996FourEss:
So, GM is culpable for 145 deaths due to faulty ignitions and is fined 900million and VW, having horribly misled people albeit without being involved in the death of anyone, is contemplating $7bn+ in fines. What am I missing, this seems to me to be economic warfare between the U.S. and Germany and it is just not right. Sure it is unacceptable for an engineering led company to cheat, but at some point the punishment has to fit the crime and this seems to be more a case of bureaucrats going after the foreigner than anything else.
I think the problem here, ignoring the lawsuits directly related to the issue, which GM is still subject to, is that it's relatively easy to replace a faulty ignition switch. It's not so easy to fix or replace a faulty engine and leave the customers with a car that is what they originally paid for. Thus, the $7+B that VW has put aside for this at this point is probably more toward that end than toward fines, per se.
Hopefully, the EPA will exercise discretion in fines, and they will not be so great as to kneecap VW, which will mostly not hurt the people responsible, but those who had little or nothing to do with it. It may be that the DoJ investigation will lead to more meaningful punishment.
That being said, I think GM got off way too light, with little more than a slap on the wrist and no criminal liability for anyone involved. But, that could be "good" for VW, since if there is great disparity in the penalties, it will look like economic warfare.