Volkswagen: Das busted !!!!

[terrym]

So I wonder just how much this will hurt them? I don't think we have seen the bottom of the septic tank yet. Some pretty dire predictions in the media. I think many other manufacturers must be in damage control already. Big Auto is well known to operate under dubious legal cover relying on big money to make problems go away. This will be interesting to watch. Honda must be jubilant.

[DGearyFTE]

BMW has also been implicated. Apparently the X3 is not what it seems.

As for VW, I think they are going to take a bath on this one. Their only saving grace may be the 50000 auto workers in Germany. The German government will not want to take action that could potentially put those people out of work. I suspect the whole upper echelon of the company will be sacked and they will launch a big PR campaign after the bills/fines are paid.
Give them 10 years and they will recover. Lets face it, we are only talking about not meeting an emission standard that California imposes. On balance GM made a business decision to not fix the ignition switch and many people died.

[rf2]

Lets face it, we are only talking about not meeting an emission standard that California imposes. On balance GM made a business decision to not fix the ignition switch and many people died.

Actually, it is an emission standard that applies all across the entire U.S.A. and Canada. My understanding is that the vehicles also exceed similar European standards.

[DGearyFTE]

Rob... to clarify, the emission standards in the US are driven California law. You are quite right to point out that it is a North American standard but it is the tree huggers on the west coast that drive it...

[JMatthews]

VW's biggest selling point has always been producing vehicles that are very fuel efficient. The technology to reduce emissions also reduces fuel economy. Bypass this and you get better fuel economy and sell vehicles--until you get caught!

[rf2]

Rob... to clarify, the emission standards in the US are driven California law. You are quite right to point out that it is a North American standard but it is the tree huggers on the west coast that drive it...

Well, I do not agree about the tree-hugger comment. Air pollution affects all people, whether you are a tree hugger or a die-hard redneck. Beyond the health impacts, there is the additional issue of the unfair competitive advantage that the company(ies?) in question gained by the fraudulent activity. But you are correct in your suggestion that people do view emissions related fraud differently than safety related fraud because the impact of excess emissions is not as immediate or dramatic.

[terrym]

There are always enormous "$Slush$" funds set aside for catastrophic law suits. This one's gonna leave a mark. Company lawyers are always an integral part of new product development. They take calculated risks on return on investment vs fines/settlements.

[trimmer21]

VW will weather this storm,but,it may be a very l-o-n-g storm. They'll find their scapegoats and s**t will roll down hill,they'll pay a whole whack of fines,grease all their customers with some cash,but,in the end,it'll be all good. It always has and always will.

[DGM999]

I think VW will weather this in the long run, all the big auto makers have taken a major hit at one pint or another, they will apologize, lose a few visible management people and move on, company is simply to large to eliminate over this. I keep wondering if this is an opportunity, stock as dropped big time but if history is any indicator it will go back to where it stood before this.

[rick_iles]

VW will weather this storm,but,it may be a very l-o-n-g storm. They'll find their scapegoats and s**t will roll down hill,they'll pay a whole whack of fines,grease all their customers with some cash,but,in the end,it'll be all good. It always has and always will.

Agreed....I don't consider this fiasco as serious as GM's ignition issue. This one didn't cost anyone their life ! If GM can survive, VW will also.