Friday, March 29, 2024
 
VW Scandal Likely A Key Inflection Point In Shift to Zero-Emission Cars

WASHINGTON, D.C. Sept.24 (DPI) — Amid the fallout that Volkswagen for years waged a broad campaign of fraud by inserting emissions-deception software in 11 million cars, one thing is now clear: Governments worldwide will be far more likely to mandate zero- and near-zero emission cars.

Trust between auto manufacturers and government environmental regulators is likely at an all-time low, even as the press recounts previous episodes of systematic malfeasance by automakers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/24/business/international/volkswagen-test-rigging-follows-a-long-auto-industry-pattern.html

The news that the US Environmental Protection Agency forced VW to admit a systematic fraud has been followed by a wave of speculation: How many employees were aware of the nefarious effort to install a software in diesel cars that lowered emissions to acceptable standards whenever a test was conducted? And how many other carmakers engage in such activity to circumvent emissions rules?

 

Whatever the answers, automakers are likely to accelerate the development of low-emission and zero-emission cars, in part to placate the public and to mollify government regulators. Once such vehicles dominate the roads, the debate will shift of the costs – both financial and environmental – of fueling cars run on electricity and other non-fossil fuels.

Given the scope of the fraud, criminal charges appear likely:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/business/it-took-epa-pressure-to-get-vw-to-admit-fault.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/business/international/volkswagen-diesel-car-scandal.html

Among two of the most popular reader posts this week:

I used to work on emissions control software for one of the Big Three.  The engine control and emissions diagnostics software is incredibly complex. We had hundreds of software developers, calibrators, validation experts, etc., working on these efforts. If you worked on oxygen sensors or catalytic converters, or vehicle speed or really anything, the software would interface with dozens of other functional areas. There is absolutely no way that one or multiple emissions tests could be disabled without dozens of people knowing. Maybe hundreds. We would sometimes review single lines of code with dozens of engineers in the room, for fear that a specific emissions test wouldn’t run appropriately in real-world conditions.  So, in my somewhat educated opinion, there is simply no way that this effort didn’t involve a concerted effort by many individuals, and I would expect the evidence to prove that out.

Stunning. How could anybody think they could get away with this? Kudos to EPA for bringing a worldwide problem to light. Now, how many other carmakers are doing the same thing?

And a post from Facebook:

One nice takeaway from this VW scandal – apart from being amazed by the dark ingenuity of putting emissions-deception software in 11 million cars, and thinking you’d get away with it – is that now we all know zero- or near-zero emissions vehicles will soon be ruling our roads.

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