Just as Volkswagen cleans up the remnants of its dirty diesel scandal, the folks at Fiat Chrysler find themselves on the receiving of a lawsuit brought by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department accusing the carmaker of rigging its own diesel engines to fool emissions tests. [More]
cough cough
Federal Trade Commission Opens Probe Into Volkswagen’s “Clean Diesel” Advertising
By 10.15.15
The list of state and federal agencies probing Volkswagen’s recent emissions scandal grew by one Wednesday: The Federal Trade Commission announced it has opened an investigation into the company’s advertisements that touted “clean diesel” vehicles, despite the fact the cars contained “defeat devices,” which are designed to cheat emissions tests. [More]
Report Claims Mercedes, Honda, Mazda Diesels Also Have Questionable Emissions
By 10.9.15
Volkswagen may not be the only carmaker with diesel engines that pass emissions tests in the garage but would fail if tested on the open road. A new report claims that several other manufacturers have diesel vehicles that test well until you put them in real world driving situations. [More]
Studies Try To Estimate Number Of Deaths Tied To Rigged Volkswagen Emissions
By 10.5.15
Over the course of seven years, Volkswagen and its affiliated companies sold millions of diesel vehicles around the world — nearly 500,000 in the U.S. — with emissions control systems rigged so that the cars falsely appeared to meet environmental standards. While much of the focus has been on the carmaker’s alleged fraud and the financial cost to consumers and VW, some researchers have been trying to figure out how many people died as a result of the additional toxic emissions released into the air. [More]
Yes, Owners Of Recalled Volkswagens Can File Deceptive Marketing Complaints With The FTC
By 9.21.15
While Volkswagen and the EPA say the recently recalled VW and Audi diesel cars are safe to drive while waiting for the problem to be fixed, a number of car owners feel like they were tricked by the company’s “clean diesel” branding and slogans like “this ain’t your daddy’s diesel.” So what can these consumers do? One option is to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. [More]
VW To Stop Selling Vehicles Affected By Emissions System Recall
By 9.21.15
Two days after the Environmental Protection Agency took the unusual action of issuing a motor vehicle recall for nearly 500,000 Volkswagen and Audi sedans that used software to circumvent emissions tests, the car maker says it will stop selling all vehicles equipped with the same kind of diesel motors as those involved in recall. [More]
Consumer Reports Suspends “Recommended” Status For Recalled VW Vehicles
By 9.18.15
Earlier today, the Environmental Protection Agency took the unusual action of issuing a motor vehicle recall for nearly 500,000 Volkswagen and Audi sedans that used software to circumvent emissions tests. In light of this development, our colleagues at Consumer Reports have suspended their rating for two of the cars involved in the recall. [More]
More Than 50,000 People Sue BP Over Air Pollution At Texas City Refinery
By 6.14.12
The fatal disaster at BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico was the driving force behind its 2011 Worst Company In America win. But many voters also pointed to incidents at other BP facilities, like the Texas City refinery that released about 500,000 pounds of pollutants into the air over the course of 40 days. Now a group of more than 50,000 people are suing BP over that little oopsy. [More]
