VW Dieselgate Drama Keeps On Going

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2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI badge (Credit: Volkswagen)

It’s been five long months since researchers accidentally blew the lid off Volkswagen’s TDI emissions scandal. If you’re sick of hearing about Dieselgate, too bad, because the drama just keeps on going. The sad part is a fair amount of the reason for the drawn-out conflict with the U.S. government seems to be from VW. The company just keeps trying to dodge responsibility and act dumb.

» Related: VW Will Make Things Right With Dealers

First off, Reuters ran a story recently that claimed it won’t be until at least the end of March before there’s a resolution to this whole mess. That means Volkswagen TDI owners are still left wondering what’s going to happen with their vehicle.

Once there’s an agreement between the EPA and VW about how to fix all those TDIs, it will probably take a year or so to apply it.

Oh, and in case anyone trusts VW at all by now, the automaker will reveal the findings from its own internal investigation on April 21. As Green Car Reports points out, the releasing of the report will postpone the company’s annual investors’ meeting – showing just how real things have become. At the very least, the report should be entertaining, whether or not it contains many facts.

Supposedly, an insider Volkswagen source has said the source of the big delay with the Dieselgate resolution is the EPA itself. Supposedly the government agency is the real bad guys in this whole case. The feds are demanding that whatever fix is applied actually works for the long term, so it’s being put through long-distance durability tests to ensure it does. That same source is claiming the bill for the final resolution is going to be huge, dwarfing what people were estimating at first.

Multiple outlets, including newspapers in Germany, claim that part of the deal the EPA is pushing would make it so VW has to manufacture all-electric cars inside the United States. The company would also have to help front the national DC fast-charging network. If Volkswagen seriously has to be compelled to do these things, the management needs to be fired again. By making amends through EVs, VW could turn around its image in a hurry. If it fights these sorts of agreements, things will only get worse.

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