Up Into Smoke : The Volkswagen Emissions Scandal

Diesel is going to be the fuel that will control the world just like gasoline is today. Clean diesel is something that seems unreachable but it is closer than people think. Diesels now are Cleaner than ever and it it going to out do any other form of power for cars. Although other fuels and forms of power produce no emissions, diesel engines can be made to produce less harmful pollutants and be more efficient. There may be a few negative characteristics about diesel engines. But, the positive characteristics that they have out weight the bad things about them. To keep the diesels clean the process of how they work needs to be known.

When it comes to the environmental impact that gas and diesel engines have. It turns out that gasoline is more unstable than diesel, not because of what its base consists of, but because of the additives it contains. In addition, vehicles that use diesel tend to be more fuel-efficient and produce less greenhouse gases. Diesel is more environmentally friendly. The United States has what is considered to be the dirtiest diesel, but as of June 1, 2010 this is going to be different. U.S. diesel fuel has a lower measure of ignition quality. This means that when it is cold outside, ignition performance is poor and can result in higher emissions. This is why you see truck drivers idling their trucks all night long in cold weather rather than risk a troublesome start in the mornings. But, the sulfur in the diesel that is emitted during cold ignitions and long engine idling is still harmful to the environment because the sulfurs prevent the control of diesel particulate emissions through diesel particulate filters. This is changing, though, since new advanced technologies such as nitrogen oxide absorbers are being developed to reduce these emissions. As for gasoline, it is the non-aliphatic hydrocarbons as well as carcinogenic additives

For many years, the only way to fuel a car has been through gasoline. Many people believe that it the best form of operation, but recently alternatives to gas have surfaced. Today we opt to purchase hybrid, solar, and electric cars instead of gas fueled. The problem lies in the difference of efficiency of gas fueled cars versus alternative fuel options. Do we need gas fueled cars? Is it worth the extra money for an electric or hybrid car? Do gas fueled cars really affect the environment? Will getting rid of gas fueled cars cause a loss of jobs ? People need to understand that the continuation of gas fueled cars are detrimental to the environment. The replacement of gas fueled vehicles is best for the natural world.

II. Diesel engines in turn run more efficiently or simply get better miles per gallon than a similar sized gasoline engine.

The mistrust between the Volkswagen Company and their customers developed after the scandal associated with the incorrect emission of data and cheating of the system unfolded.  The scandal occurred on the eighteenth of September 2015 when it was found that the company had made a car with a turbo that released emission directly into the real word atmosphere. The allegations were genuine and were proved by the Environment Protection Agency in the United States (EPA) (Hotten, 2016).The chief

As a result of EPA regulations, today’s diesel engines are more efficient than ever before seen in large and midsized trucks. Certain regulations restrict truck owners from using certain truck models, because of excess diesel emission. Increasing drastically as technology improves, cars and trucks produce less and less diesel exhausts and emissions. “But because diesel engines can operate for 30 years or more, millions of older, dirtier engines are still in use,” (Epa.Gov). Reducing exposure to diesel exhaust from these engines is especially important for the preservation of human health and the environment. According to the EPA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency,

But was it ethical? This question will often be asked regarding the case of engineer James Liang and his role in the Volkswagen emission scandal. During the period of early 2006 to 2014, James Liang and his team of engineers developed a “defeat” device that allowed diesel powered vehicles to pass the EPA emission test, when in fact the vehicles were emitting up to 30 times the allowable limit. To many, this may seem a black and white case of ethics due to the fact that Liang’s team and Volkswagen blatantly cheated on a governmental testing regulation and then proceeded to falsely advertise the vehicles as “clean diesel and environmentally friendly” as reported by the United States Department of Justice; however, different ethical

On September 9, 2016, a veteran engineer of Volkswagen AG by the name of James Robert Liang pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the government, committing wire fraud, and violating the U.S. Clean Air Act. While working in Germany in 2006, Liang was part of a team charged with producing a new fuel-efficient diesel engine that satisfied new U.S. regulations on vehicle emissions. He and his team eventually came to the conclusion that their engine could not satisfy these new regulations while maintaining consumer expectations of engine performance. Their solution to this dilemma was to implement illegal software (known as a “defeat device”) into newly produced vehicles sold in the U.S. The purpose of this software was to detect any emissions test being performed on a vehicle and alter the results to show cleaner emissions on the onboard computer. Nearly 500,000 vehicles with this defeat device were sold in the U.S.; by 2008, consumers began to experience issues in their vehicles (not knowing it was due to the emission test software), and Liang worked to refine the device even further. The entirety of the scandal eventually came into the public spotlight in 2015 (Guess, 2016, p.1). The subsequent paragraphs of this essay will first discuss Kantian duty ethics and rule utilitarianism, and focus on analyzing the moral implications of Liang’s actions in reference to these moral theories.

The people at the West Virginia had tested vehicles as well as the EPA (Patel). Volkswagen chose to include rout programming device to cheat the system to pass the testing laws. Volkswagen as a corporation was basically trying to cut the cost of engines to be built by limiting the NOx emission system that controls how much dirty chemicals that goes into the air (Patel).By the company putting this device in their cars they were trying to cut down the cost that they would have to spend, at the same time Volkswagen cars had better performance. The ethical question would be is it really worth it to CHOSE to overlook the laws to save money on cash (Patel). "We expected better from Volkswagen," said Cynthia Giles, the E.P.A's. colleague manager for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance. She called the automaker's activities "a danger to general health of our

With billions of dollars invested and hundreds of thousands of Americans employed (Department of Commerce, n.d.), the automobile industry has a vast influence in the United States. Since the time Henry Ford developed the assembly line production (Statista, n.d.) the industry has grown into a global market with no signs of slowing down. Top car companies are constantly searching for new innovations to set them apart from their competitors. Among those companies is Volkswagen (VW). A company which strides in emissions and fuel efficiency turned, not only to be false, but caused a severe amount of damage (Ewing, 2016).

The budget for the IT projects was set to $60 million; this budget was capped by the parent Volkswagen group in Germany. There clearly is not enough in the budget to accommodate for every project that IT comes across. In that sense they

After the announcement of the emissions scandal, Volkswagen is fumbling to figure out how to pick up the broken pieces of its brand image. Volkswagen had ruined the trust of all of its stakeholders. The announcement of the cheated emissions test has crushed Volkswagen’s stock price by almost 20%, which implies an almost $27 billion loss in market value. This scandal required the recall of 11 million cars with an expected cost of over $25 billion in penalty fees and the cost to fix recalled vehicles. This scandal of much higher than stated emissions directly contradicted with Volkswagen’s branding of a clean emission diesel vehicle. It could not have gotten much counter-intuitive. Volkswagen has spent 45% of its television advertising budget directly focusing on Volkswagen’s products’ low emissions. That marketing budget is now valueless. However, most importantly, Volkswagen upset its customer base. The owners of these recalled vehicles not only feel lied to and betrayed, they have to take time to bring their recalled car in to get fixed. But, one of the biggest complaints is the loss of resale value totalling nearly $5000. This may disrupt repeat customers and

What are the industrial uses for diesel? Diesel is used commonly as the fuel for motor vehicles like cars, SUVs, trucks, and buses. It is also a source of fuel in other industries besides transportation, like the construction industry and the use of diesel in power equipment such as forklifts and excavators, and it is used in the agriculture industry powering the tractors and other farming equipment, along with other industries. How good is diesel fuel for you or the environment? Are there concerns in using diesel? Diesel fuel was thought to be around since the mid 1800s but it wasn’t until the late 1800s when the diesel engine was invented. This invention was a very important one in terms of industry because it started the shift from coal to diesel powered engines. However, the shift to use more fuels like diesel has lead to a concern for how close are we to exhausting precious non-renewable energy sources. How much pollution is being released into the atmosphere? Is there an alternative renewable energy source? With the fear of global warming, all fuel sources, including diesel, are beginning to be replaced, or reinvented, with cleaner and safer alternatives. An example of these alternatives is biodiesel. Biodiesel is an alternative to diesel that can be produced from plant products, such as cornstarch and oils produced from soybean and other oil producing crops (Pittman, 2011). One obstacle that is present with biodiesel produced from plant products is the potential loss

Road transportation providers have adopted several innovations that have lowered the environmental impact of this transportation mode. The adoption of clean diesel technology by the industry has resulted in significant reductions in fuel use and emissions by trucks. This innovation in diesel engine

The Board took note of a lack of emphasis in the Marketing Plan on Volkswagen’s green technology, as this is one of the company’s greatest strengths. Volkswagen has made significant efforts to increase efficiency, and has created the world’s most fuel efficient 5-seat vehicle, the Polo. The Board emphasized the fact that green technology appeals to American consumers. The company has leveraged this in other parts of the world and has had success, and The Board felt strongly that by implementing the current Marketing Plan, the company would be missing out on highlighting an important aspect of the brand.