Volkswagen: The Scandal That Never Ends
ENVIRONMENT, CAPITALISM, 5 Feb 2018
Zoya Teirstein | Grist – TRANSCEND Media Service
29 Jan 2018 – The German automaker issued yet another apology today, this time for a fraudulent study the company commissioned four years ago.
The New York Times reported last week that major auto manufacturers Volkswagen, BMW, and Daimler financed research in 2014 to downplay the health effects of diesel exhaust from their vehicles. A group of monkeys inhaled fumes from a Volkswagen Beetle for hours in an experiment that sought to show that diesel cars retrofitted with newer technology were less harmful than older models.
The problem (apart from the animal rights issues) is that the Beetle used in the experiment was manipulated to produce much lower levels of pollution than it would normally emit on the road.
As you may recall, Volkswagen was involved in not one, but two emissions cheating scandals. The company agreed to $14.7 billion in settlements after “defeat device” software was detected in millions of the company’s purportedly “low-emissions” diesel cars in 2015. The next year, the Wall Street Journal reported that some of the company’s Audi models had been tampered with as well.
So is this news the final installment in the VW cover-up? Only time will tell!
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Read more
Click here to go to the current weekly digest or pick another article:
ENVIRONMENT:
- Creating a Hydrogel That Removes Microplastics from Water
- More Than Fifty Species of Fish Circling and Spinning until They Die
- World Meteorological Organization Bright Red Alert
CAPITALISM: