When Volkswagen AG admitted last week it used sophisticated software to evade emissions rules for 482,000 diesel cars, it joined a long history of vehicle manufacturers that have tried evading rules regulating air pollution.Over the last year the Environmental Protection Agency has reached 14 settlements or won court orders against manufacturers for not complying with the rules. A number of those cases involved Chinese-made all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles. And Honda Motor Co. and Kia Motors Inc. have agreed to small settlements in recent years.
But the biggest cases to date involved General Motors — and in another case, seven manufacturers of heavy-duty diesel engines. Both cases came to light two decades ago.
In 1995, the EPA and Justice Department slapped GM with an $11 million fine for installing “defeat devices” on 470,000 1991-95 Cadillac Sevilles and Devilles that overrode pollution controls. That resulted in carbon monoxide emissions of up to three times the legal limit.
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