2002 Volkswagen Passat Glx 2.8l Wagon on 2040-cars

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VW diesel incentives could be fuel for prosecutors

In the 2000s, Volkswagen was among the companies that lobbied the government to get buyers of diesel vehicles a tax credit. The automaker even brought some of these models to Washington to show them to politicians. The incentive eventually passed, and about 39,500 customers of the 2009 Jetta TDI and Jetta SportWagen TDI got a $1,300 benefit – for a total cost of around $51 million. Now, according to Reuters, that politicking might come back to bite the automaker when prosecutors finally get cases to trial. The US Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and attorneys general in at least 29 states are already investigating VW, and politicians are pushing for criminal and civil actions against the company. According to Reuters, there could be several legal routes available, too. One option is to bring tax fraud charges, and that would require proving the automaker knew it was making untrue claims about the diesel models. There's also the option of bringing a case under the False Claims Act, which prohibits fraud against the government. According to Reuters, a maximum penalty under the law would be three times the tax credit and another $5,000 for each vehicle that received it. The company is also facing a class-action lawsuit from disgruntled owners. To aid its defense against all of these claims, VW has hired the same firm that worked with BP during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Outside of the US, prosecutors in Germany have just started to build a case against former CEO Martin Winterkorn for alleged fraud. In addition to these potential legal penalties, VW could be fined around $18 billion by the EPA for the emissions infractions. The agency's investigation is getting the added backing of its Canadian counterpart. Although, the actual settlement is expected to be far less.

Autoblog Podcast #416

Episode #416 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Brandon Turkus talk about the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata, seeing the 2016 Nissan Maxima in the company's Super Bowl ad, and GMC's potential plans for a Jeep Wrangler fighter. Of course, the podcast starts with what's in the garage and finishes up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #416 Topics 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata first drive 2016 Nissan Maxima previewed in Super Bowl ad GMC mulling Jeep Wrangler fighter In The Autoblog Garage 2015 Hyundai Genesis 5.0L V8 2015 Honda CR-V Long-Term 2015 Volkswagen GTI Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:36:43 Rundown Intro and Garage - 00:00 Maxima – 30:48 Miata – 41:46 GMC/Wrangler – 59:14 Q&A - 01:11:13 Get The Podcast UStream – Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts GMC Honda Hyundai Jeep Mazda Nissan Volkswagen vw gti nissan maxima

Adventures in lazy badge engineering | Autoblog Podcast #505

On this week's podcast, Mike Austin joins David Gluckman to look back at some of the less labor-intensive badge engineering the industry has seen over the years. They also recap what they've all been driving lately, and the episode wraps up with Spend My Money buying advice to help you, our dear listeners. Also, in honor of episode 505, here is a picture of a Peugeot 505. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #505 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics and stories we mention Kia Sportage Kia Niro Volkswagen Golf Audi A4 Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 01:31 Badge-engineering fun - 20:54 Spend My Money - 33:41 Total Duration: 1:07:57 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Audi Kia Volkswagen Crossover Hatchback SUV Wagon Sedan kia sportage kia niro