The California Air Resources Board and the EPA have been working together with Volkswagen to come up with a way to fix its cheating diesels, but it’s starting to look like there may not actually be a fix according to Automotive News.
“Our goal has been to fix the vehicles and return them to their certified configuration as expeditiously as possible,” Todd Sax, chief of CARB’s enforcement division, said at a hearing. “Unfortunately, this may not be possible.” He then went onto say he believes it’s unlikely that there’s a fix that exists that would bring the affected cars in compliance with either emissions standards or the onboard diagnostic requirements. Without available solutions, the agency is considering giving up on the idea that these cars can be made to fully meet emissions standards. “We will have to decide what the best approach is to dealing with these vehicles, and one of the options potentially would be to accept something less than a full fix,” said Sax. That would mean Volkswagen wouldn’t have to buy back all of the affected vehicles, but it doesn’t mean the company would be getting away scot-free. It would likely have to pay a fine for each unfixable vehicle that’s allowed to remain on the road as part of a settlement with the state.
Sax made sure to emphasize that no decision has yet been made, and not everyone at the hearing was on board with simply giving up. California State S...