| Volkswagens can be fitted with nifty kit that takes control of a car’s brakes after a smash to slow it down and help avoid subsequent collisions. If only the carmaker itself were equipped with a similar device. In September the firm admitted rigging 11m diesel vehicles worldwide to cheat tests for emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). American regulators now say that more vehicles are fitted with test-tricking software and, on November 3rd, VW confessed that it overstated claims about the carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions and, thus, fuel efficiency of 800,000 cars, including, it seems, some with petrol engines.
VW is vague about its latest misdeeds, referring to “irregularities” in CO2 levels during testing. But that suggests that the cars’ software suppressed emissions in tests before reverting to a more polluting mode in normal driving conditions. Nor does VW reveal how many of the cars with CO2 problems are among the 11m that cheated the NOx tests...............................................Full Article: Source |