The VW Emissions Scandal

Volkswagen (VW), a leading German motor giant, was found to be deceiving emissions tests with a "clever scam."
VW programmed their cars' onboard computers with a "defeat device."
- In the lab, cars appeared clean, but on real roads, pollution levels were up to 40 times the legal limit.
In July 2015, VW became the world's biggest carmaker, advertising their cars as "squeaky clean", which was false.
Michael Horn, the boss of VW's US business, admitted to lying for years.
$11,000,000$ cars from the VW Group (including Audi's, SEAT's, and Skoda's) had the cheating software, including $1,200,000$ in the UK.

Consumers who bought VW cars, like Mark and Claire Lithgo, felt "duped" and angry.
The "blue motion technology" was a factor in their decision to purchase a Volkswagen Passat.
They wanted a car that was reliable, safe, and clean, and VW emphasized the environmental credentials of the vehicle.

Modern cars are controlled by computers (ECU), which control everything from headlights to the engine's pollution output.
The defeat device is software within the car's onboard computer.
The car's computer can recognize when it is being tested and reduce pollution output.
During high-speed driving, the computer switches out of test mode, leading to higher emissions.

EU rules and regulations govern car testing.
The testing procedure is highly controlled and predictable.
Cars must stand indoors for at least six hours to cool to room temperature for a cold start.
The test involves driving a specific cycle for twenty minutes and twenty seconds.
VW's onboard computer can recognize lab conditions and switch to compliant nitrogen dioxide levels.

An experiment was conducted to demonstrate how VW's onboard computer can cheat the European emissions test.
A VW Passat Blue Motion was tested, and its emissions were measured.
The car passed the emissions test when the computer was plugged into the systems.
When the car was driven at high speed and then retested with a hot engine, it failed spectacularly, emitting two and a half times more poisonous gases.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels remain stubbornly high despite regulations.
Diesel vehicles emit more pollutants than they should.
The decision to promote diesel cars was made to cut greenhouse gas CO2 emissions, but it led to increased NO2 emissions.
Ben Barrett from King's College London conducted an experiment measuring diesel pollution in London.

The experiment involved monitoring people's heart rates in a quiet park and on Oxford Street, a polluted road.
Pollution more than doubled, and heart rates climbed on Oxford Street.
The research changed perceptions, making pollution a health issue.
Asthmatics experienced lung inflammation and decreased lung capacity.
Healthy individuals did not get the full health benefit of exercise on polluted streets.

Pollution affects the young, the old, and the sick the most.
Sophie Hyde, a 16-year-old with cystic fibrosis, finds it difficult to breathe in polluted environments.
Professor Andrew Bush stated that pollution exposure during pregnancy affects a child's lung function.
Pollution can harm one in ten children in big cities, causing lasting damage.

Of the 60 newest cars tested, only four were as clean on real roads as in the lab.
A Vauxhall Zafira was tested and failed the euro 6 emissions standard, emitting twice the limit of NOx gases.
At higher speeds, emissions went off the scale.
A hot engine test resulted in even worse emissions, exceeding three and a half times the euro 6 limit.

Diesel engines produce billions of ultrafine particles with every acceleration.
These particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and even into cells, affecting the bloodstream and causing clotting.
Walking along a busy road can result in 30,000,000,000 particles entering the lungs per hour.

VW promises to fix all its cars but struggles to rebuild trust.
Customers want compensation for the loss of value in their cars.
VW faces consumer fraud actions, shareholder actions, and actions from those affected by emissions.
The cost of repairing $11,000,000$ cars could be $11,000,000,000$ or more.
VW shareholders are claiming € $40,000,000,000$ in damages.