VW
Emissions cheating scandal update
Volkswagen is still struggling to move past the emissions-software scandal that has plagued its reputation for the better part
of a year.
Ever since the news officially broke that an array of its diesel
passenger cars were outfitted with deceptive software, VW’s reputation has
been pretty much at bottom ratings.
It’s not like the company hasn’t tried to regain public trust: To
disgruntled consumers who bought one of the affected cars, it’s offered a combo of Visa cards and credit at dealerships.
To dealers stuck with stock frozen by the publicity, the company
offered to buy back used vehicles at full price.
And in response to hundreds of class-action suits coming up on the
horizon, the company recently suggested that it may be willing to buy back those vehicles that
can’t be fixed.
Fixing, VW lawyer Robert Giuffra explained in court in January, requires coming up with new software, and that may still
be a long way off — too long for some earlier vehicles caught in the debacle.
The idea of buying back cars wasn’t new.
It was initially proposed to the Environmental Protection
Agency and the California Air Resource Board in early January, but was turned down by CARB.
It wasn’t embraced by the EPA, either, which said that the
litigation and hefty federal and state fines that were levied against the
company was all part of “bringing VW to justice.”
What that process would entail, however, the EPA didn’t say.