent."
Volkswagen Emissions Scandal Impact Continues (ibtimes.com)
"The Detroit-based manufacturer of Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks and Cadillac CT6 sedans said Wednesday it earned a record profit of $9.7 billion in 2015 and beat Wall Street estimates in its fourth-quarter numbers.
"It was a strong year on many fronts, capped with record sales and earnings, and a substantial return of capital to our shareholders," GM’s Chief Executive Mary Barra said in the release of the earnings statement.
While GM is struggling in South America and Europe, North American growth checked in at 5 percent for 2015 and 3 percent for the Asia-Pacific/Middle East/Africa regions.
GM is a major presence in China, but the numbers show how little the company actually makes from its dozen joint ventures in the world’s largest auto market. "
General Motors Record 2015 Profit (ibtimes.com)