With growing concerns about pollution where emissions from vehicles are considered to be among the biggest contributors, automakers are expected to do their part in keeping the emissions caused by their products down by following regulations. Audi, one of the biggest names in the auto industry however, was discovered to have cheated in the emissions test by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
The Cheat Device And How It Works
According to report from Jalopnik, the cheat device is a software that makes the transmission engage a program called "low CO2" when the car (Audi) starts up, this program shifts the gears in a manner where the engine revs and emissions are kept artificially low. The program is deactivated with more than 15 degrees turn of the steering wheel where the emissions are higher than what they appear to be. Since tests are conducted in labs where the steering wheel is usually untouched, it was able to pass the tests that it would have otherwise failed in the outside.
Not The First Time
Apparently, this is not the first time that Audi was criticized for something like this as Reuters reported that Audi and Volkswagen (VW) had a similar cheating scandal last year that involved using a software to manipulate test results. This lead to Audi halting the use of the device and suspending some of its engineers in May, this year. CARB's discovery however, paints a different picture as they noted that the device found recently was not the same found on the previous incident.
What Is Next For Audi?
From the looks of it, the future does not seem to be bright for Audi and VW. Given the fact that this is the second time something like this happened may very well stain their reputation. What their next step will be to redeem themselves is something people will just have to wait and see.
