Volkswagen pulls 2016 diesel lineup from US market

> Horn testified that the decision to use the cheating software was not made at the corporate level. Instead, it was "software engineers who put this in for whatever reason." He said three people have been suspended over the issue and that "this was not a corporate decision."

>He told lawmakers the automaker is working on "software and hardware solutions."

>When asked how the cheating software worked, Horn said he didn't know. "Personally, no. I'm not an engineer," he said.

It is a good reminder, if you've ever doubted it, that if someone asks you to do something illegal/not compliant, you'll be thrown under the bus if the company get caught.

I have a really hard time believing that this was the decision of a lone wolf at the bottom of the food chain. At least, the management is responsible for creating (or not) a culture of compliance vs result at any cost.

"In 1973 for example, the Environmental Protection Agency noted that Volkswagen sold around 25,000 cars with temperature-sensing switches that were used to deactivate the emissions control system. Specifically, Volkswagen’s Fastback and Squareback 1973 models would sense low temperatures and cut out the cars' exhaust recirculation system."

Wait, what?! I'm now definitely not convinced of their "it was all the Engineers fault, we didn't even know" argument.

The current owners are really screwed at least in California. They MUST install whatever fix VW provides for their current diesel or they will be illegal and unregistered in California. So there will be no choice in accepting VW's fix not matter the loss of performance or fuel economy. And other states will likely do the same.

A friend was telling me as a result of all this VW have announced they're now betting on a 100% electric future for the company. Can anyone provide a good link to this?

I wonder, if they had decided to sell them, how well or poorly would they have sold?