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thewayneThis dates back to May, I'm clearing out some old tabs.
Four executives were convicted in German court of naughtiness concerning the manipulation of tailpipe diesel emissions. They rigged the computers so that under specific configurations, only found in static testing conditions, the engines would tune-down and produce lower particulate levels and would pass. Then, in real-life road driving, the engines would be tuned-up and produce higher performance and higher emissions.
The result, aside from prison terms, were thousands of cars being recalled and replaced and huge losses for the company.
From the article: "The former head of diesel development was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, and the head of drive train electronics to two years and seven months by the court in Braunschweig, German news agency dpa reported. Two others received suspended sentences of 15 months and 10 months."
We toured a VW assembly plant in Dresden just two months before this particular scandal broke. Amazing place. It kind of broke my heart when it came to light to see how well VW was doing things in this one instance, while doing a rug pull regarding diesel emissions in another.
Further in the article: "The company has paid more than $33 billion in fines and compensation to vehicle owners. Two VW managers received prison sentence in the U.S. The former head of the company’s Audi division, Rupert Stadler, was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and a fine of 1.1 million euros ($1.25 million). The sentence is still subject to appeal.
Missing from the trial, which lasted almost four years, was former CEO Martin Winterkorn. Proceedings against him have been suspended because of health issues, and it’s not clear when he might go on trial. Winterkorn has denied wrongdoing.
Further proceedings are open against 31 other suspects in Germany. So it ain't over yet for the company.
Wikipedia states that Volkswagen Group is the largest company in the EU and the largest car company in the world by revenue. It goes in to list their marques as: "The Volkswagen Group sells passenger cars under the Audi, Bentley, Cupra, Jetta, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Škoda and Volkswagen brands, motorcycles under the Ducati name, light commercial vehicles under the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand, and heavy commercial vehicles via the marques of the listed subsidiary Traton (International Motors, MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Truck & Bus).
https://apnews.com/article/volkswagen-germany-diesel-emissions-court-fraud-3878fcf6c06c9574bf5bff8d31029f90
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/05/27/2155250/german-court-sends-vw-execs-to-prison-over-dieselgate-scandal
Four executives were convicted in German court of naughtiness concerning the manipulation of tailpipe diesel emissions. They rigged the computers so that under specific configurations, only found in static testing conditions, the engines would tune-down and produce lower particulate levels and would pass. Then, in real-life road driving, the engines would be tuned-up and produce higher performance and higher emissions.
The result, aside from prison terms, were thousands of cars being recalled and replaced and huge losses for the company.
From the article: "The former head of diesel development was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, and the head of drive train electronics to two years and seven months by the court in Braunschweig, German news agency dpa reported. Two others received suspended sentences of 15 months and 10 months."
We toured a VW assembly plant in Dresden just two months before this particular scandal broke. Amazing place. It kind of broke my heart when it came to light to see how well VW was doing things in this one instance, while doing a rug pull regarding diesel emissions in another.
Further in the article: "The company has paid more than $33 billion in fines and compensation to vehicle owners. Two VW managers received prison sentence in the U.S. The former head of the company’s Audi division, Rupert Stadler, was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and a fine of 1.1 million euros ($1.25 million). The sentence is still subject to appeal.
Missing from the trial, which lasted almost four years, was former CEO Martin Winterkorn. Proceedings against him have been suspended because of health issues, and it’s not clear when he might go on trial. Winterkorn has denied wrongdoing.
Further proceedings are open against 31 other suspects in Germany. So it ain't over yet for the company.
Wikipedia states that Volkswagen Group is the largest company in the EU and the largest car company in the world by revenue. It goes in to list their marques as: "The Volkswagen Group sells passenger cars under the Audi, Bentley, Cupra, Jetta, Lamborghini, Porsche, SEAT, Škoda and Volkswagen brands, motorcycles under the Ducati name, light commercial vehicles under the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand, and heavy commercial vehicles via the marques of the listed subsidiary Traton (International Motors, MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Truck & Bus).
https://apnews.com/article/volkswagen-germany-diesel-emissions-court-fraud-3878fcf6c06c9574bf5bff8d31029f90
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/05/27/2155250/german-court-sends-vw-execs-to-prison-over-dieselgate-scandal
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Date: 2025-10-06 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-07 03:21 am (UTC)Oh, yeah! They are definitely a biggie.
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Date: 2025-10-07 09:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-07 07:16 pm (UTC)Same incident. This is the German legal proceedings side.
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Date: 2025-10-07 10:13 am (UTC)They should have been an American company and they would probably have gotten away with everything. :o :o :o
Hugs, Jon
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Date: 2025-10-07 07:17 pm (UTC)It does make you wonder how much American car makers have gotten away with, or are their execs sitting there going 'Dayum! Why didn't we think of that?!'
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Date: 2025-10-07 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-11 11:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-12 04:30 am (UTC)Everyone here talks about "corporations are people". When people commit crimes, they go to prison. Corporations commit crimes. Why don't CEOs here go to prison? The application seems valid, the board are the ones who bear ultimate responsibility.
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Date: 2025-10-13 05:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-10-14 04:25 am (UTC)Yeah. Ain't gonna happen.