Volkswagen gets busted.

That's amazing. You literally had to convince a team of engineers and software developers to write something that could detect if an emissions test was being run and change the car's behavior accordingly. Even outside of the obvious legal and corporate ethics implications, what kind of shoddy professional ethics did those engineers have?

I hope someone on the team went whistleblower and that's how the gov found out. That might redeem them somewhat.
 
At this point we’ve seen rigged cars from VW, bribery from Honda, Daimler, and Peugot, death traps from GM and Toyota, tax scandals from Fiat, disintegrating tires from Ford/Firestone, and Kia and Hyundai flat-out lying about the mileage their cars get. How many car company scandals must civilization endure before governments mandate that business schools integrate ethics into their MBA programs?
 
jp_nyc said:
At this point we’ve seen rigged cars from VW, bribery from Honda, Daimler, and Peugot, death traps from GM and Toyota, tax scandals from Fiat, disintegrating tires from Ford/Firestone, and Kia and Hyundai flat-out lying about the mileage their cars get. How many car company scandals must civilization endure before governments mandate that business schools integrate ethics into their MBA programs?
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You're asking for people to have morals. Good luck with that.
 
As far as the engineers, a less-nefarious possibility is the software profiles what the engine is doing and adjusts performance and emissions accordingly. The emissions tests parameters cause it to run more cleanly than it would in normal driving and an overzealous regulator thought it was cheating.

I know diddly-squat about diesel engines and emission testing so I'm keeping an open mind. I know a shit-ton about the behavior of large organizations, though. I can't rule out either possibility and both are bad -- just in different ways.
 
jp_nyc said:
At this point we’ve seen rigged cars from VW, bribery from Honda, Daimler, and Peugot, death traps from GM and Toyota, tax scandals from Fiat, disintegrating tires from Ford/Firestone, and Kia and Hyundai flat-out lying about the mileage their cars get. How many car company scandals must civilization endure before governments mandate that business schools integrate ethics into their MBA programs?
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First, business ethics is a very standard topic of MBA programs and almost every course touches on it in one way or another.

Second, a government mandate wouldn't change a thing. This is about human nature.

While we're on the subject, would you mind telling me where the government ethics courses are required? Shall we run down the list of shitty things done under the power of the state?
 
USian Pie said:
First, business ethics is a very standard topic of MBA programs and almost every course touches on it in one way or another.

Second, a government mandate wouldn't change a thing. This is about human nature.

While we're on the subject, would you mind telling me where the government ethics courses are required? Shall we run down the list of shitty things done under the power of the state?
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You mean like voting down 9/11 responder health care funding?
 
If these allegations are indeed proven to be true, it is an obscene act of corporate malfeasance that could very well result in the most expensive fuck up in automotive history. I would not be surprised to see an import ban of diesel powered cars from all of the VW family of brands.

Either way, that's gonna leave a mark.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
You mean like voting down 9/11 responder health care funding?
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This is going to get political. Fine. Let it get locked and let me get banned. There is a small but vocal contingent of people who seem to lack the maturity and self-control to stop themselves from injecting their politics into threads. Sooner or later, somebody who disagrees with the herd is going to speak up and a shitstorm will result.

On the 9/11 health care vote, I don't know the details of that example so I don't know if it's a good example or not.

My point is absolutely NOT that it's ok for businesses to do unethical things. My point is that a state-mandated business school curriculum would do absolutely nothing to change that. Having earned an MBA, I can say it was a course as well as a constant topic throughout the program. Moreover, the whole idea of a government entity preaching ethical behavior is filled with hypocrisy.
 
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USian Pie said:
This is going to get political. Fine. Let it get locked and let me get banned. There is a small but vocal contingent of people who seem to lack the maturity and self-control to stop themselves from injecting their politics into threads. Sooner or later, somebody who disagrees with the herd is going to speak up and a shitstorm will result.

On the 9/11 health care vote, I don't know the details of that example so I don't know if it's a good example or not.

My point is absolutely NOT that it's ok for businesses to do unethical things. My point is that a state-mandated business school curriculum would do absolutely nothing to change that. Having earned an MBA, I can say it was a course as well as a constant topic throughout the program. Moreover, the whole idea of a government entity preaching ethical behavior is filled with hypocrisy.
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I'm usually the guy telling people not to be political. My point is that nobody has morals. We especially don't want to admit it when billions of dollars are at stake. But actions speak louder than words. And both situations are unfortunate examples.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
I'm usually the guy telling people not to be political. My point is that nobody has morals. We especially don't want to admit it when billions of dollars are at stake. But actions speak louder than words. And both situations are unfortunate examples.
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Can't we all just remember pizza?
 
Bummer. This affects 2009 cars and up I believe. I wonder though, how my 2005 diesel does on emissions. Will likely never know as Idaho does not test for them.
 
smurfco said:
Can't we all just remember pizza?
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I did my part. I trudged up painful memories of Uncle Pudgy and his heartless abandoning of those he seduced with his wizardry. I have nothing left to give. I am a calzone without filling, just a shell. I now know exactly what Ted Striker means when he says he'll never be over Macho Grande.
 
jp_nyc said:
At this point we’ve seen rigged cars from VW, bribery from Honda, Daimler, and Peugot, death traps from GM and Toyota, tax scandals from Fiat, disintegrating tires from Ford/Firestone, and Kia and Hyundai flat-out lying about the mileage their cars get. How many car company scandals must civilization endure before governments mandate that business schools integrate ethics into their MBA programs?
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It's business, not friendliness. stirthepot
 
Remember when Mopar (I think) had the hood pop switch? When the hood was popped, such as when an emissions test was being done, the switch toggled something to lean out the car.
 
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