Volkswagen AG's $14.7 billion settlement with the U.S. government, State of California, and vehicle owners has been approved, and the company will begin buying back affected vehicles in mid-November:
It represented one of the biggest corporate settlements of any kind. The action by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco marked a pivotal moment for VW as it aims to move past a scandal that has engulfed the company since it admitted in September 2015 to installing secret software in diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and make them appear cleaner than they really were.
[...] Breyer turned away objections from car owners who thought the settlement did not provide enough money, saying it "adequately and fairly compensates" them. In addition to the pre-scandal "trade in" value of the vehicle, owners will receive $5,100 to $10,000 in additional compensation. "Given the risks of prolonged litigation, the immediate settlement of this matter is far preferable," Breyer wrote.
Also at USA Today , NPR, The Los Angeles Times , and The Denver Post (AP).
(Score: 2) by iamjacksusername on Thursday October 27 2016, @12:13AM
Like vouchers for discounts on a new Volkwagon? That cannot be combined with other discounts? I'm sure. It sounds like RIAA settlements where they pay in CDs valued at full retail value as part of the settlement.
Volkswagon should have been given a choice: Fix the problem or, if that is not possible, replace the cars with an equivalent vehicle that meets the emissions standards. It's not the owner's problem that VW lied; VW should be required to fix the problem, not simply pay a settlement. If that means giving every owner with a VW diesel a new car, then so be it. That's on VW, not the owner.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 27 2016, @03:47AM
A friend in CA bought a used diesel Jetta a few months before the cheating story broke. He's quite happy with the buyback offer, it is considerably more than he paid for the car, maybe 20% more(not sure of exact amount).
At the same time, he really likes the car and he's going to miss it. I think this might be a common response among VW diesel owners.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 28 2016, @11:10PM
1. Buy used diesel VW.
2. Sell it back for more than you paid for it.
3. Use buy back money to buy another used diesel VW.
4. Profit?
Though it's likely any fixed car he would buy in step 3 would not have the performance and economy of the car in step 1. Though given VW's poor reliability record and high repair costs, he might have dodged a bullet.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Thursday October 27 2016, @03:53AM
(Score: 2) by Techwolf on Thursday October 27 2016, @12:41AM
Has anyone tested pre and post fix emmisioms per mile? If MPG is reduced too much to meet percentages, it can actually be more polluction per mile driven.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 27 2016, @01:31AM
Emissions per mile can't be compared as there's not an approved fix for the US cars (yet, if ever). Short answer - yes, any fix likely will increase emissions overall.
Older cars will probably be tuned to run cooler, decreasing NOx emissions at the expense of CO2 and performance. Newer cars have a catalyst that uses a urea solution to reduce NOx in the exhaust into CO2 and N2 - they'll probably have to double the urea dosing rate to cut emissions sufficiently. All of the cars already have a good margin to the CO2 emission limit, but post-fix they will be less "green" than they currently are.