Before anyone gets too misty eyed over VW, it turns out they’re just another heartless corporate titan. TreeHugger.com reports on a forced recall ordered by the Obama White House:
… to recall around half-a-million vehicles, accusing them of using “software intentionally designed to circumvent environmental standards for reducing smog.” …
The deception wasn’t just an accident or a software bug. The cars were actually designed to detect when they are undergoing emission testing and provide false readings:
The Environmental Protection Agency issued the company a notice of violation and accused the company of breaking the law by installing software known as a “defeat device” in 4-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi vehicles from model years 2009-15. The device is programmed to detect when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and to only turn on full emissions control systems during that testing. Those controls are turned off during normal driving situations, when the vehicles pollute far more heavily than reported by the manufacturer, the E.P.A. said. (source)
The illegal software concealed true nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, a contributor to smog linked to health issues like asthma.
As I wander about in left field, we can be sure this will be the result of some bad employees, and I don’t doubt it – most such scandals are the results of some bad manager, they rarely go right to the top (an exception would be the Siemens scandal of a few years ago – I think this Economist article is covering the right scandal). But, hey, when it comes to donating money to political organizations – then they’re all good corporate citizens. There’s an apparent contradiction going on here.
