Your Guide To Dieselgate: Volkswagen's Diesel Cheating Catastrophe

by Patrick George (Jalopnik) Yes, it’s a catastrophe. There’s no other way to describe the allegations from the Environmental Protection Agency that Volkswagen cheated on their emissions tests with nearly half a million TDI diesel cars. What’s at stake here? Potentially billions in fines, criminal prosecutions, VW’s reputation, and maybe even the future of diesel in the U.S.

On Friday the EPA said VW found a way to circumvent emissions requirementsduring testing with a “defeat device” that lets the TDI cars detect when they are being tested and then emit far less than normal.

When the device is not working, and the cars are operating in regular driving, they emit 10 to 40 times more than the allowable legal levels of certain pollutants.

The cars are 2009 to 2015 TDI Volkswagen Golf, Jetta, Passat, Beetle and Audi A3s. All are powered by the company’s 2.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engines.

Dealers have been told by VW not to sell whatever remaining 2015 TDI cars are on lots. The EPA will also not grant VW a “certificate of conformity” for the 2016 cars, so they cannot be sold either.

In order to meet tougher emissions regulations that went into effect in 2008, most automakers started supplying their diesel cars with tanks of a urea-based solution (often referred to as “AdBlue”) that cuts down on nitrogen oxide emissions.

But VW and Audi said the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine on the smaller cars was able to meet the requirements without a urea injection system — although many people have wondered exactly how. (Update: Just to clarify, newer TDI models like the MK7 Golf, made from 2015 on, do include urea injection.)

VW may have done this to keep the costs of diesel Golfs and Jettas down for themselves and for the consumers.

It’s also possible that restricting emissions in a way that complied with the law would have reduced the power and fuel economy that the TDI engines are known for. Here’s Green Car Reports speculating on what a possible fix could do to the cars: ...

We’re talking about a maximum possible fine of $37,500 per vehicle, which could add up to as much as $18 billion for Volkswagen and Audi. That’s astronomical even for what is now the world’s biggest automaker, but then again, this appears to be a staggering violation of the law.

In addition, the EPA is working with the U.S. Department of Justice on the case, so criminal charges could arise from the situation too. And with a self-professed renewed focus on white-collar crime, VW could be the target the Justice Department is looking for right now.

Bloomberg has a good recap of how this went down: A relatively small clean-air NGO, the International Council on Clean Transportation, noticed discrepancies between tests of diesel Volkswagens in Europe, so they borrowed equipment from West Virginia University to test the cars’ actual emissions in real-world driving in the U.S.

Rather than trying to cast doubts on Volkswagen, they’d hoped to prove that small diesels like the cars VW made could run cleanly.

It’s not an exaggeration to say VW has staked quite a bit of their U.S. reputation, brand identity and sales future on their so-called “Clean Diesel” engines. Now that we’re finding out they’re not so clean, it’s a massive blow to the company and its brand.

As their competitors at Honda and Toyota moved into the hybrid realm, Volkswagen spent years trying to convince consumers that their diesel engines were clean, powerful, fuel-sipping better alternatives. They spent millions on ad campaigns — some of which have now been scrubbed from the Internet — trying to rehabilitate the tarnished image of diesels in the U.S.

There’s also the issue of public outrage. ... and the result will likely be buyback demands, class action lawsuits, concerns over resale value and much more.

Update: This morning Volkswagen Canada also announced they were halting sales of TDI models. The CBC reports Environment Canada is in talks with the EPA “to further examine this issue and assess potential implications for Canada.” READ MORE and MORE (Reuters) and MORE (Biodiesel Magazine)