[headstamp 2]

This will morph into a buyback.

[TigerClaws]

I think so, too. Now can they payoff the right politicians here like GM did to get away without criminal liability?

Feel sorry for the buyers. Can’t pass the safety sticker tests = can’t drive the car. Can’t sell the car either.

Apparently BMW did the same thing with their diesel Z3.

I’m sure the fallout is going to spread to other automakers.

[ctdonath2]

Buyback? That’s like a quarter-trillion dollars. All they can do now is sell off all assets and give the proceeds to several governments as “don’t incarcerate us” penance.

[SaveFerris]

I predicted that same thing yesterday, elsewhere.

I don’t see how they have any other option. The cars are not going to perform the same and the owners will be quite unhappy.

[pepsionice]

Here’s my prediction.

1. An EPA leveraged deal where Volkswagen must fix the problem and pay a fine (three or four billion is my humble guess), OR perform a buy-back/swap...with a gas engine car instead.

2. Oddly, over ninety-percent of the owners will refuse the fix....refuse the swap....and say they won’t participate with the EPA deal.

3. EPA then gets upset over people confronting them....so they order them to accept the swap or pay a yearly fine of $500. More than half of the owners will accept the $500 a year fine and just say OK, but take the EPA to court.

4. When the smoke finally clears....half of the cars are bought back and put on ships...sent to Mexico and sold there to the general public...sending the fumes over the border into the US.

5. VW has billions to pay which infuriates the Germans. So the Germans decide by 2017...an election year in Germany...to sue the US for privacy violations by NSA for 10-billion dollars. As much money as the state attorney generals and EPA think they will get off VW....the Germans will get twice that much in return.

[masadaman]

Yes, a buyback. But if VW management takes a deep breath and realizes that 11 million cars at let's say FMV of $10k/car is roughly $100 billion, they might get away with discounts on a new car or a releases for less than half that. The real problem is the governmental fines. After all, BP was victimized by agreeing to a $22 billion+ shakedown even though the incident was not intentional and caused relatively minimal damage...crude oil being organic and natural. My guess is this ends in VW’s bankruptcy.

[sitetest]

That would bankrupt them.

[Tupelo]

Buy back or “campaign contribution” to the right people or party to make the problem go away.
As Will Rogers said, “We have the best government money can buy”.