Germany is Starting To Resent That We Got Volkswagen In Trouble (Video)
My German begins and ends with “nein” but I don’t need to know much to see what’s going on in this video.
According to the New York Times, sentiment in Germany is starting to build that American regulators are being unfairly harsh with Volkswagen in an effort to bolster domestic manufacturers such as Ford, General Motors and Ram.
The Environmental Protection Agency notified Volkswagen in September that its cars used an illegal “defeat device” to skirt emissions laws. Since then, the automaker has been caught up in an international scandal that has cost the automaker billions and damaged the reputation for Germany’s largest exporter.
Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller is set to deliver an interim report Thursday on the automaker’s internal investigation. According to AFP, up to 50 employees have come forward to talk about the widespread cheating scandal that the automaker admitted to after the EPA’s notification in September.
According to the New York Times, some in Germany have openly questioned whether the automaker and authorities could thoroughly investigate such a key component of that country’s economy.
“I don’t have confidence it will be a tough investigation,” Caren Lay, a leader of the Left Party, told the New York Times.
Even with the skepticism, some in Germany have envisioned Volkswagen and Germany, and the U.S. and its regulators ducking to their respective corners ahead of a perceived fight.
“There is this general notion that the U.S. is overstating the case in order to damage one of the major competitors of the U.S. carmakers,” Nils Stieglitz, a professor at the Frankfurt School of Finance, told the Gray Lady.
Which probably precipitated the video here, shown on German national TV, and characterizes Volkswagen’s deception as minor compared to “rolling coal” and women with guns and stuff. Which, sure — we’ll give you that.
But it’s hard to argue that regulators in the U.S. were the ones who installed the devices on cars around the world and then forced VW to lie about it for six years. Just a thought.
More by Aaron Cole
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The Germans make a good point about America's double standards. While we demand diesel cars run cleaner than a baby's breath, when it comes to "light trucks." anything goes. Every safety and emissions standard is relaxed for them, as if they were agricultural implements used in remote areas and limited numbers, not the primary choice for common commuters that they really are. The second point is valid, too. though hard to prove. The health damage of ozone pollution is realm, but hard to quantify. Its easier to name and count those killed or maimed by bad air bags and ignition switches.
Is EPA also responsible for debunking Vee Dubbayou's solution to "fix" the problem? Or is the "fix" just another type of pollution?? Ist EPA auch zur Entlarvung Vee Dubbayou Lösung zu "reparieren" das Problem verantwortlich? Oder ist der "Fix" nur eine andere Art von Verschmutzung ??