Caddyman, you’ve made a good point, but if the damage to VW is as great as I suspect it will be that’ll be the greatest deterrent of all. Remember that Europe is involved in this too, and I suspect the damage to the VW brand worldwide will be serious enough that other automakers won’t want to cheat.
What I'm wondering, if VW used software to overcome an emissions problem, other car makers might be tempted to try the same thing (on gas powered models).
And that is why you put their sorry-butts in jail so other companies won’t be tempted to do it again.
Or maybe they’ll try to be “smarter” cheaters
Or maybe they'll try to be "smarter" cheaters
There will always be those…but I suspect MOST executives won’t be too happy going to prison.
I wonder what they fear most, going to jail or having to answer to the board for having damaged the brand.
Well personally I don’t thinks the problem is the ones that are going to do it in the future but the ones that have already done it same as VW and are sweating how to get out from under it now.
I read an article that the resigning head of Volkswagen is going to get 67 million dollars as a going away present. I hope that is wrong.
I read an article that the resigning head of Volkswagen is going to get 67 million dollars as a going away present. I hope that is wrong.
A lot of executives and big companies have Parachute clauses. They leave for what-ever-reason they get x-amount of money.
Typical “golden parachute” clause. I’ve read about much, much bigger ones.
These clauses come with numerous conditions, such as a “noncompete” clause and others that protect the company’s proprietary and internal information from being brought or sold to competitors. I got “bought out” once because I had access to the company’s confidential data including some that could have damaged the company, but it was a small company and the buyout was relatively small potatoes. They bought my silence. All of these things are arranged ahead of time in the original employment contract. Companies have to protect themselves when bringing on new senior executives.
Interestingly, Lee Iacocca, having risen through the ranks, never had a contract with protective clauses. That’s what allowed him to go to work for Chrysler when he got canned from Ford. I’m willing to bet that all current Ford senior execs have work contracts with protective clauses and golden parachutes.
Bosch developed this software 7 years ago…I would be very surprised if VW is the only car company that resorted to using it…
@mountainbike VW will chalk this up as a very expensive lesson, not to be repeated, and will be less arrogant in the future.
It doesn’t appear that VW will skate through this problem. I doubt that any other manufacturer would do something this foolish again. Of course, if VW goes get off easy, others might join in on the fun.
kevin, you have just given a name ( mattock ) to a tool I’ve had for 30 years and never even wonder to call it anything other than a broad pick .
Inherted from my wife’s grandpa Cadena which he used in the coal mines, so lord knows how old it really is.
I had to look the term up! Never having “worked the land”, I’d never heard the term. 
I’ve also heard a mattock called a grubbing hoe . Did anyone go to jail for GM’s ignition switch debacle or Firestone’s tire debacle , just a couple that came to mind ?
Hope so DN,these boasting commercials from some of these companies turn me against them(case in point the old Jeep steep hill commercial,a Guy in a 2wd Isuzu PU is sitting on the fender"aint no way ,I’m going up that hill" then a Jeep owner comes along"Jeep CJ,give it a try" then at the top of the hill"his Girlfriend(looks like( “Sunshine Cornsilk”) sez"wee.that was fun" and not to mention the Jeeps bursting through the powder snow,gimme a break Madison Ave.
Hey,Carolyn,could we please get a contrasting color on the page numbers?On my all in one,I cant hardly tell the dark blue from the black(adjusting the resolution doesnt seem to help)
Hey,Carolyn,could we please get a contrasting color on the page numbers?On my all in one,I cant hardly tell the dark blue from the black(adjusting the resolution doesnt seem to help)
That was suggested by several people back during the “we’re upgrading; any suggestions?” time a few months ago. Apparently to no effect.
Hope they do it,it was a good suggestion(I was merely repeating it)
For the record: We didn’t ignore the request. The upgrades have been in the works for a while and we plan to announce when they’re going to be rolled out. We lackeys have just as hard a time seeing the numbers as you do.