HARD is to face an accusation of cheating of any kind. It cheapens us, demeans us—even if it remains to be proven as gospel truth.
But harder is to know the cheating accusation might be true, or there is an iota of truth to it. It puts us on the ropes, makes us virtually defenseless against people known to be of high moral ground.
And then, yes, hardest is to admit cheating has been committed. It undresses us of all pretensions, discards all masks of innocence. It exposes the obfuscating naked truth that follies of any kind are sure, almost, to be unearthed, or the universe would stop unfolding.
Such is the impact, indeed, of the Volkswagen scandal that recently hit not only the local automotive industry but global motoring as well. It began unraveling on September 3 before it became a full-blown mess on September 23.
Shocking admission
IN a shocking admission, Global VW in Europe said it rigged emission procedures in the United States on five of its models from 2009 to 2015 involving diesel-powered 2.0-Liter variants, namely, Jetta, Beetle, Audi, Golf and Passat.
For years, America’s engineers in California were almost eternally puzzled why the “troubling” change in emission spews occurred on the said models after lab-testing procedures are done away with.
Suspicions of rigging began as early as 2013, when European regulators discovered that actual driving conditions in the US showed discrepancies of lab performances between America and Europe.
It would soon become a testy engineer-versus-engineer showdown that led to the discovery of a “defeat device” installed on the five VW models to escape emission levels prescribed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB).
‘Dirtier routine’
THE software installed surreptitiously in the engine called an “algorithm” would make the vehicle “behave” when being emission-tested and then restores the engine’s power back to normal when back on the road.
The software algorithm was in the engine-control module of said VW cars 2009 to 2015. It could sense when vehicles weren’t on test-mode based on indicators, such as movement on the steering wheel.
Stunned were California’s board testers to find that VW vehicles were running cleaner when they were cold than when warm, which was the exact opposite of what typically happens.
“When the computer realized it was off the test cycle, it went into the real-world mode, where the pollution controls weren’t as effective,” Stanley Young, a board spokesman, told Bloomberg View reporters Dana Hull and Mark Niquette. “There was a ‘second routine’—the dirtier routine.”
The probe involved 25 engineer/technicians pitted against elite company crews.
11 million cars
WORKING almost full time at the lab, the 25 California smog cops would soon discover the “defeat device” used to circumvent air-pollution regulations in at least 11 million cars, some 482,000 of which had been recalled by VW in December 2014.
Cornered, VW engineers finally divulged “a secret” to engineers at the US EPA and CARB about the software that cheated on vehicle emission tests, and next lied about it to the board and the US EPA for more than a year.
The admission of cheating triggered the resignation of Martin Winterkorn, the 68-year-old CEO since 2007 of Europe’s No. 1 selling car based in Germany.
“I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrongdoing on my part,” Winterkorn said. “Volkswagen needs a fresh start…I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation.”
Winterkorn exonerated
ACTING VW Chairman Berthold Huber has exonerated Winterkorn, saying: “Mr. Winterkorn had no knowledge of the manipulation of emission values.” He praised Winterkorn’s “readiness to take responsibility in this difficult situation for Volkswagen.”
The week’s losses for the company have reached about $28 billion worldwide, with the scandal pegged to cost another $8 billion plus in possible suits and fines—and counting.
Countries where WV’s presence is strong like Spain, Sweden, China, South Korea and even Japan are reeling from this crisis. VW Philippines cannot also avoid the backlash, which is made doubly painful by the fact that VW had barely gotten off the ground since the company’s grand comeback on Philippine soil in 2012.
“We can’t speak now about this,” a VW insider said. “Our lips are sealed as we await the statement officially coming from Germany.”
Trust and believe
MY heart goes to VW Philippines. It suffers through no fault of its own. Always, it is a risk—a deathly hazard at times—being a subsidiary to a multinational. You have no control of everything. I like what Jeremy Robinson-Leon, New York’s corporate and crisis PR practitioner, said: “The most important thing [now] is that VW comes out and tells the public what happened, who was involved and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Stand up and come out clean. Face the problem the way you face the music. Trust and believe. One scandal does not unmake the brand that took ages to build.
My prayer most fervently is, the likes of it won’t happen again. I have always believed that from the ruins of disaster, one becomes doubly stronger, sturdier from lessons learned.
Not only do I call on my fellow motoring journalists now to rally around VW Philippines but around all car companies as well. Offer prayers. Toss in flowers. Say words of wisdom.
VW’s wound is the wound of all.
Pee stop. Cheers to Cagi President Robby Consunji of Top Gear and his fellow officers for their launch of the 12th Cagi Awards on September 22 at the Manila Polo Club. You have my support, as always, when the car testing is on at the Fontana in Clark, Pampanga, on November 13, coinciding with the Fontana Clark Auto Motoroma, from November 13 to 15. Mabuhay!
1 comment
To think that they can get away with a low level trick (palusot) with so much at stake is difficult to understand. The same with the low level trick by the PNP on gun license courier service. The cover up was so flimsy that someone will expose the truth soon enough. And the consequences is beyond horrifying to the perpetrators.