Volkswagen Defends Itself Saying It Only Cheated In The US, Not Europe Since It Isn't Forbidden By Law

VW sounds like the kid who kills his parents and asks the judge for mercy because he is an orphan.

We don't usually agree, but that was brilliant.

My only question: Is VW right?

If VW is correct, that they've broken no European law, then it's unreasonable for European authorities or agencies to harass them, or to have government inquiries into VW. So let's get a ruling to determine if they have in fact broken European law!

If no law was broken, and European citizens don't like knowing that cars are cranking out huge volumes of dangerous compounds, then they need to pass laws that prohibit that, and do so in a way that gives manufacturers reasonable and sufficient time to revise their vehicles to comply with those new laws. It's also prudent to know if it's even possible for people to comply before you pass the new laws.

I disagree. There is a moral component. Just because I can legally bang prostitutes in Nevada but not in California, does not absolve me to the commitment I made to my wife.

An honorable company does the right thing.

A disreputable and shady company uses the law to make excuses for its criminal behavior.

MDarringer: Criminal behavior, by definition, is behavior that has contravened a law, specifically a *criminal* law. So if you bang a hooker in Nevada, no government or law enforcement agency has a right to prosecute, persecute, or harass you. How you and your wife deal with your moral dilemma is your and your wife's business; not the government's.

If citizens feel something is a bad idea, and enough of them feel it's so important that they desire to control others to make them do something or prevent them from doing something, then they must pass a law to manage that specific behavior. We have "truth in advertising laws" which should hold manufacturers accountable for making false or misleading claims. They guys who made the copper bracelets that were alleged to relieve arthritis and a bunch of other ailments were convicted under that law, and forced to return money to consumers who bought those products. Let's see if VW gets similar treatment for making claims about emissions and fuel economy that were deliberately falsified. Class action lawsuits are already filed against VW.

Matt your analogy doesn't make sense. The law could arrest you in California but not in Nevada because of the LAW is against prostitution in CA. Your relationship with you wife is something else. Honorable companies will make every effort to follow the law and design products that meet its requirements. In the case of an automobile the variables are almost infinite so they design the best vehicle they can but do make it absolutly certain it meets the tests required by the EPA. But despite all that there will be circumstances where some of the vehicles don't meet the strict intent of the law. Guarantee that some of the vehicles you have sold sometimes do not meet EPA rules. Should you be arrested for selling them?

@TheSteve so you're an amoral apologist who relies on situational ethics to wiggle out of the truth? I'm sending you a Hillary2016 bumper sticker.

@Vette71 see comments above...

There is a moral imperative that supersedes law.

MDarringer: Law is a set of rules in which everyone is aware of what they’re dealing with. Granted, there are bad laws that are enforced, and there are good laws that are not enforced, or which are enforced arbitrarily or non-uniformly. These are red flags that signal either (a) a bad law that should be changed, or (b) law enforcement agencies that need to be fixed.

When one asserts that morals supersede laws, then that person asserts THEIR beliefs are above the law. You see examples of this with people shooting doctors who perform abortions, bombing abortion clinics and killing people (in order to save unborn babies), and folks killing others in the name of Allah because they believe it’s their moral imperative to do so. You also see this in less lethal examples, such as people choosing to discriminate against LGBTQ folks or other identifiable groups and using “morals” as justification.


To bring this back to the Dieselgate scandal at hand, I view current emission laws as “bad laws.” They were allegedly put in place to reduce air pollution, but in fact, all they require is that an in-lab-only emissions test not exceed certain levels of dangerous gasses, without using a “cheat device.” In fact, all the law does is enforce the passing of an in-lab test using a specific methodology! As far as I know, there are no laws for real world tailpipe emissions. Under current laws, so long as VW can pass the test without using their “cheat device,” they can continue to churn out 40x beyond-legal emissions in real world conditions. That’s the law. As I said, it’s a bad law in my opinion, because it does not address the factors that it’s allegedly created to address: actually improving air quality in the real world. This law gives Joe Public the *illusion* that it’s helping to reduce air pollution, when it doesn’t.

Such is a 100% admission of guilt. How stupid is their PR department?

They are way smarter than that. I'm sure that's journos being journos. There is no way they would admit while they are fighting a $46B suit in the U.S. That's too fundamental.

Its strictly a legal question. Like if you murdered somebody, confessed the cops, but they never read you your Miranda rights, your confession will not be admissible and if they can't prove otherwise you go scot free.

If the Euro testing stats were written in such a way, so that an automaker just had to pass the test "in the lab", then that's that. VW is correct.

What tripped them up in the US, like many others, including Martha Stuart, is that they lied to the government - which ALWAYS gets you in trouble.

The major influence in how this settles out is political. While the federal and local German governments are stakeholders in VW other EU governments have their own self serving agendas. You need look no further than our own justice department to know politics plays a big role in who gets prosecuted under the law and who gets to slide. The other big issues which is extremely powerful and only beginning to rear its head is European consumers and governments dissatisfaction with VW's unwillingness to offer European owners the same actions and benefits as they offer in the US. This will become a political issue despite the laws that apply.

They need Marchionne to hug them.