Cheating car emission tests

[Russell]

VW emissions scandal could snare other firms

The emissions-fixing scandal that has engulfed Volkswagen in the US could extend to other companies and countries, one of the officials involved in uncovering the alleged behaviour has [said].

Billions of pounds have been wiped off the value of global carmakers amid growing concerns that emissions tests may have been rigged across the industry.

“We need to ask the question, is this happening in other countries and is this happening at other manufacturers? Some part of our reaction is not even understanding what has happened exactly,” said John German, one of the two co-leads on the US team of the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT), the European-based NGO that raised the alarm.

Shares in Volkswagen fell by almost a fifth after the world’s second biggest carmaker issued a public apology in response to US allegations that it used a defeat device to falsify emissions data.

[...]

The US Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation of Volkswagen admission, according to Bloomberg, which cited two officials familiar with the inquiry.

The company could face a fine of up to $18bn (£11.6bn), criminal charges for its executives, and legal action from customers and shareholders. The US law firm Hagens Berman has already launched a class-action law suit on behalf of customers who bought the affected cars.

VW shares fell by 19% in Frankfurt, wiping almost €15bn (£10.8bn) off its value. Shares in Renault, Volkswagen’s French rival, also dropped by 4%, while Peugeot was down 2.5%, Nissan 2.5% and BMW 1.5% amid concerns they could be caught up in investigations.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Friday that VW had installed illegal software to cheat emission tests, allowing its diesel cars to produce up to 40 times more pollution than allowed. The US government ordered VW to recall 482,000 VW and Audi cars produced since 2009.

In response, Martin Winterkorn, chief executive of VW, said on Sunday he was “deeply sorry” for breaking the trust of the public and ordered an external investigation.

German tipped off regulators at the California Air Resources Board (Carb) and the EPA after conducting tests that showed major discrepancies in the amount of toxic emissions some VW cars were pumping out compared with the legal limits.

Max Warburton, an analyst at the financial research group Bernstein, said: “There is no way to put an optimistic spin on this – this is really serious.”

A British expert in low-emission vehicles claimed the manipulation of air pollution data could be “very widespread” and that tests in Europe are “much more open to this sort of abuse”.

Greg Archer, a former government adviser and head of clean vehicles at the respected Transport & Environment thinktank, said: “I am not surprised. There has been a lot of anecdotal evidence about carmakers using these defeat devices. All credit to the EPA for investigating and finding the truth.”

Archer, the former managing director of the UK’s Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership and non-executive director for the government’s Renewable Fuels Agency, said the scandal could spread into petrol cars and CO2 levels. “It is probably not limited to diesel and not limited to emissions,” he added.

The devices are thought to work by injecting more urea – an exhaust fluid – into the car when it is being tested. This limits nitrogen oxide emissions. The car detects it is being tested because devices such as the anti-collision systems have to be turned off when it is in the laboratory. The extra urea is not injected into the car when it is on the road because it would quickly run out.

Archer claims European tests are more open to abuse because they are conducted before the car goes into mass production and by companies that have been paid by the carmakers. These testing companies have been verified by regulators in each country, such as the Vehicle Certification Agency, but in the US the tests are conducted by an independent body.

Industry leaders in Britain claimed there was “no evidence” that manufacturers are cheating the system in Europe but admitted it needs to be reformed.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the industry trade body, said: “The EU operates a fundamentally different system to the US – with all European tests performed in strict conditions as required by EU law and witnessed by a government-appointed independent approval agency. There is no evidence that manufacturers cheat the cycle.

“The industry acknowledges, however, that the current test method is outdated and is seeking agreement from the European Commission for a new emissions test that embraces new testing technologies and is more representative of on-road conditions.”

The US allegations involve a series of diesel cars produced by VW and the brands it owns, such as Audi. These include the Audi A3, VW Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat models. VW has halted sales of these models.

Jochen Flasbarth, a senior environment official in the German government, accused Volkswagen of “blatant consumer deception” over the scandal. The country’s economy minister, Sigmar Gabriel, also warned it could damage the reputation of the country’s vital automotive industry.

“That this is a bad case, I think is clear,” Gabriel said. “You will understand that we are worried that the justifiably excellent reputation of the German car industry and in particular that of Volkswagen suffers.” The German government has launched its own investigation into VW and held talks with executives.

[...]

David Bailey, professor of industrial strategy at Aston University in Birmingham, said: “If it is the case that they have been trying to hoodwink regulators, it’s a really dumb thing to do. Regulators will look at this more closely now. There has been growing concern about diesel cars and nitrous oxide emissions. The industry has been trying to make the case that the latest regulations largely deal with that issue but regulators will now look more closely at whether they have.”

More

I wonder which Japanese car makers will be affected by this. VW used to work together with Suzuki, but they split up this year.

If these emission standards are exceeded by VW by 40 times in on-road conditions, it is even doubtful that they can be met at all. Looks like a typical case of politicians setting standards that are way beyond what is technologically possible.

[Coligny]

If these emission standards are exceeded by VW by 40 times in on-road conditions, it is even doubtful that they can be met at all. Looks like a typical case of politicians setting standards that are way beyond what is technologically possible.

Emission levels are good when the bypass is not activated. Hit the performance -only-

Also, Suzuki failed alliance with VW was for small cars, the only diesel they have would be the escudo who have a Renault 1.9l diesel engine fitted And the SX4 with -giggle- Fiat diesel engines -giggles-


Judging by he vomit inducing smell in my parking... I'd be surprised if Mitsubishi was not caught by harbles on this scandal... The good clue to know who's doing what is to search for aftermarket pollution control overrides. If your diesel car have something like this available "for offroad use only" you can bet that they play by the rules the rest of the time.

[Wage Slave]

If these emission standards are exceeded by VW by 40 times in on-road conditions, it is even doubtful that they can be met at all. Looks like a typical case of politicians setting standards that are way beyond what is technologically possible.

Hang on a minute. Politicians take advice from medical/environmental health experts based on the best available evidence, on what level of emissions should be allowed to secure a reasonably safe environment in our big cities. Car makers then decide that even though their diesel technology won't be able to meet those standards they are going to lie and say it does. Politicians are to blame for that because they bowed to medical/health interests rather than motor industry/diesel fan interests?

Still, Toyota and Honda must be pleased - All the more demand for their hybrid electric vehicles.

[Russell]

Volkswagen's appalling clean diesel scandal, explained

It sounds like the sinister plot of some straight-to-DVD movie. Since 2009, Volkswagen had been installing elaborate software in 482,000 "clean diesel" vehicles sold in the US, so that the cars' pollution controls only worked when being tested by regulators. The rest of the time, the vehicles could freely spew hazardous, smog-forming nitrogen oxides.

Suffice to say, regulators were livid once they caught on. On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that Volkswagen had very flagrantly violated the Clean Air Act. Not only did the EPA order the German company to fix the affected vehicles,** but the agency has the authority to levy fines as high as $37,500 per car, a maximum of $18 billion. (To put that in perspective, the company's pretax net income was about $4.7 billion last year.) The US government is also mulling criminal charges.

Volkswagen, in other words, is in deep shit. The company's CEO, Martin Winterkorn, is now apologizing profusely and pledging an external probe to find out what happened. VW just halted US sales of its 2015 and 2016 clean diesel vehicles, including Passat, Jetta, Golf, and Beetle models. Meanwhile, VW's stock price plummeted on Monday morning, the company losing nearly one-fifth its market cap in a blink.

[...]

This scandal raises a few larger questions, though: Why did Volkswagen cheat in the first place? And why was it so easy for the company to evade regulators for years? To get a better handle on the story, we need to take a brief trip through the tangled history of clean diesel vehicles — the specific cars that VW was selling.

Clean diesel cars were supposed to offer great mileage and low pollution — a tricky task

One basic fact to understand here is that there are two main types of combustion engines widely available today: diesel and gasoline. And there are real trade-offs to each.

Diesel engines have long been popular in Europe, and one of their major advantages is fuel economy. Diesel fuel contains more energy per gallon than gasoline, and the diesel engines themselves are more efficient. Put it together, and the typical diesel car can travel up to 30 percent farther on a gallon of fuel than its gasoline counterpart.

But there's a catch. While diesel cars get better mileage and emit fewer carbon-dioxide emissions, they also emit more nitrogen oxides (NOx), which help form smog, and particulate matter, which can damage lungs. Both types of pollution can have serious health effects.

Historically, Europe has dealt with this trade-off by imposing looser emissions standards on diesel cars in order to pursue higher fuel economy. That's one reason European cities like Paris have a serious smog problem. In the United States, by contrast, we've imposed much stricter rules around smog and other conventional pollutants since the 1970s, one reason diesel cars haven't caught on as widely here. (Heavy trucks favor diesel engines, though.)

In recent years, however, conditions have changed. The Obama administration has been ratcheting up fuel-economy standards in the United States, which puts a higher premium on mileage. At the same time, diesel technology has gradually been getting cleaner through a combination of lower-sulfur fuel, advanced engines, and new emission-control technology. So automakers have taken a renewed interest in "clean diesel" cars that, in theory, don't suffer from that trade-off between performance and pollution.

These vehicles proved popular in the United States, even if they still represent a tiny slice of the market. Since 2009, Volkswagen has sold more than 482,000 clean diesel cars containing a four-cylinder turbocharged direct injection engine. This included versions of the Passat, Jetta, Golf, Beetle, and Audi's A3. Drivers liked them.

Except, as it turns out, VW was lying about its clean diesel cars.

Volkswagen couldn't balance performance with low pollution. So it cheated.

Since 2009, we now know, Volkswagen had been inserting intricate code in its vehicle software that tracked steering and pedal movements. When those movements suggested that the car was being tested by regulators in the laboratory for nitrogen-oxide emissions, the car automatically turned its pollution controls on. The rest of the time, the pollution controls switched off.

Regulators didn't notice this ruse for years. The problem was only uncovered by an independent group, the International Council on Clean Transportation, which wanted to investigate why there was such a discrepancy between laboratory tests and real-road performance for several of VW's diesel cars in Europe. So they worked with researchers at West Virginia University, who stuck a probe up the exhaust pipe of VW's clean diesel cars and drove them from San Diego to Seattle.

What the researchers found was jaw-dropping. On the road, VW's Jetta was emitting 15 to 35 times as much nitrogen oxide as the allowable standard. The VW Passat was emitting 5 to 20 times as much. These cars were emitting much more pollution than they had in the labs.

Both California's air-pollution regulator and the EPA ordered Volkswagen to investigate and fix the problem in May 2014, and the company said it had worked on a software patch. Once again, the cars performed well in testing. And once again, real-world performance didn't match up. At that point, regulators started grilling Volkswagen's engineers about the discrepancy, and the company eventually cracked, admitting the existence of these defeat devices, which had been carefully hidden in the software code. Hence the scandal.

Volkswagen hasn't explained exactly why it cheated, but outside analysts have a pretty good guess. The NOx emission controls likely degraded the cars' performance when they were switched on — the engines ran hotter, wore out more quickly, and got worse mileage. Some experts have suggested that the emission controls may have affected the cars' torque and acceleration, making them less fun to drive. (Indeed, some individual car owners have been known to disable their cars' emission controls to boost performance, though this is against the law.)

In other words, Volkswagen wasn't able to produce diesel cars that had the ideal mix of performance, fuel economy, and low pollution. (Or, at least, they couldn't do this profitably.) So they "solved" this trade-off by sacrificing cleanliness and loosening the emission controls. And they accomplished this via software designed to deceive regulators. This was wildly illegal, and they got caught.

The VW scandal exposes problems with current emission tests

Volkswagen isn't the first company to cheat on its emission tests. As Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air Watch pointed out to me, the EPA caught a number of truck manufacturers, including Caterpillar and Volvo, doing something similar back in 1998 — programming their diesel trucks to emit fewer pollutants in lab tests than they did on the road. (The trucks would slowly emit more and more NOx as they traveled longer distances at constant speed, something that labs couldn't catch.)

Part of the problem here is that regulators tend to test these vehicles in laboratory conditions, which are fairly predictable and hence easier to game. Combined with the fact that automakers are developing ever-more-elaborate software that can control and fine-tune engines, and there are ample opportunities for fraud.

In theory, there are ways to make cheating harder. Starting with model year 2017 vehicles, European regulators are going to start requiring automakers to test their passenger cars on the road in addition to laboratory testing. That sort of regime would've made it harder for Volkswagen to do what it did. But it's also unlikely that this is the last time we'll see an automaker come up with a fiendishly clever way to cheat.

Meanwhile, the VW scandal raises another issue surrounding car regulations, as Alex Davies explains at Wired. Modern-day cars feature complex computer systems and software. And, right now, this software is protected under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act — it's illegal to fiddle with it. The ostensible rationale is to make it harder for consumers to tamper with emissions controls. But these protections also make it harder for independent researchers to scrutinize that code and identify problems like VW's little emissions trick. Some experts have proposed DMCA exemptions to allow researchers to test and evaluate these engines, but so far automakers and the EPA have resisted this. Presumably, if those exemptions had existed, Volkswagen might've been caught sooner.

Volkswagen is now facing serious consequences

At this point, Volkswagen has been caught red-handed and has to face the consequences. The company straight-up lied about its cars and exacerbated the country's air-pollution problem. (Getting a precise estimate of the health consequences here could be difficult, since it depends on where the cars were located, how much extra smog actually resulted, and so forth.)

In response, the company has pledged to stop selling 2015 and 2016 Volkswagen and Audi models equipped with clean diesel engines and will likely end up recalling the 482,000 cars now on the road to fix the software. It's unclear how many customers will want to "fix" the problem, however, since, again, any patch might degrade gas mileage and/or performance.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen could face criminal prosecution — not to mention billions of dollars in fines. The Clean Air Act allows a fine of $37,500 per noncompliant vehicle. If the EPA really wanted to lower the hammer, that could total some $18 billion. Again, VW's pretax net income was about $4.7 billion last year, so that would be a crippling hit. Volkswagen is the world's biggest automaker by sales, but it's not quite as profitable as competitors like Toyota and has struggled to gain a foothold in the US market. This could be a huge deal for the company.

It also raises questions about the future of clean diesel vehicles. Clean diesel appears to be a promising technology — in theory, these vehicles could get both excellent mileage and lower emissions. But this whole scandal raises serious questions about how well automakers can actually achieve both goals in practice.

More

[wagyl]

Shame on you all.

I have been waiting for the comments that saying you were

deeply sorry

and then carrying on as usual, perhaps after a shuffling of offices at the board member level, was the sort of thing which inscrutable Orientals engage in but which would never be acceptable in our home countries, and this is why Japan will never be a real global power.

[Coligny]

11 milions cars involved in the dieselgate scandal for the VAG group...

[Grumpy Gramps]

A good time to buy shares?

[Coligny]

They already did it in 1974...

In 1974, VW paid a $120,000 fine to settle charges from the Environmental Protection Agency that it changed carburetor settings and shut off an emissions-control system at low temperatures to game pollution control systems. The automaker did not admit guilt, but promised management changes to ensure future compliance with EPA regulations.

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/l ... story.html

Never trust a kraut...

[Russell]

Volkswagen scandal could kill off diesel cars

Volkswagen scandal: now millions of petrol cars could be affected

There is such a gap between emission standards and what can be delivered by engines, that it would not surprise me if all car makers would be affected and both diesel and gasoline engines would be unable to meet emission standards.

That would render the sale of most new cars illegal, which is clearly a situation that is unsustainable, so something will have to be done, like relaxing the standards for a certain number of years. It's time that legislators pull their collective heads out of the sand.

And Coligny, if you think this will only affect German car makers, I have a nice bridge to sell to you...

[wagyl]

You mean we will have to go back to horseshit and dead-from-exhaustion horses in our city streets again?

It seems strange to think of it now, but the internal combustion engine car was lauded as an improvement from an environmental point of view, when it replaced the noise of horseshoes, and fatal accidents and noxious smells from the previous technology.

[Taro Toporific]

Ferdinand Porsche explaining to Adolf Hitler how Volkswagen will cheat emissions inspections forever (1935).

cheaters.png

[wagyl]

Well, one million Deutschemarks say that there were some doubts about the originality of that design too.

[Coligny]

Ferdinand Porsche explaining to Adolf Hitler how Volkswagen will cheat emissions inspections forever (1935).

cheaters.png

Isn't it wonderfull how the new newbeetul look like the first Hitlermobile ?

image.jpg

[Coligny]

Volkswagen scandal could kill off diesel cars

Volkswagen scandal: now millions of petrol cars could be affected

There is such a gap between emission standards and what can be delivered by engines, that it would not surprise me if all car makers would be affected and both diesel and gasoline engines would be unable to meet emission standards.

That would render the sale of most new cars illegal, which is clearly a situation that is unsustainable, so something will have to be done, like relaxing the standards for a certain number of years. It's time that legislators pull their collective heads out of the sand.

And Coligny, if you think this will only affect German car makers, I have a nice bridge to sell to you...

I think I already stated that I have one in the parking who stink up way too much to be aware of any kind of emission limits...

Now between "just the krauts" and "everybuddy's doin' it " I suspect that your usual subtulty might again cloud your view my dear Kettle...

What is needed now is to also know if the truck makers really reached Euro 6 compliance.

[legion]

Shame on you all.

I have been waiting for the comments that saying you were

deeply sorry

and then carrying on as usual, perhaps after a shuffling of offices at the board member level, was the sort of thing which inscrutable Orientals engage in but which would never be acceptable in our home countries, and this is why Japan will never be a real global power.

Bridgestone still make tires.

[kurogane]

Isn't it wonderfull how the new newbeetul look like the first Hitlermobile ?

image.jpg

Sounds like him, too:

2016 Volkswagen Beetle Review – Vehicles or cars now are increasingly taken into account by the new power will support the comfort and safety while driving. 2016 Volkswagen Beetle sedan minimalist is unique in terms of appearance with distinctive impression like previous classical type. 2016 Volkswagen Beetle design would refer to the two-door sedan with all the changes on all sides of the platform and the interior and exterior features. It is said that this type of sedan will be the biggest competitor in the production of BMW and so on. Many people assume that the presence of this latest innovation as a supporting appearance typical of previous classical impressive.
The Interior Features a 2016 Volkswagen Beetle

2016 Volkswagen Beetle interior will apply the latest advanced features like a luxury car with a modern design and aggressive. Such features include a set of audio sound with a USB connector port and other ports. Air conditioning with automatic temperature control is also attached premises in perfect accordance with the wishes of the setting. 2016 Volkswagen Beetle exterior will apply the model curve of the exterior and distinctive line of vintage cars preceding section complete with a variety of body ornaments. Parts also designed with an open roof that will facilitate you while driving.

Gibberish Uber Alles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Cool looking car, anyways. Any hope for a 4 door? Done right it would have a sort of Porsche Panamera effect, and I hate 2 doors.

[chibaka]

From the twittersphere

CPn3UdlWsAA3bIY.jpg

[Salty]

Do they still make shoes that comply with the emissions standards?

[wagyl]

Do they still make shoes that comply with the emissions standards?

Only if you piss on them when the tests are being done.

[Salty]

Do they still make shoes that comply with the emissions standards?

Only if you piss on them when the tests are being done.

That is easy... at my age you can`t help it.

[Salty]

It isn`t just VW….

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/why-vw-migh ... 04067.html

[Coligny]

It isn`t just VW….

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/why-vw-migh ... 04067.html

Useless speculations. Just wait for the hammer to officially fall.
We can setup bets on the forums between us to guess who will fall next. But linking to useless journalists making monies by pulling stuff outta their asses... /bleh...

VW 's head demission setup a really good precedent for the other companies that might be caught. I really hope Goshn gets beheaded on this...

[Russell]

It isn`t just VW….

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/why-vw-migh ... 04067.html

And as the [research of the International Council on Clean Transportation, a non-profit climate research group,] shows, there’s more than just the suspects from Wolfsburg.

I would love to see a link to that.

[Salty]

It isn`t just VW….

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/why-vw-migh ... 04067.html

And as the [research of the International Council on Clean Transportation, a non-profit climate research group,] shows, there’s more than just the suspects from Wolfsburg.

I would love to see a link to that.

It was this group that outed VW...

[Coligny]

I would love to see a link to that.

That would have been the job of the journalist indeed...

[wagyl]

Finding the research is not exactly rocket science. http://www.theicct.org/sites/default/fi ... 152015.pdf

Whether the research considers that there is software interfering with test results is a completely different matter. It does however suggest that the sample size of one vehicle each from Volvo, Renault and Hyundai will have difficulties in passing a real world on road test. There was only one Volkswagen tested for that research, and it gave average results, three Audi vehicles gave poor results.

[chibaka]

Isn't this the same as the fuel consumption figures given for cars by the manufacturers? The Gov specifies the conditions, like the Japanese spec of 10モード/10・15モード. Very rarely can I get anywhere near the "official" figures in the "real world". Don't hear much complaining about that....

[Coligny]

Isn't this the same as the fuel consumption figures given for cars by the manufacturers? The Gov specifies the conditions, like the Japanese spec of 10モード/10・15モード. Very rarely can I get anywhere near the "official" figures in the "real world". Don't hear much complaining about that....

It gets better...

the emissions of these vehicles were measured over both the emissions certification cycle currently in use in the eu for light-duty vehicles (neDC) and the more realistic WLtC cycle. the results over the WLtC cycle, which is expected to replace neDC for regulatory use in 2017, are taken as a proxy of the real-world performance of the cars under test.

Help me if I'm wrong...

But does that translate to:
"the car results, passing the required current rules, are evaluated against the rules that will be used in 2017 anwe consider them as the real reality, because."

This report is a lovecraftian masterpiece of uselessly obscur visualisation.

Showing yearly share evolution with summary bars instead of curves... Why not... Actually... No...
And don' t get me started on the color choices. Or the stupid clouds of dots representation that require sub labelling to have the smallest hint of a meaning.

That report remind me of this:

image.jpg

I had one print framed in me julie's office... To remind her of the day were she made a slide for a lecture that was approximately 10x worse. It was impossible to look at it and not laugh, like she tried on purpose to put on one single sheet absolutely all the mistakes that can be made for a graphic visualisation of data.

Out of this I'm not saying "is all treehugger bullshit, everything is fine in Sootistan" just... Who the fuck are those people and what are they smoking...

[Russell]

Isn't this the same as the fuel consumption figures given for cars by the manufacturers? The Gov specifies the conditions, like the Japanese spec of 10モード/10・15モード. Very rarely can I get anywhere near the "official" figures in the "real world". Don't hear much complaining about that....

The figures for my 18-yo old STPWGN are actually pretty much spot on. If I do my best, I can even do better than the specs. Then again, the specs were not spectacular to begin with...

[Coligny]

Delica DI-d:

Official: 7.7l/100km
Me: 12-16l/100km (2wd/4wd)
Ok, the supposed weight for the test was around 1.7t while I'm easily reaching between 2.2 and 2.5t (the rear springs are giving up the fight, i will either have to replace them, put an air suspension or a lift kit...)
But I still have little to no hope to fall below 10l/100 in city use...