VW Finance chief Hans Dieter Poetsch may be named Chairman this week

Two weeks ago, the German automaker admitted that it cheated on emissions tests in the US.

Auckland VW owner Grant Smitton said he had verified from the German database at the weekend that his 2010 Tiguan SUV, for which he paid $65,000 to obtain the highest specification model available on the basis of factors such as its superior fuel economy and “clean diesel” technology, had the offending software. So they installed software to beat the tests, the Times reported based on unnamed sources with knowledge of the inquiry. As for the company’s strategic goal of maintaining its lead over Toyota as the world’s biggest automaker, Dudenhoeffer says, “Forget about it”.

It’s possible that the cheating software, which turned on full emissions controls only when the cars were being tested, was installed in VW’s European cars but not activated, the analyst wrote.

The engineers then started a pilot program to test more cars with ROVER, but about 2001, EPA officials closed the Virginia Testing Laboratory. “We know that they informed California and federal regulators as early as September 3, and yet they continued to sell their vehicles to the public – including to Amy”. During tests, they stashed the equipment in the backseat, connected a hose to the tailpipe, and set out to measure the pollutants.

Interestingly, VW’s emission scandal may have repercussions for other carmekrs too. That sophisticated software algorithm sensed things such as the position of the steering wheel, speed, the duration of the engine’s operation and barometric pressure.

Associated Press statistical and computer analysis estimates the amount of pollution caused by the very small number of diesel cars on US roads could have caused somewhere between 16 and 94 deaths over seven years.

But on older models from 2009 to 2014, the fix may be more hard.

Time discovers truth, though sometimes it can take years to be discovered. “We are integrating new tests and evaluations that we will be applying to both production vehicles and pre-production vehicles, as well as in-use vehicles”.

Volkswagen saw the facility as key to its multibillion-dollar US growth strategy, partly because vehicles would have the selling point of meeting the nation’s strictest emissions standards.

The gadget detects when the auto is undergoing testing and switches the engine to a low-emissions mode.

Volkswagen is planning to recall a few 11 million diesel vehicles fitted with emissions-cheating software, Reuters reports. Prior to that, Ford Motor Company was caught gaming emissions tests by ensuring their vehicles received extra maintenance that would not normally have been performed under everyday conditions. Most only examine data stored in on-board-diagnostics systems for a record of faults that would indicate a broken component or a maintenance problem.

Two top VW engineers are reportedly the focus of Volkswagen’s ongoing internal investigation into Dieselgate.

In response, EPA last month announced it would toughen testing and is keeping the details secret from carmakers.

“The incentives were implemented to support our customers and dealers during the period in which our TDI diesel sales remain suspended pending resolution of the recent EPA Notice (from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)”, VW Canada’s spokesman said in an email. The regulator’s budget has been slashed 21 percent by Congress since fiscal 2010, according to data on its website.