Posted on 09/21/2015 4:37:27 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
Shares in Volkswagen (VLKAF) crashed 20% Monday, wiping 16 billion euros ($18 billion) off the company's value after it was found to have misled U.S. regulators.
Federal and state regulators said Friday that the German company cheated on environmental standards by programming some diesel-fueled cars to turn on emission controls only when being tested.
Volkswagen, recently crowned the world's biggest carmaker by sales, also owns the Audi and Porsche brands.
The software is installed in nearly 500,000 cars on U.S. roads, including some of its luxury-brand Audi cars.
Regulators have ordered Volkswagen to recall the vehicles. The company said it was halting sales of some cars in the U.S.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
It's punish our enemies and reward our friends time in Bammyville.
I have a 2014 TDI and absolutely love the car. My biggest fear is the EPA will try and mandate that all of the affected cars be taken off the road until they come into compliance.
I find it interesting the proposed $37,500 fine per unit is actually fairly close to the original MSRP of the car.
Could the EPA be hinting at a massive buy-back program?
Rest In Peace, old friend, your work is finished.....
If you want ON or OFF the DIESEL KnOcK LIST jut FReepmail me..... This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days.....
Volkswagen shares are retreating
The EPA says they are cheating
In a world ruled by fraud
The charges seem odd
Volkswagen's simply competing—
The Limerick King (@TheLimerickKing)
September 21, 2015
That "academic" squealer was The International Council on Clean Transportation, funded by the usual suspects.
Principal funding for the ICCT comes from the ClimateWorks Foundation, with additional generous support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Energy Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Hmm. ClimateWorks. Never heard of them, either.
ClimateWorks' core funders -- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, KR Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Oak Foundation, and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation -- are committed to addressing the challenge of global climate change through strategic grant-making. ...ClimateWorks Foundation PartnersThe Packard Foundation believes that climate change is the defining issue of our day.
Makes we want to go out and fuel up some old Packard automobiles!
“Sometimes the cure is of much more grave consequences than simply living with the disorder.”
Reminds me of...”The operation was a success. Unfortunately, the patient died.”
That's not VW's fault, it's the workers. VW is union-friendly, basically invited the UAW to unionize. Volkswagen's Sort-of Union in Tennessee - Bloomberg Business - February 19, 2015
EPA has expressly said that the cars are legal to drive. It doesn't want new ones sold, but it has no intention to force owners to submit to the remedy.
Interesting, thanks for that info.
I believe that the $37.5k is the statutory maximum per car allowed by law but I can be mistaken. Like you, this is very close to my purchase price so that is why I think that a replacement engine / component would be a much cheaper option than accepting a fine.
This will be a very interesting time for us but it will be a LONG TIME (IMHO) coming to a resolution. HOWEVER, the hit to our CURRENT VALUE / resale value will be VERY REAL!
I would believe that.
OK, so let me get this straight. The cars are putting out excessive emissions, VW may be subjected to a fine, they cannot sell any more diesels...but the ones they’ve already sold are OK.
I can see a scenario if VW balks at a resolution where the EPA may change that stance to bring pressure on VW. Frankly, I don’t trust the EPA.
I don’t know the statutory maximum either, but I do remember the Cash for Clunkers debacle early in the Obama administration and I could see the EPA mandating our existing TDI’s off the road in the future.
Imagine having ZERO trade-in value. The EPA has nothing to lose, the class-action lawsuit would fall squarely on VW’s shoulders. Good thing I intend to keep this TDI for quit a while.
From the EPA's point of view, the ones already sold are NOT "ok," but they are legal to drive and resell. They are also safe.
See EPA Press Release of 18 September 2015.
-- Frankly, I don't trust the EPA. --
I assume they are stretching the truth in a material way, at best. Not just in this case, but always. I view the government as fundamentally dishonest. Not that it never tells the truth, just that I always assume the opposite.
The fine is separate from the remedy to the consumer. VW is liable for both, plus the EPA has hinted at criminal charges too.
Resale value is apt to go up, not down. Supply has just been substantially curtailed, and the "old models" have better mileage and performance.
I was thinking along similar lines, but regarding payback for a more recent event. Didn’t Germany just scale back from their initial offer of sanctuary for huge numbers of Muslim “refugees”? If so the timing would be reminiscent of the Menendez indictment immediately after coming out against the Iran “ deal”.
Wars have been fought for less.
Actually, there are some good marketplace reasons why the legacy non-complying cars might command a premium, if they haven’t been updated for this event by a dealer.
Bookmark.
I guess they should not have called it ‘Clean’ diesel. I have owned diesels since 1982.Frankly, unlike some of the more gender neutral weenies out there, I couldn’t care less if it is ‘clean’ or not. I just like the way they run.
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