vtrader:
JimFlat6:

VW made a huge illegal gamble and lost. Doesn't matter what the other cars on the road contribute emissions wise. VW defrauded its US diesel  customers, lied to state and federal regulators, harmed its dealers, and now expects sympathy for the results of its transgressions. What arrogance they have, almost like a kid who kills his parents and then cries about being a orphan.

Exactly, but then there is a recall with Honda, BMW, Toyota and others with the defective airbags. That is a purely business decision on how many people will be killed by the airbags before they replace them.

Unfortunately for VW, they've fallen afoul of the EPA, an agency with teeth, while GM and Takata have gotten in trouble with the NHTSA, an agency that doesn't really have much of an ability to engage in serious punitive action. I personally hope that the EPA will exercise restraint and consider the wider ramifications of any penalties they assess, and that the DoJ will confine themselves to any appropriate criminal prosecutions.

All of these companies, of course, are also on the hook for the outcome of any private civil suits that are decided against them. And, unfortunately, VW ends up with a potentially much larger liability here as well. The number of people injured in the cases of GM and Takata is relatively small compared to the entire diesel customer base affected by VW's actions, and the sheer size of the class ads up to a much greater liability.