While the EPA recently revealed Volkswagen’s diesels were cheating emissions tests, two newspapers learned VW was warned about cheating as early as 2007.
The German newspapers Bild am Sonntag and Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagzeitung reported the warning in their respective publications, Chicago Tribune says. The former, though VW’s internal investigation, found the automaker was told by supplier Bosch in 2007 its emissions software should only be used for company testing, and not to enter the real world. The latter, also citing the investigation, adds a VW engineer addressed the misuse of said software in 2011.
Representative Andreas Lampersbach declined to comment on the findings, declaring them “rumors and speculation.” Lampersbach added his company “is working with all its strength to conduct a thorough and merciless investigation of this matter,” and would hold those responsible for the scandal accountable for their actions against the automaker and their customers.
Photo credit: Volkswagen
Unless the Germans go full-EV or PHEV they’ll never be able to beat the environmentalists.
And every single year, more regulations will be passed to ensure they WON’T.
This is crony capitalism at its finest.
Now – when I see VW on the road, I give the driver a death stare. I feel bad for them. It must be upsetting for the media to suddenly shove it in your face that despite all your environmentaliberal ramblings you are “part of the problem”.
[I wonder how Model S owners will feel when they figure out where electricity comes from?]
It must hurt to know that my 6.4-L Hemi Jeep passes regulations and your Golf TDI (whatever) doesn’t.
I don’t blame VW for this. I blame the governments.
Yeah. Down with governments, social contracts, clean air, and potable water. Life is about now, not ensuring that the world will be a better place for our kids and grandkids.
Let’s start a #CorporateFraudMatters movement to ensure that white collar criminals everywhere are treated with the reverence and awe they are due. They had the balls to openly flaunt regulations, and deserve to be rewarded, rather than punished, for the damage they’ve done to the common good.
Let the kids and grandkids worry about and determine their own future. The world is a dynamic and ever-evolving place. Today’s world is not my father’s world, and tomorrow’s world will not be our world as it is today.
Industry and governments will change based on what the buyers and voters of the time will determine.
Consider this: today’s America is what the voters of today have voted it to be. Tomorrow’s cars will be what the buyers of that time will determine it to be.
But that doesn’t mean that people like me of my generation will change their behavior. We each live our lives in fashion best suited to each of us.
“Consider this: today’s America is what the voters of today have voted it to be. Tomorrow’s cars will be what the buyers of that time will determine it to be.”
Today’s America is what the voters of YESTERDAY voted it to be.
Tomorrow’s America will be what TODAY’S voters voted for.
In this case: a communist oligarchy that manipulates world currency and uses war to suppress freedom.
Okay, but it is whatever works for them. The America I voted for worked very well for me. Allowed me to become what I am today.
So, today’s voters will shape an America that works for them.
I can live with that. I’m not going to adapt. I’m not going to change my behavior. I live my life in fashion that works for me.
I will help send MY kids and grandkids off to a great start. But after that, they’re on their own. Let them fend for themselves.
@highdesertcat
Oh. My. God. More award-winning stupidity.
Mackie, what is one man’s award-winning stupidity is another man’s strategy for a successful life.
And as of right now, I say the successful-life people are winning.
Then again, I’m an Independent, not a cradle-to-grave liberal-democrat green-weenie fan of BIG GOVERNMENT.
Dude, the American government I voted for, and helped shape, has worked for me.
America is changing, to be sure. But that’s the worry of the generations that follow mine. Just like MY generation helped reshape the America of my parents.
Are you old enough to remember the Global Cooling scare?
If you are, then you would come to grips with this whole Global Warming green-weenie tree-hugging environmentalist campaign being just another crock of schit, like Global Cooling was.
So it seems you are saying the current generation can fuck up the world, hand it off to succeeding generations and say “here, now determine your own future”
???
Clearly humanity’s environmental foot print is big enough that we here now can determine what the future set of conditions will be for our progeny to “determine their future”
ttacgreg, some have said that our forebears really focked up the world that we , my generation (postwar baby boomers) inherited, with their Wars, expansionism, pollution, whatever.
Each generation will reshape the world to their own liking.
My kids and grandkids may not like the way my generation would reshape the world for them, if we did what you are implying by instituting changes now.
“But that doesn’t mean that people like me of my generation will change their behavior. We each live our lives in fashion best suited to each of us.”
This coming from a guy who drives either a Sequoia or a Tundra to and from the grocery store, when so many other options would both be SIGNIFICANTLY less environmentally impactful and overall better, more comfortable, nicer, and likely cheaper vehicles exist…
You’re what’s wrong with this world, HDC.
Naw, man. tuffjuff, I bet there are more people with my mentality in America than there are with yours.
Judging from the sheer number of people I see who take their OLD V8 F150 to the grocery store. Hell, people drive 1/2 mile to Burger King, Taco Hell and McDonald’s in their trucks to get their fix.
People, like me, who have worked all their lives for what they have accumulated don’t share the same angst of the people like you.
I drive to the grocery stores at military bases any where from six to 120 miles away, once a week.
Do I care about gas mileage, fuel economy, or the price of gasoline?
No.
As long as I have enough money to go around.
And I see plenty of young people do the very same thing. Not everyone is into this phony baloney green-thing.
Some may be. Most are not.
“You’re what’s wrong with this world, HDC.”
Meh… I’m gonna say that stupidity, religion and viable sperm are worse culprits.
“Then again, I’m an Independent, not a cradle-to-grave liberal-democrat green-weenie fan of BIG GOVERNMENT.
Dude, the American government I voted for, and helped shape, has worked for me.”
The American government your generation voted for worked by borrowing large sums of money from the future. Environmentally, it’s done much the same thing. Good going.
carlisimo, all true. But it worked for me. Allowed me to become who I am today.
And I’m proud of that, having risen from the ranks of the impoverished, second-class citizens.
And future generations will have to shape their version of the American government to be what they want it to be. Been that way since 1776 in America.
Good news, big truck. There are treatments for delirium.
@bigtruck
What rubbish. At first I thought, “are you for real?” But, of course your are. You are very real. So sad…
Say what you want.
Your opinion means as much to me as VW’s emissions test results.
It’s alright. Another day, and BTS still thinks his shit doesn’t stink.
When global warming environmentalists start clamoring for state of the art nuclear to replace our 40 year old nuclear reactors, I’ll start believing that climate change is the clear and present danger they claim it to be.
I believe that human caused CO2 emissions are warming the planet. But I also believe the effects of that warming have been vastly overstated. No one is able to predict how much warming will occur, where it will occur, and when it will occur – same for sea level rise.
This lack of specificity makes it almost impossible to create policies that adapt human behavior to the coming change. If the climate change scientists could tell us with reasonable certainty where and when the changes will occur, we could do things like grow food and build homes in different places.
Solar and wind power is nice, but there is no way we could build enough of it, and redesign the power distribution grid fast enough to replace fossil fuels entirely. We need more nuclear and we needed it 20 years ago.
Until the greenies start advocating for nuclear power, I’m not going to believe their claims that the sky is falling.
Especially since nuclear power has the lowest fatality rate (yeah, I was surprised too), you’d think that everyone would be all for it. But the anti-nuke movement is the most deeply entrenched portion of any “anti-energy” movement, having its roots going back 40-50 years ago.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2012/06/10/energys-deathprint-a-price-always-paid/
“They”. Don’t want us having “anything”
Malthusian Luddites
Well, I’m not happy about strict government emissions standards either, considering it only takes one volcanic eruption to equal all of man’s emissions, but when you consider that VW was committed to sell cars in the United States, and that we have these strict standards, they really went over the top with their cheating. They should have just buckled down and committed to fully meeting the standards. How did they think that they’d ever get away with it? And didn’t they ever consider the vast consequences?
But who is to say that VW was the only one cheating? What if future revelations reveal in time that both gassers and diesels pollution has been wildly exagerrated for EPA criteria?
Wow, I get to use this source twice in one weekend!
“Do the Earth’s volcanoes emit more CO2 than human activities? Research findings indicate that the answer to this frequently asked question is a clear and unequivocal, “No.” Human activities, responsible for a projected 35 billion metric tons (gigatons) of CO2 emissions in 2010 (Friedlingstein et al., 2010), release an amount of CO2 that dwarfs the annual CO2 emissions of all the world’s degassing subaerial and submarine volcanoes (Gerlach, 2011).”
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/gas/climate.php
And another one for good measure:
“Published reviews of the scientific literature by Mörner and Etiope (2002) and Kerrick (2001) report a minimum-maximum range of emission of 65 to 319 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Counter claims that volcanoes, especially submarine volcanoes, produce vastly greater amounts of CO2 than these estimates are not supported by any papers published by the scientists who study the subject.”
https://www.skepticalscience.com/volcanoes-and-global-warming.htm
You need to realize that climate change denial is motivated by politics, not by facts. It’s a waste of time to try to change the mind of someone who doesn’t have one.
I know, right? But I can’t stay away–it’s like watching a car crash in slow motion! Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment.
You’re dealing with a crowd that isn’t interested in facts. Belittling them can be entertaining, but trying to teach them something is a waste of time.
It’s about balance and earth’s ability to absorb CO2. Man’s activity throws the CO2 levels out of balance. I’ve posted this here before “13 Misconceptions About Global Warming”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWXoRSIxyIU
but to no effect.
Environmentally, I’m too proactive for prime time.
I believe in reclaiming the wisdom of our forebears, they who rescued us all from brief, pustuled existences in the blood and sh*t of Europe, by once again destroying our competitors.
Absent the willingness to decrease global population by at least half, no one can credibly call herself an environmentalist.
“Absent the willingness to decrease global population by at least half, no one can credibly call herself an environmentalist.”
China did have the one child per family policy, but, given the eye-watering and lung burning smog in Beijing, I wouldn’t call them environmentalists.
Extreme solutions aren’t really solutions at all.
“Extreme solutions aren’t really solutions at all.”
Tell the doctors that when your leg goes gangrenous.
“Tell the doctors that when your leg goes gangrenous.”
Ok, *most* extreme solutions aren’t really solutions at all.
Actually, amputation is the only option for gangrene. But population control is just one of many options toward environmental stewardship. It would be extreme and extremely foolish not to explore alternatives.
“But population control is just one of many options toward environmental stewardship.”
The conceit that some imagined authority has granted upper middle-class whites the responsibility for “stewardship” of *anything* is one of the core pomposities lingering from those heady days of Empire and Christianity.
It’ll pass as reeking, colorful reality invades even your neighborhood and personal sancta simplicitas.
“The conceit that some imagined authority has granted upper middle-class whites the responsibility for “stewardship” of *anything* is one of the core pomposities lingering from those heady days of Empire and Christianity.”
Nah, don’t confuse me with any of the above. My favorite numbers are 4, 13, and 666.
I am not opposed to population control. Reduction by half is extreme and a cop-out. Zero growth is possible through government incentives, but is also possible through better education, improved healthcare, and a prosperous economy. Note that societies with those attributes tend to voluntarily reproduce less.
But population control isn’t only one way to manage our resources. Add the judicious use of technology and sound governing, and the world has a chance.
“Well, I’m not happy about strict government emissions standards either, considering it only takes one volcanic eruption to equal all of man’s emissions,”
While I agree with you on the logic of natural processes Science has NEVER measured the actual amount of man-made vs. natural emissions.
After-all, they can’t tax volcanoes. They can, however, tax stupid people.
AND THE FUNNY THING IS: the effect of major volcanic eruptions is GLOBAL COOLING because the sun-light (insolation) can’t reach the Earth’s surface as easily.
In 2010 Eyjafjallajökull released approximately 0.15 million tonnes of CO2 each day.
Some people might demand I quote that, but I don’t have to – nor will I. I’m not worried about it. It’s a Volcano. All the Facebook and Youtube anger on Earth ain’t gonna change it.
But science has (or rather, scientists have) measured volcanoes. See above.
Yes, Eyjafjallajökull released 0.15M tons of CO2 each day, but the flight cancellations alone saved 0.3M tons each day …
Explain to me how much CO2 is released DAILY by the underwater and above ground volcanoes combined.
I don’t expect an answer.
Because we don’t have tools to measure it yet.
I’m not worried about it.
If the enviromentaliberals had their way I’d have no Jeep or 300 and I’d be in a goddamned Prius or worse: a Versa Note.
They want me to be limited like they are when they fire up their Prius in the morning after a long night of wet dreams about the P90D.
Nice strawman. Anyway,
“Volcanoes emit CO2 both on land and underwater. Underwater volcanoes emit between 66 to 97 million tonnes of CO2 per year. However, this is balanced by the carbon sink provided by newly formed ocean floor lava. Consequently, underwater volcanoes have little effect on atmospheric CO2 levels. The greater contribution comes from subaerial volcanoes (subaerial means “under the air”, referring to land volcanoes). Subaerial volcanoes are estimated to emit 242 million tonnes of CO2 per year (Mörner and Etiope (2002)).
In contrast, humans are currently emitting around 29 billion tonnes of CO2 per year (EIA). Human CO2 emissions are over 100 times greater than volcanic CO2 emissions. This is apparent when comparing atmospheric CO2 levels to volcanic activity since 1960. Even strong volcanic eruptions such as Pinatubo, El Chicon and Agung had little discernable impact on CO2 levels.”
https://www.skepticalscience.com/volcanoes-and-global-warming-intermediate.htm
“In contrast, humans are currently emitting around 29 billion tonnes of CO2 per year (EIA). Human CO2 emissions are over 100 times greater than volcanic CO2 emissions. ”
Show me the tools used to measure this. I DON’T WANT EXTRAPOLATIONS or GUESSES or ESTIMATES.
Show me the REAL NUMBERS MEASURED BY SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS EXACTLY.
Show me the SAME thing for the UNDERWATER VOLCANOES.
THEN: Show me why I should care about CO2 since CO2 is the most important part of Photosynthesis.
I DO NOT CONSIDER CO2 to be a POLLUTANT.
Why should I worry about CO2?
Then you can explain to me how it can be proven Earth’s temperature is “rising” when we have less than 100 YEARS of satellite data and Earth began with a MOLTEN SURFACE – and goes through cooling and warming periods ALL BY ITSELF WITHOUT HUMANITY ON IT AT ALL.
And after you show me all of that…
I’M BUYING A BRAND NEW HELLCAT.
And I’m gonna do DONUTS in front of my nearest Volkswagon dealer.
With all due respect, have you equipped your truck with “rolling coal” equipment yet?
The tenor of you comments is clearly pointing towards that mentality.
Is that why the pope is traveling around the world in a chartered jumbo jet telling tyrants to keep people poor so they don’t emit CO2?
[citation needed]
“Is that why the pope is traveling around the world in a chartered jumbo jet telling tyrants to keep people poor so they don’t emit CO2?”
Apparently my Jeep SRT and 300 SRT produce MORE HARMFUL CO2 than Al Gore, John Kerry and Obama’s jet escapades.
These environmentalliberals use more energy in an HOUR than I use in a year.
I’m not fooled.
The tree huggers can be.
I’m gonna keep making money and spending it on gas and tires and superchargers and HEMIS.
Any way I choose.
While they ride their bike paths – which cut down on efficiency in the cities by increasing traffic and thus making trucks idle longer in traffic.
I DRIVE THROUGH BIKE PATHS.
youtube.com/watch?v=Xhp85-Ja3Ro
Mt. Pinatubo’s 1991 eruption was the largest ever since we’ve had good measuring capabilities, and its greenhouse gas emissions wer 1/700th of humanity’s global output. All the surface and submarine volcanos combined add up to less than 1% of human greenhouse gas emissions. In the short term, volcanos have a cooling effect anyway because of sulfur aerosols.
Back in 1985 I was part of a group of American exchange students in West Germany. We were touring a coal mining site (one of those sites where the power company buys a village and brings in a bucket-wheel excavator the size of a battleship).
The power company representative was so proud of the new scrubbers they had installed on their coal-fired generators (in 1985 the big story in the news was that the Black Forest was dying of acid rain). One of my fellow American students chimed in with “We did that a long time ago. That’s why our trees aren’t dying”.
Huh.
Honda knew about Takata airbags in 2004, and kept going.
Toyota knew about gas pedal clearance issues as far back as 2001, negotiated a limited recall in 2007.
GM knew about ignition switches by 2004, and kept going.
VW may have Ben. Told “stop it” in 2007 and kept going.
I’m seeing a pattern of the previous administration creating a policy of non-enforcement.
And what is yet to come in the years and decades ahead of us? Environmentalists fighting windpower because it is killing flying fowl? Or fishermen fighting wavepower for killing migrating fish? How about fighting jet airplane travel for pollution?
This is the ideal time for the current administration to outlaw the use and operation of any kind of dino-fuel powered aircraft.
Is it gonna happen? No way!
There is a fundamental difference between Toyota, Honda, and GM versus VW. They’re being negligent, whereas Volkswagen is being fraudulent.
So, is bigtruckseriesreview a parody or what? This sort of thing is a bit too unbelievable to be true.
Sir, are you new here? What you might at first take as parody or hyperbole or satire, mostly isn’t intended as such. Make of that what you will.
Regrettably, he’s all for real.
I just scroll past his posts as quickly as I can. Maybe if we all ignore him he’ll go away.
I’m sure this sort of spouting off drives traffic to his YouTube channel.
He claims to make enough money off of his YouTube channel to feed his hellcat.
I just wish I could suppress the threads he comments on. The celustinc discussion in often of limited interest to me.
“I’m sure this sort of spouting off drives traffic to his YouTube channel.”
I think you’re right! When something doesn’t seem to add up, the adage “follow the money” makes sense of things.
Johan de Nysschen was a member of the Executive Board of Volkswagen of America, Inc. in 2007 when Volkswagen was warned about cheating.
We all now know VW cheated. They’ve admitted as much. But am I the only one to see no evidence of cheating in the statement
“the automaker was told by supplier Bosch in 2007 its emissions software should only be used for company testing, and not to enter the real world.”
This could mean the supplier (Bosch) put conditions around the use of their software when VW was supplied with the software. It doesn’t say the statement was issued in response to evidence of misuse.
2011 is the earliest date that misuse of the software is indicated through a VW engineer.
SO no I don’t agree with the headline that they were “warned’ about cheating. Simply VW was supplied with a product that came with limitations on use.
“Hi. I’m from Bosch and I’m here with the new firmware for your new TDIs. I was told to warn you not to use this in production cars. It’s just for testing.” *wink* *wink*
“Oh, BTW. Do you happen to have the check ready? I’ll be happy to take that back to the home office for you.”
Clever comment. I think you may be right that Bosch did indeed provide the means, but I don’t think with the intention to have it misused by VW. That had to come from nitwits in the VW hierarchy. And it wouldn’t have required some great conspiracy either. But the thing I wonder about is why the facts didn’t leak out over such an extended period.
“But the thing I wonder about is why the facts didn’t leak out over such an extended period.”
I’m guessing no one was out to “get” VW. The study that exposed VW initially set out to prove how clean the US model VWs were, and was meant to shame Europe in tightening their emissions standards. Anyone who mentioned to VW “Hey, something is out of whack with your emissions” was probably answered with “Oh? We’ll look into it”, with no real follow-up.