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To: E_K_S who wrote (192608)	9/18/2015 9:14:01 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Respond to of 206086

The EPA has directed Volkswagen to recall 482,000 diesel cars sold in America. The recall involves 4-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi vehicles from model years 2009-15. - nytimes.com EPA officials issued the car company a notice of violation after Volkswagen had admitted to the use of a so-called defeat device. The engine software activates all of the pollution control equipment to control nitric oxide only when it detects conditions which match dynamometer tests for emissions, an emission which is unaffected by Corning filters. Experts in automotive technology said that disengaging the pollution controls on a diesel-fueled car can yield better performance, including increased torque and acceleration.“When the pollution controls are functioning on these vehicles, there’s a trade-off between performance and emissions,” said Drew Kodjak, executive director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, a research group at West Virginia University. “This is cutting corners.” It was Mr. Kodjak’s group, in conducting research on diesel vehicles, that first noticed the discrepancy between Volkswagen’s emissions in testing laboratories and on the road. They brought the issue to the attention of the E.P.A., which conducted further tests on the cars, and ultimately discovered the use of the defeat device software. Volkswagen, which also owns the high-end sports car makers Porsche and Lamborghini, recently surpassed Toyota as the world’s biggest automaker. But VW has been struggling to gain market share in the United States, where it has long been weak selling only 238,000 vehicles since January 1 in the US compared with 1.15 million sold by Toyota. The investigation is unlikely to help. In 2007, the federal government reached a landmark settlement requiring Casper’s Electronics, of Mundelein, Ill., to stop selling add-on devices to defeat air-quality control laws. They paid a $74,000 civil penalty for having sold 44,000 defeat devices through its website and retailers since 2001. Affected VW diesel models include: - yosemite.epa.gov • Jetta (Model Years 2009 – 2015) • Beetle (Model Years 2009 – 2015) • Audi A3 (Model Years 2009 – 2015) • Golf (Model Years 2009 – 2015) • Passat (Model Years 2014-2015)

To: E_K_S who wrote (192608)	9/18/2015 9:30:54 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 206086

Two months ago, the EPA opposed a measure that would help expose subversive code like the so-called “defeat device” software VW allegedly used by allowing researchers to legally reverse-engineer the code used in vehicles. - wired.com EPA opposed this, ironically, because the agency felt that allowing people to examine the software code in vehicles would potentially allow car owners to alter the software in ways that would produce more emissions in violation of the Clean Air Act. The issue involves the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA), which prohibits anyone from working around “technological protection measures” that limit access to copyrighted works. The Library of Congress, which oversees copyrights, can issue exemptions to those prohibitions that would make it legal, for example, for researchers to examine the code to uncover security vulnerabilities. In December of 2014, a group of security researchers proposed to do exactly this by seeking to add computer programs used in cars, trucks, and agricultural machinery to the list of DMCA exemptions. Having access to car controls would allow for “good-faith testing, identifying, disclosing, and fixing of malfunctions, security flaws, or vulnerabilities,” they argued, according to comments they submitted to the Federal Register. But examining software for security vulnerabilities can also potentially uncover other things a car maker wouldn’t want anyone to see, such as code designed to circumvent emissions testing. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an advocacy group that represents most of the world’s major automakers, including Volkswagen, opposed the DMCA exemption (.pdf), arguing it would create or exacerbate “serious threats to safety and security.” The EPA, surprisingly, also argued against the research exemptions, saying it was concerned drivers might hack their own cars to improve performance in ways that would violate federal controls. The irony is that VW was allegedly using its surreptitious algorithm to favor performance over fuel economy in a way that violated the Clean Air Act. And legalizing public access to the software used in the 482,000 VW cars now being recalled could possibly have revealed the alleged “defeat device” code earlier. As noted on Twitter by Thomas Dullien, a prominent security researcher and reverse engineer who goes by the handle Halvar Flake: “The VW case is an example why we need more liberal reverse engineering regulation. In a world controlled by code, RE creates transparency.”

To: E_K_S who wrote (192608)	9/18/2015 9:36:30 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Respond to of 206086

This not well thought through mentality is similar to the use of the auto VIN as the password for new internet-connected cars, allowing hackers to easily take control of the cars steering, acceleration and brakes. Even worse are automakers who have used a single password for all internet-connected cars they've produced.

To: E_K_S who wrote (192608)	9/21/2015 10:13:10 AM
From: robert b furman	3 Recommendations Recommended By Ben Smith CommanderCricket Sam Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 206086

Hi E_K_S, Those particulate filters that Corning makes require a Diesel exhaust fluid systems which injects urea (nitrogen) which is combined with nitrous oxide and yields water. There also is a burn cycle which gets superhot and burns up the particulate matter. May well burn up older type of exhaust sytems. I can only envision a very expensive repair and/or a class action suit that could be settles with a coupon being applied to future purchases. If the CEO knew about such an outrageous cheating trick - He's toast and should be in a criminal & civil suits. This will set back VW big time. An outrageous event that will decimate the blue sky value of the entire a Volks Wagon dealer network. Very Ironic as VW is well know for their disciplined insistence of many policies and procedures that must be strictly adhered to by the VW dealer body. The personna of "German Engineering" has just been thrown down the drain. Poor VW dealers - they've been screwed. Sadly they may join the ranks of Plymouth, Pontiac and Oldsmobile dealers. Bob