reginos:
A part of the public opinion outside the USA and across many countries think that the American reaction to this emissions discrepancy is grossly exaggerated. Some even say that this was not a violation on behalf of VW but a way round the testing methods applied so far.
The above attitude is based on several factors:
- The love for diesel cars in the ROW due to their lower consumption given the high fuel prices.
- The high esteem in which VW Group and the VW brand in particular are held outside USA.
- The fact that the ROW by a large majority are very suspicious and wary of US government/governmental agencies decisions and actions which affect external persons and entities (think CIA, NSA, FinCEN etc. and now EPA) . People think that Americans put their finger in everything around the world from security matters to banking and even to trivialities like the abolition of prostitution! There is also the wide held belief that historically successive US governments have been applying double standards in their international outlook.
Hence there is a strong body of opinion that view the US Environmental Protection Agency's severe handling of the VW affair as politically motivated. Something like giving someone a life sentence for exceeding the speed limit.
In this negative environment various each groups of people or nationalities could envisage several plots, some plausible and others far fetched.
This is a very good description of European perception reality.
I know that VW cheated, I know that the EPA is doing the right thing (and that EPA is quite independent, other than some similar organizations in Europe) but I also think that the EPA should not blow this scandal out of proportions for various reasons, incl. the future of TTIP and what Europeans actually think about US government agencies (not that European opinion on these agencies could be any worse ).
I understand the European mentality very well and you have to cut Europeans a slack after what happened with the NSA scandal and the many car related recalls in the US over the past years, incl. Toyota and GM, where people actually died. The US government needs to tread carefully here because VW is not only a car company, it is a national institution in Germany and the current US/German relationship on various levels (public opinion, government, etc.) has never been that bad. If Germans are starting to lose their jobs at VW (same goes to jobs at Seat or Skoda...), the anti-US sentiments in Europe will grow to new heights, also fueled by the sensation seeking media here.
Right now, the US government (and the tons of advisors working for it) are completely misjudging and underestimating the political vibe and public opinion in Europe. This can end very badly, especially since Putin started to use a different, more sneaky, strategy to be re-accepted in Europe.
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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)