It was only old-fashioned detective work that forced Volkswagen to admit to the existence of its ‘defeat device’. And that should worry us all

For anyone interested in what is laughingly known as “corporate responsibility”, the Volkswagen emissions-fraud scandal is a gift that keeps on giving. Apart from the company’s Nazi past, its high status in German life, its hitherto exalted reputation for technical excellence and quality control, and its peculiarly dysfunctional governance, there is also the shock to consumers of discovering that while its vehicles are made from steel and composite materials, they are actually controlled by software. We are already close to the point where that software may be more valuable than all the physical materials that make up the vehicle, and, if Apple and Google have their way, that imbalance is set to grow.

Volkswagen’s chicanery was discovered by good, old-fashioned analogue detective work. An independent outfit called the International Council on Clean Transportation got hold of some Volkswagens powered by the company’s EA 189 “clean” diesel engine, stuffed some chemical analysis kit in the boot, hooked a pipe up to the vehicles’ exhausts and drove the cars from San Diego to Seattle, collecting and analysing samples as they went. The discrepancy between the actual performance and the emissions recorded in official laboratory tests was what triggered the scandal.

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Source: Guardian Environment