Report Indicates That VW Diesel Scandal Has Been Linked To At Least 30 Insiders So Far

German magazine Der Spiegel reported Wednesday that at least 30 Volkswagen insiders and managers had knowledge of the illegal “defeat device” and there may be more.

The claim would somewhat refute to what Volkswagen of America chief Michael Horn testified in front of a congressional subcommittee last week when he told representatives that “a couple of software engineers” at Volkswagen in Germany were responsible for the the scandal that has cost the company billions of dollars.

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TheSteve - 10/14/2015 11:14:26 AM

+2 Boost

Is anyone surprised? Do you actually believe, as one VW in the Ivory Tower claimed, that one (or two and he claimed) rogue engineers are the culprits. And I don't believe it was just 30 "bad apples" that are to blame.

Reports from current and past VW employees of various ranks are coming out that alleged VW (the company) has "extraordinary pressures." Translated into Plain English, that means it's a company that is often ruled by fear and unrealistic expectations. Assuming the allegations are true, then blaming a select bunch of people is just plain ridiculous!

randy3023 - 10/14/2015 12:04:21 PM

-1 Boost

A new VW TDI was ahead of me in traffic today and it fucking STANK.

These vehicles need to be fixed or removed from the road.

Vette71 - 10/14/2015 1:53:50 PM

+2 Boost

If it was a urea equipped car as many of the brand new VWs are and it was running it's clean out cycle it will stink. Not a diesel stink but a hot burning stink as it burns off the ash the system. Not to worry, it puts out less CO2 than a Prius and also water and N, as it takes care of the NOx.

atc98092 - 10/14/2015 6:43:03 PM

0 Boost

A new TDI (2009 or later) in North America will not have any noticeable odor, except as Vette71 noted. There is no trace of diesel smell and no visible exhaust at all. You were either behind an older model (2006 or earlier, there were no 2007-08 models of Golf, Jetta or Passat) which does not fall under the "clean diesel" name, or you're full of it.

jameswisrik - 10/15/2015 7:56:44 AM

+1 Boost

VW..LET IT ALL OUT.

GM on the other hand has killed hundreds, injured thousands...denying anyone knew about the ignition flaw. Spent taxpayers money to pay back govt bail out, and yet NO executive has gone to prison. pLUS POISON MILLIONS W/ THEIR DIESEL TRUCKS. EPA SHOULD GO AFTER GM..VW IS SMALL POTATOS!

mre30 - 10/15/2015 10:30:27 AM

+2 Boost

This "scandal" is getting quite blown out of proportion. No one died, while VW crossed the line, clearly, other car makers have taken advantage of the grey area around admissions and fuel economy testing for years.

A few examples are, recently, those silly start-stop systems that people routinely disable and longer ago, those equally silly "skip shift" systems that had manual shift vehicles "lock out" gears forcing drivers to shift from 1st to say 4th in an effort to get better mileage.

I am quite certain that if the govt or a clever researcher catalogued all the ways car makers "game" the system, there would be many more such automakers with issues like VW's - though VW seems to have pushed it a bit too far.

Everyone's panties are in a twist about this, but they will change the software, the MPG's and acceleration times of the vehicles will drop slightly and we will all get on with our lives.

MDarringer - 10/16/2015 8:35:31 AM

+1 Boost

To say that VW is "OK because other companies have gamed the system is a foolish argument. Pointing to the sins of others as the justification for one's own misdeeds as a method of absolution is hollow at best. And VW will be mired in lawsuits because the performance changed and the resale value (negligible to begin with) will have eroded even further.