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Volkswagen: Naughty, but nice?

Posted by Andrew Shephard on 24th September 2015

I’ve been reading round what VW did and why its CEO was bound to be keeping a watchful eye on the door this week.

In a nutshell it literally programmed its cars to meet the US emissions test.

Fair enough, the cars work really well and they pass the regulator’s tests. The fact that when you get in and drive the cars they maybe don’t meet the standards quite so well is where the problem lies – in the alleged deception.

Software has become so important in modern electronic systems, and this shows just how significant it has become.

From what I’ve read half a million VW’s know when they are sitting in an EPA test situation, with no feet on the pedals and nobody moving the steering wheel, and simply “breathe” a bit less deeply.

Speaking as a one-time coder, from a technology standpoint, that’s pretty cool.

VW Badge via photopin

Andrew Shephard

Andrew’s engineering background and ‘fluff-free’ attitude combined with probably the broadest knowledge of technology installed in one PR brain ensures critical insight for Wildfire’s clients. He has driven campaigns for major forces in the semiconductor industry over 18 years including NEC Electronics, Sun Microelectronics and TSMC along with game-changing start-ups like Achronix and Nujira.