As for other companies committing the same crime…they should be punished too. We are one of the only countries that won’t bring criminal charges against the individuals of the companies that made these decisions…but we should. Maybe then they’ll stop this practice.
So, now I am curious, is anybody investigating other cars/companies and their emissions? Maybe we should just go back to tailpipe testing and call it a day.
I am still a firm believer that they have to punish the cheating companies. I understand the concept of us all cheating at one time or another, but that is totally different than systematic corporate cheating that only benefits the deep pockets and hurts everybody else.
Iceland Has Jailed 29 Bankers. Why Can’t the UK and US Do the Same?
One point about VW admitting it. They only admitted it because they got caught. If you believe that VW would have admitted if they didn’t get caught then I’ve got this bridge in Brooklyn I’ll sell you.
They all do it; no exceptions. None of them step up and admit wrongdoing. I’m sure their PR departments are always revved up and the budgets include slush funds for matters like this.
A cut and paste…
Automakers have a long history of using defeat devices. In 1998, the EPA reached a $1 billion settlement with diesel-engine companies such as Caterpiller, Renault and Volvo for installing equipment that defeated emission controls. It was, at the time, the largest U.S. civil penalty for violating environmental law. The EPA said the firms installed the devices in an estimated 1.3 million engines in tractor trailers and large pick-ups.
That same year, Honda and Ford settled EPA cases also accusing them of using defeat devices. With Ford, the problem was found in 60,000 Econoline vans, allowing for excessive pollution at highway speeds. Honda was found to have disabled the misfire monitoring device on 1.6 million cars, depriving emission control inspectors of that information.
Do maybe they should start throwing the executives in jail. Maybe then it’ll stop.
I think the Icelandic public were complicit in the whole deal and happy as clams when money was just appearing out of thin air. Then of course reality hit and they started looking for culprits. I just can’t remember the name of the book, I’ve got it somewhere, that looked at five of these countries including Iceland and Ireland before and after the crashes. Personally though, I’d start at the root cause and start locking up some of the Harvard business professors that have been teaching short term finance for years now.
I remember reading a news story about Harvard a dozen or so years ago in which accepted incoming freshmen were given a basic knowledge test.
It included basic math questions, some easy history and science questions, etc. I do not remember the percentages but it was amazing that anywhere from 25 to 40+% were missing square roots and things such as when the War of 1812 took place.
One test involved a blank map of the U.S. and students were asked to identify some highlighted states. Something like 35% of them failed that question. I think one of them, when asked the name of the state next to Virginia replied “North Virginia”.
Maybe someone needs to be investigating HS transcripts and SAT scores…
Personally though, I'd start at the root cause and start locking up some of the Harvard business professors that have been teaching short term finance for years now.
I have two Harvard Professors in Finance and Business that live in my neighborhood. One just 2 doors down. Neither one advocates short term finance. They all think that long term investment in the S&P 500 index funds is the best strategy.
I agree that Wall street doesn’t follow that trend…Short term investing is the absolute best strategy for Hedge Funds to make money. But not investors.
The root cause…simple GREED that led to banks bundling sub-prime mortgages with good mortgages then selling them as good mortgages is the ROOT cause.
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_business/mortgage_process/index.html?SITE=AP
And guess what…the banks are doing it again.
I think there are polluters out there that do more damage than these diesels (like engines on mowers, boats & motorcycles maybe?), so I guess that’s why I’m ultimately madder about the fraud, lying & cheating than the actual pollution. I’m glad if VW is doing a buy-back, because if I had purchased one of these cars I’d very likely want to get rid of it and not deal with the company any more.
Short term finance as in business worrying more about the next quarters balance sheet and stock price than long term investment in research, plant, and equipment. Nothing to do with personal financial planning. You know the guys that are taught to do a leveraged buy out and then take the company apart and sell the assets for cash. Then on to the next company. Mittens shouldn’t complain too much lest we start looking at how he made his money again.
Weather it’s personal finance or corporate finance… That’s not something taught in any reputable university. Especially Harvard. I know you like conspiracy theories but isn’t one.again it comes down to greed. People looking for higher profits NOW instead of waiting long term.
Suppose all the countries who are punishing VW just “slapped them on the wrist”. Wouldn’t that be a license for all the other car companies to do the same?
Sounds like the poisons the FDA allows after years of testing ,the settlements and lawsuits only amount to a fraction of the profit "harvested " ,apparently doesnt work quite as well for the auto industry .
Oh…I honestly didn’t look up the actual pollution rate or numbers… You say it is 40X more than the standard @texases ? Uh oh…
Yeah…they screwed up… Im still thinking about how there was an entirely new Fuel Map hidden inside the ECU… Whodathunkit ? I mean sure it was always possible… Then that makes me think about how many people within the company had to know about it…and for a long time. Yeah…they rolled the dice and got burned for sure.
What are we talking about 500K vehicles or something? I wonder what will happen to all these semi new vehicles? Will they be unsaleable? Forced into scrapyards? Or boxed up and sold in a 3rd world environment.
You guys are informing me of just how bad what they did…actually was… Uh boyee… Sure does make you think about how other companies play tricks…and just haven’t been found out yet.
@MikeInNH you are right about not bringing criminal charges upon the right people…indeedy… If there were real consequences…it would stop. But then again…when you have money…you usually get a free pass…thats not going to change anytime soon. Its the root of all evil.
Blackbird
The excess pollution per vehicle is quite high, but the total amount compared to all auto pollutants is not because diesel VW cars in the affected years are a small part of the total vehicle population. That is why the US a government might consider letting the owners continue to drive un-modified vehicles.
I suppose thats why MB uses Urea Injection on their Bluetec Diesels… In past years I was curious to see this…and strongly wondered how VW bested MB in this department… I wondered what VW knew that MB did not. I did find that very suspicious…bec MB went through great trouble to get their Diesel to run “clean”… How was VW doing it better than MB at a fraction of the price. That always had me wondering. I never looked into it…but…
Blackbird
If there were real consequences...it would stop. But then again...when you have money...you usually get a free pass...thats not going to change anytime soon. Its the root of all evil.
I agree 100%…All I can do is complain about it.
One case that’s heading in the right direction was just recently the head of a coal mine was just sent to prison for failing to improve safety standards that caused a mine collapse and 29 miners were killed. He was sentenced to 1 year in prison…THE MAXIMUM HE COULD BE CHARGED. Think about it…that’s the maximum in this country for a crime like this. This wasn’t an accident…the CEO REFUSED to improve safety standards that would have eaten into his profits for years and years and years.
A similar case like this happened in China about 10 years ago. The CEO was beheaded.
I dunno. Is life in prison for real damage done enough or should we also behead business owners? I guess the question is what is the real, actual, damages. A regulation was flaunted but how many died as a result? Not the same as knowingly shipping contaminated food product or operating unsafe mine conditions, knowingly. Speaking of Chinese consequences though, I didn’t hear any of the contaminated sheetrock executives being hanged or beheaded. Or as it seems to me anyway.
Obviously beheading is NOT viable…but ZERO jail time also is not a viable solution. Something in between.
Say 5-10 years for first offense. Probably out in 3 with good behavior.
If an individual got caught defrauding the Government they’d be looking at up to 20 years in prison. But we give corporations a pass. I thought you conservatives believed that Corporations were People??? Isn’t that what’s being preached.