Volkswagen Execs Have Lost the Plot

by Aaron Cole

Updated: May 1st, 2020 Published: January 28th, 2016

Refuting a report that many Volkswagen managers were involved with a widespread cheating scandal involving 11 million cars worldwide, at least three different regional offices and hundreds of employees, the automaker’s top brass has other ideas.

“No one has spoken with me,” Volkswagen’s CEO Matthis Müller told reporters on Thursday according to Reuters. “You got the information from some sources who have no idea about the whole matter.”

Set us straight then, Müller. Tell us how hundreds of confiscated hard drives and terabytes of data from multiple offices — those are VW’s figures, not ours — and more than 380 interviewed employees contradict a report that a department was scared shitless to raise their hands and admit failure to higher ups? Because that case is shaping up quite nicely.

Will you tell us now?

“Is it really so difficult to accept that we are obliged by stock market law to submit a report to the AGM on April 21 and that it is not possible for us to say anything beforehand?” the CEO asked, according to Reuters.

Oh.

Actually, yes. That’s difficult to accept.

Especially because Volkswagen stockholders and local officials have pressed the automaker into moving more quickly, which has cost the company billions in lost value. Especially because by the time Volkswagen presents its own report, it’ll have been nearly two years since the ICCT notified the automaker that its emissions were suspect.

It’s difficult to accept that after repeated gaffes and delays, Volkswagen wouldn’t be more forthcoming — even after the company admitted being more open would be necessary to move on.

Even still, it’s difficult to accept that Müller still has a job.

[Image: Volkswagen]

#Diesel #MatthiasMüller #Volkswagen #VwDieselScandal

Aaron Cole

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11 of 48 comments

Astrocortex on Jan 29, 2016

The real question is what future does my 2012 Touareg TDI have?

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- Luke42 on Jan 29, 2016
  
  Considering that its a Volkswagen, it's likely to be a future of expensive repairs... At least that's what owning an out-of-warranty VW was like for me!
  
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- LeeK on Jan 30, 2016
  
  @Luke42 Oh for crying out loud, Luke. You had ONE VW which you bought used, and it wasn't very reliable. That car was manufactured 15 years ago and yet you continue to repeat the same old tired meme about Volkswagens blowing up out of warranty. I've pointed out several times to you that aggregate statistics from True Delta, Consumer Reports, and even J.D. Powers show VW reliability to have risen to industry average levels. In Consmer Reports alone, long term reliability for VW is now 12 out 28. Give it a rest, why don't you?
  
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- DenverMike on Jan 30, 2016
  
  @LeeK VWs may be just as reliable as Chryslers say, but also consider the cost of repairs, which are up there with BMW/Mercedes/Audi and sometimes Porsche. Why take the gamble for a non-luxury, no prestige car? Then add 'diesel' into the equation????
  
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- LeeK on Jan 30, 2016
  
  @DenverMike A Touareg IS a Cayenne/Audi Q7 except it has a VW badge on it. It's made on the same exact manufacturing line in Slovakia as the more prestigious brand variants. I think of Touareg owners as savvy car buyers, getting luxury brand performance and convenience for tens of thousands less. Reliability is equivalent.
  
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- DenverMike on Jan 30, 2016
  
  @DenverMike That's fine when Touareg owners get to enjoy hidden luxury and prestige along with Audi/Porsche maintenance and expensive repairs, but what's in it for Jetta/Passat/Beetle/etc owners, getting saddled with the same high maintenance and high repair bills of luxury/prestige German cars, without the benefit of luxury/prestige?
  
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- Astrocortex on Jan 30, 2016
  
  @DenverMike Well, I didn't ask the question about the other cars. Just the Touareg. Reason why I ask is because there is so little talk about the 6cyl TDI. I've now owned 5 VW dating all the way back to 1995 (my parents had the original rabbit in the best green and brown combo ever) and while our 2002 golf tdi was a miserable failure(used, from a honda dealer... duh), all the rest have been absolutely perfect. My wife's unitronic chipped GTi has had some funky stuff happen at inconvenient times, but fouled sensors are expected on such german OCD vehicles. You'd think if something was going to be expensive and break a lot, it would be the chipped gti. Nope. I've also yet to have an expensive run-in with the shop. Most I've ever spent was on one of the big scheduled maintenances and 4 new tires all at once. However, a dealer experience I had about 2 years ago where THEY broke my truck had soiled me on VW before the whole emissions debacle. The thing is, I didn't buy it for the environment. I got it because I wanted a black treg and I wanted a tow vehicle. That's not VW's fault, just a local f&^* with no soul.
  
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- LeeK on Jan 30, 2016
  
  @DenverMike Astro, you'll probably get a software flash and you'll be on your way. You'll also get the VW $1000 Good Will package as well. As for resale value, it's unclear what will happen in the near term or the long term. If you keep your Treg for a few more years, the effects will most likely be difficult to solely attribute to the fact that you have a diesel VW. These are still pretty highly regarded vehicles amongst enthusiasts. DM, you're asking a bigger question about the worth of German vehicles over domestic or Japanese manufacturers. That I can't answer that for you because it's been debated endlessly in this and other automotive forums without any conclusion. People buy what they like and what fits their perceived needs. It may be hard to believe, but there is a small percentage of US buyers who think VWs match their needs the best. I've owned two dozen vehicles over the past three decades -- from domestics to Japanese to German makes. Other than an E90 BMW I had for a while, I haven't found repair bills to be all that different when done through independent garages. The parts for German cars are a little more expensive, but not outrageously so. I've also owned a number of VWs and Hondas in that mix and having laid out $4000 in the past year for repairs to an Element, I can safely say the three Hondas I currently own have cost me way more than any VW I've ever owned.
  
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- Astrocortex on Jan 30, 2016
  
  @LeeK I can't see how they could lower the emissions without having noticeable effects to the performance. Diesel is diesel and air is air, right? Messing with that chemistry is going to change performance, isn't it? Luckily I bought this vehicle knowing it was going to be driven into the ground, so value isn't really an issue for me right now. If they do somehow destroy everything I love about the Touareg with a software fix, surely unitronic or other tuning companies will just reverse it. I hope.
  
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- LeeK on Jan 31, 2016
  
  @DenverMike The thing is, nobody knows yet what the software flash's effect will have on performance. The good news is that you already have an AdBlue system integrated in your SUV so it's a matter of tweaking the parameters a bit to reduce emissions. Will that lower your overall fuel mileage? Probably, but I predict only a few percent. Will that reduce power? Again, probably yes but only in certain conditions that you may not even notice in everyday driving. I've been keeping up with the Touareg forums quite regularly (my wife drives one) and there is a bunch of speculation but no hard facts yet. It may be many months before anything is offered up by VW and you may have the option of not having the flash done at all. It depends on your state's emissions control policies and whether your SUV is tested as a requirement for license renewal. When I lived in the east, I had to get my cars tested every year. Here in the southwest, there is no such test, ever.
  
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Tailgate1234 on Jan 31, 2016

Herr Schultz, he knows nothink.

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