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Volkswagen Punished for Emissions Cheating
Posted by: JackSawyer // Student
In September 2015 a report came out stating that 11 million of Volkswagen's cars contained software that falsified emission data. Since then, the car manufacturer has been facing a great deal of scrutiny and has been subjected to many lawsuits from car owners and legal action from Germany, South Korea, and the United States. Despite the news breaking almost 10 months ago, Volkswagen have been struggling to leave the story behind and for good reason. A part of the software installed in their car's would detect when it was being put under tests or laboratory like conditions and subsequently limited the cars emissions, however, once on the road, this software would be inactive and the car was in some cases turning out 40 times the amount of nitrogen oxide allowed in the United States.
On June 24th, 2016 a South Korean court ordered for the arrest of a Volkswagen official and also fined the company just under $12 million. These punishments seem fitting as with help from the software, the car manufacturer was able to falsely advertise its emissions levels. What's more, having 40 times the legal amount of nitrogen oxide is detrimental to the environment. Hopefully with these punishments and the bad press, other car manufacturers and in general other companies will think twice before trying to cheat the system and lying to the public and their customer base.
Do you think Volkswagen's punishment is fitting? Is it enough to set an example and prevent something like this from happening again?
Hotten, Russell. "Volkswagen: The Scandal Explained." BBC News. N.p., 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 25 June 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772>.
Reuters. "South Korean Court Orders Arrest of VW Official Over Emissions Cheating." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 June 2016. Web. 25 June 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/business/international/south-korean-court-orders-arrest-of-vw-official-over-emissions-cheating.html>.
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