Volkswagen and American Exceptionalism

Last updated on: September 20, 2015 at 10:49 am by Jane the Actuary

Volkswagen and American Exceptionalism 2015-09-20T10:49:02-06:00 Jane the Actuary

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So I wrote about Volkswagen yesterday; here’s an update, starting with an article from the New York Times: “VW Is Said to Cheat on Diesel Emissions; U.S. to Order Big Recall.”

Key paragraphs:

Experts in automotive technology said that disengaging the pollution controls on a diesel-fueled car can yield better performance, including increased torque and acceleration.

“When the pollution controls are functioning on these vehicles, there’s a trade-off between performance and emissions,” said Drew Kodjak, executive director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, a research group. “This is cutting corners.”

It was Mr. Kodjak’s group, in conducting research on diesel vehicles, that first noticed the discrepancy between Volkswagen’s emissions in testing laboratories and on the road. They brought the issue to the attention of the E.P.A., which conducted further tests on the cars, and ultimately discovered the use of the defeat device software. . . .

“This is several steps beyond the violations that we’ve seen from other auto companies,” said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. “They appear to have designed a system with the intention to mislead consumers and the government. If that’s proven true, it’s remarkable and outrageous. It would merit a heck of a lot more than just a recall and a fine. We would see criminal prosecution.” . . .

Richard Corey, an executive officer on the California Air Resources Board, credited “dogged detective work in the lab” for the discovery of the software, which he said resulted in the admission from Volkswagen that the company was using the devices.

So, to begin with, it’s still shocking to me that everyone involved proclaims their own shock at this news, and describes the discovery as the result of “dogged detective work,” when, per my post yesterday, The Guardian (and this was simply my first google hit yesterday, based on a vaguely-remembered news article) describes it as common knowledge that automakers game the tests.

Surely it would have been a simple matter for someone at the EPA or at the CARB to call their counterparts in the EU and say, “hey, we’re seeing something fishy in our testing; do you have any ideas why that might be?” Wouldn’t that have revealed the answer of, “well, is your test so predictable that they’ve programmed the car to switch into Eco mode when it detects it?” Where’s the collegiality?

But here’s the other thing that occurs to me: I’d been writing a bit about culture, and the fact that it’s more than just lederhosen and dirndls, and that what we think of as “ethics” and morality is culture-driven.

And it seems to me that this is another instance.

We talk about the Greeks and their tax evasion. But it seems to me that there are a number of practices that are commonplace elsewhere, and accepted much more elsewhere than in the U.S., not just this emissions-test gaming. Every year, I have to listen to a training session on corrupt practices, and the fact that it’s illegal to engage in any sort of bribery of a public official, even if you are given to believe that, in the country you’re doing business in, that’s standard practice. My understanding is that the Europeans are, or at least have been, much more willing to say, “I won’t bribe my own government officials, but I’m OK with doing so in Africa.” And sanctions? It’s again my understanding that the Europeans are much more willing to find ways to get around sanctions of countries such as Iran, and much less interested in imposing sanctions on such countries and perfectly happy to do business with totalitarian and thug regimes.

Ha! Maybe VW should just make a pitch that massive fines go against the spirit of multiculturalism.

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