Feinberg: Volkswagen Will Offer 'Generous Solution' to U.S. Customers
Kenneth Feinberg, the man behind Volkswagen’s claims fund, stated American VW TDI customers should expect an offer that will make them very happy in an interview published this weekend.
When asked by Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (via Reuters) what he will offer the more than 500,000 Americans who own dirty diesels, he replied, “I can promise that there will be a generous solution.”
What that solution will be is anyone’s guess, including Feinberg’s.
“The jury is still out, and at the moment all options are up for debate: cash payments, buybacks, repairs, replacements with new cars,” he said.
The solution will likely include a mix of measures as there are different generations of the EA189 engine at the center of the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal
Late last year, Volkswagen began its Goodwill Package program to help smooth over concerns in the short term. At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Volkswagen Group of American CEO Michael Horn announced that the company’s Goodwill Package program would be extended to owners of 3-liter diesel vehicles, and that some 265,000 owners had taken Volkswagen up on the offer to date.
For its part, Audi is offering a carbon copy of Volkswagen’s 2-liter Goodwill Package program, but has not extended that offer to 3-liter vehicles. Neither has Porsche.
Final measures, above and beyond the Goodwill Package program, are dependant on future decisions by the Environmental Protection Agency, said Feinberg.
“My hands are tied while VW and the authorities resolve their differences. The original time frame could be delayed.”
However, those looking for compensation due to possible effects on their health aren’t likely to get much from the Feinberg administered fund.
“I have not decided yet, but I am inclined not to accept such claims and to tell people they should sue if they want,” he said.
[Photo source: Flickr/ Miller Center]
More by Mark Stevenson
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Hook me up, Kenny! I'm getting sick of my car doing re-gens seemingly every time I put it in the garage. Have to leave the door open so the garage doesn't smell like burnt rubber. And I haven't even had the 23o6 campaign done, which apparently makes the cars re-gen about once per day. I'll gladly take either original purchase price to go buy something else or a new TSI Golf wagon.
VW should hire me. I have master plan to make their problems go away and make them the largest automaker in the US. 1. Create an organization called NDA(National Diesel Association) 2. Claim that the liberals, EPA, Govt, and White House wants to ban TDI diesels 3. Watch TDI sales soar with every mouth breathing m0r0n beating on VW dealership doors to buy a diesel. 4. VW will soon be the largest automaker in America 5. To keep the sales momentum going after a year, have a few paid congressmen say that the liberals and the govt wants to forcefully take your TDIs away. 6. Everyone who bought a TDI will buy a second one 7. Repeat the above talking points every time a TDI owner runs over employees at the inspection center for failing his car. 8. Now every TDI owner who already owns two cars will run out to buy a third one... It worked for guns. I can't see why it wouldn't work for diesels.