[RavenAvi]

At a congressional committee hearing conducted some hours earlier, Volkswagen's US head Michael Horn has said that about 4,30,000 Volkswagen group diesel vehicles currently plying on US roads will have to be retrofitted with costly add-on tanks or other equipment in order to meet emissions standards, which could take years.

Michael Horn, the president and chief executive officer of Volkswagen of America, said those cars will need more than software to bring the cars into compliance with U.S. requirements.

Volkswagen is looking at adding hardware such as improved catalytic converters or urea tanks in the rear, he said. Engineers are still working on the options and will discuss with regulators when they're ready, he said.

Volkswagen will compensate customers and address any impact on performance, Horn said.

The hearing is the first public questioning in the U.S. of a VW executive since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board announced their investigation Sept. 18.

Horn said he couldn't provide an exact time frame for when the fixes would be carried out. The software fix should begin early next year, while the hardware repairs could come in the middle of next year, or perhaps a bit later, he said.

ET Auto


The state of Texas has sued Volkswagen for violation of state consumer protection laws and clean air standards.

Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday that his state would seek restitution for consumers, and an injunction and civil penalties to prohibit future violations.

Paxton, who himself has been indicted for securities fraud, said in a statement, "When companies willfully violate the public's trust, a penalty must be paid."

Paxton said Texans purchased around 32,000 affected vehicles. There are about 49 authorized VW dealerships statewide.

ET Auto


Another big question which has come to the fore is - did Volkswagen deliberately under-report death and injury claims in the US over the past decade?

It is to be noted that Volkswagen had reported to have the lowest rate in fatalities and injuries when it came to claims.

Have the numbers been fudged up?

The average reporting rate of the 11 biggest automakers was nine times higher than Volkswagen's, according to an analysis of government data completed last week by financial advisory firm Stout Risius Ross.

This year, two of Volkswagen's competitors, Honda Motor and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's US unit, have said they underreported claims to the US government, and Honda paid a fine. Volkswagen's rate is lower than Honda and Chrysler's underreported numbers, the data show. To ensure fair comparisons among carmakers of different sizes, the rates were calculated per million vehicles on the road.

"The data demonstrates that even on a fleet-adjusted basis, the number of reported incidents by Volkswagen is significantly below what one would expect based on those reported by other automakers," said Neil Steinkamp, a Stout Risius managing director. "They are also significantly below the reporting of automakers that have already been cited for non-compliance."

ET Auto

[sukarsan]

A fleet of Audis were standing in front of the main reception at ARAI for close to a week as soon as the scandal broke! There was a sticker on these vehicles saying they were for CoP testing. Cars awaiting tests usually occupy that spot for 1 or 2 days. ARAI might not be interested to do the complete emission testing, but will ask for a declaration. So far I have not heard anything which might indicate that India is not affected by this scandal

[arunphilip]

Here's a tip for VW - people are wondering where VW can fit the AdBlue tank (a.k.a. diesel exhaust fluid or urea) for SCR, particularly in smaller cars like the Golf.

Why not plonk it inside the fuel tank? Urea consumption in these systems is roughly 2-6%. So, giving up ~10% of fuel tank volume might be an option.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

At a congressional committee hearing conducted some hours earlier, Volkswagen's US head Michael Horn has said that about 4,30,000 Volkswagen group diesel vehicles currently plying on US roads will have to be retrofitted with costly add-on tanks or other equipment in order to meet emissions standards, which could take years.[/url]


[b]The state of Texas has sued Volkswagen for violation of state consumer protection laws and clean air standards.

The US litigation does not impress m at all. Litigation for tort (ie a percentage) is illegal in most countries, but not the US of A. Also, there are wheels within wheels. Otherwise why is Uncle Sam not in the dock for attacking doctors of MSF. Even Obama apology has no trace of remorse and trying to find how and why?

[Thad E Ginathom]

tort (ie a percentage)

I don't get your point, or you have your legal definitions confused. "Tort" is a branch of civil law that deals with wrongs.

[reverse_gear]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

The US litigation does not impress m at all. Litigation for tort (ie a percentage) is illegal in most countries, but not the US of A. Also, there are wheels within wheels. Otherwise why is Uncle Sam not in the dock for attacking doctors of MSF. Even Obama apology has no trace of remorse and trying to find how and why?

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I don't get your point, or you have your legal definitions confused. "Tort" is a branch of civil law that deals with wrongs.

I think what he is referring to is the arrangement of conditional/ contingent fee which allows lawyers to earn large percentage (say 30% or more) of monetary award as fees. Many other countries do not allow contingent fee arrangements or severely restrict the amount that can be paid as conditional fee.

This system in the US incentivises lawyers to take on cases (including class action suits) which may otherwise not be remunerative because the claimants are not wealthy enough to pay legal bills. The possibility of a potentially large share of award keeps lawyers going in such cases.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I don't get your point, or you have your legal definitions confused. "Tort" is a branch of civil law that deals with wrongs.

Yes, but in the US you are allowed to sue on a percentage basis. I hear in medical malpractice suits the support (ie lawyers etc) may pocket as much as 90%.

[Aditya]

In an attempt to obtain documents and digital data that could help in identifying those responsible for the Volkswagen emissions scandal, German police have raided the company's headquarters and taken away files and hard disks. Volkswagen has confirmed that it has handed over documents to the authorities.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

[iliketurtles]

I don't know if this needs this own thread, but I didn't find anywhere else to put it, so here goes.

Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi have joined the growing list of manufacturers whose diesel cars are known to emit significantly more pollution on the road than in regulatory tests, according to data obtained by the Guardian.

How deep does this rabbit hole go, and is the issue a more systemic one as hinted at in the article? Makes for worrying reading to see so many car makers names come up like this.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Yes, but in the US you are allowed to sue on a percentage basis. I hear in medical malpractice suits the support (ie lawyers etc) may pocket as much as 90%.

NO! The %'ge is capped at 30-33%

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi have joined the growing list of manufacturers whose diesel cars are known to emit significantly more pollution on the road than in regulatory tests,

As we say in Hindi - Iss haman mein sabhi nange hain!

Originally Posted by Jomz

NO! The %'ge is capped at 30-33%

and expenses are additional.

[RavenAvi]

When the recall is issued for millions of Volkswagen vehicles, not only is availability of spare parts a possible future problem, but software engineers have to take into the equation the space available in the specified cars when they go for overhauls of injector systems.

In some affected cars, it may end up as a complete revamp of the engine structure.

There are two kinds of affected vehicles. One group is fitted with a catalytic converter that reduces the amount of nitrogen oxide emitted by treating it with aqueous urea.

Another type is fitted with a system that stores nitrogen oxide temporarily when the car is undergoing tests, before releasing the harmful levels of the gas when the car is back on the road.

Some vehicles will only require a software fix, but others will need total overhauls including installing new catalytic converters and injector systems.

Injectors are a key structural component of the engine, and play a big part in the formation of exhaust gas. Modern high-performance systems can significantly reduce the generation of nitrogen oxide.

In their search for solutions, engineers will not only have to worry about the availability of spare parts but also the amount of space available in the vehicle in cases, for instance, which involve major re-equipping of injector systems.

VW chief Matthias Mueller has said: "We need not just three solutions, but thousands" to fix all 11 million vehicles.

Mueller says performance would not necessarily be compromised by the repairs, although he concedes that the cars may lose "three to five kilometres per hour" of their maximum speed.

Repairs were likely to take between five to 10 hours per car, he said, but there were other factors to be taken into account, including the availability of the car parts.

ET Auto

[johannskaria]

Consumer Reports test VW cheat mode

[msprabhakar]

Call it entrepreneurial spirit, call it drivers’ anger, there might be a business opportunity in VW's dieselgate.

After the news broke last month that Volkswagen misled regulators and consumers about the eco-friendliness of its vehicles, a lot of people voiced their outrage, from environmental advocates to investors to law enforcement agencies across the world.

Now, owners of the disgraced Volkswagen cars are making sure their fellow drivers have a way to express their frustration too—while also trying to profit off the anger of others.

A new website called VWsham.com is selling magnetic bumper stickers bearing anti-VW slogans, such as “Another VW? No tanks,” “VW took me for a ride,” and “VW. German for FU.” Each magnet costs $7.50, with 5% of sales going to the International Council for Clean Transportation, according to the site.

The people behind the site describe themselves as the owners of two diesel-engine Volkswagens—a 2009 VW Jetta, and a 2014 VW Passat—who were formerly “very satisfied” with their chosen wheels. But that all changed after the scandal: “You thought you bought a ‘clean diesel’ only to find out it was a SHAM,” they explain on the site’s homepage.

“Aside from being pissed off, we feel ashamed of the cars we drive. We want to let other people know to know how angry we are as a result of VW’s sham,” the site’s authors continue, urging other duped VW drivers to, “Display one of our quality car magnets and let everyone know you’re more pissed off than they are!”

[heydj]

The whole scandal stinks. Its not as if US cars are very clean but still US agency decided to go after European company, would it not have been easier to investigate car makers in their own backyard. Hey but that would have led to collapse of US car makers already under pressure from various things. Afterall US president hopefulls cant jeprodize campaign contributions from US car industry.