The lie of clean Diesel
How Volkswagen cheated Millions of customers worldwide
Elizabeth Humstone, who had been driving her Volkswagen Diesel Jetta for years, was angry.
“I feel I was sold a car on very false pretenses thinking that I was taking an environmentally responsible step for better gas mileage while meeting EPA standards. Now I feel guilty every time I drive.”
The Volkswagen Diesel emission scandal and its massive cover-up, which started to unravel in 2015, was one of the largest corporate scandals in history, and it affected Millions of car owners — and everyone that breathes air — worldwide. Volkswagen programmed their Diesel engines deliberately such that they would obey emission guidelines during inspection, but not on the road, hence achieving both better mileage and lower emissions compared to their competitors.
What were the factors that went into VW’s decision to cheat? What role does the corporate culture play? And how did VW’s managers possibly think they could get away with it?
The problem with Diesel
First things first, Diesel engines produce less carbon dioxide compared to standard, gasoline engines, and can achieve better fuel economy (mileage) at the same time. The big problem however is that Diesel engines release NOx…
