VW chief "sorry" after EPA says firm skirted clean air law

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By PAUL WISEMAN and TOM KRISHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEO of Volkswagen apologized Sunday and VW customers said they felt duped after the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that the German automaker skirted clean air rules by rigging emissions tests for about 500,000 diesel cars.

"I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public," Volkswagen chief Martin Winterkorn said in a statement. He said VW has ordered an investigation and promised that the company would cooperate with regulators.

The EPA said Friday that VW used software that allowed its diesel cars to release fewer smog-causing pollutants during tests than in real-world driving conditions. The cars, built in the last seven years, include the Audi A3, VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models. The agency ordered VW to fix the cars at its own expense. VW also faces fines that could add up to billions of dollars.

VW edged out Toyota to become the world's top-selling automaker the first half of 2015. But a hit to its reputation from the emissions revelations could hamper its efforts at a sales rebound in the U.S. Between 2013 and 2014, VW brand sales plummeted 10 percent even as overall industry sales rose 6 percent. U.S. buyers want SUVs, and Volkswagen doesn't have competitive vehicles to offer them.

FULL story at link.


FILE - In a Tuesday, May 5, 2015 file photo, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn addresses the shareholders during the annual shareholder meeting of the car manufacturer Volkswagen in Hannover, Germany. Winterkorn apologized Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015, after the Environmental Protection Agency said the German automaker skirted clean air rules by rigging emissions tests for about 500,000 diesel cars. "I personally am deeply sorry that we have broken the trust of our customers and the public," Volkswagen chief Martin Winterkorn said in a statement. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/0ee692617d3d44d7a266fa21b3077d68/vw-chief-sorry-after-epa-says-firm-skirted-clean-air-law

[Dont call me Shirley]

1. Oh I hear....

These oligarchs and their minions care nothing about the Earth and the health of her.

[PoliticAverse]

2. ...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. The arrogance just makes me want to scream. n/t

[Kaleva]

4. We're sorry

[benld74]

5. Fine the effers out their Germanic wazoos!!!!!

[passiveporcupine]

6. "U.S. buyers want SUVs"

Of course they do.

[itsrobert]

7. He and others responsible should go to prison

I predict they settle at 10 percent of the total fine

[mitch96]

8. Where there is smoke there is some other automaker cheating also

Didn't these guys think they would not be found out?? Really???

How many other automakers do the old software cheat also? It would be interesting to test other automakers products and see if they did the same thing…

M..

[sakabatou]

9. Are we going to slap these companies on the wrist again

Or are we going to do something to deter such behavior?

[wolfie001]

10. This is beyond the pale........nt

[cpompilo]

11. Sorry ain't good enough. This was deliberate fraud. Jail time and big fines are good enough.

[HooptieWagon]

12. "I'm sorry"

[jpg]https://m.

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[longship]

13. Let's feed that headline to the iNews 5000 WiFi Headline translator.

Let's feed our iNews 5000 a headline and see what we get.

"VW chief 'sorry' after EPA says firm skirted air law"

Spring, sprong, bing, bong, boinggggg, DING!

Translation: "VW chief 'sorry' VW got caught."