[chernaudi]

I still don't see how the VW issue compares with the GM issue. GM knew of the issue for a decade before the US Government went after them for it. And just a couple of days ago, a Federal Judge did declare that GM can be held liable in criminal and civil court proceedings, but the execs involved weren't charged.

On my Moral Compass, cheating a reg and it becoming a consumer advocacy issue (arguing that people got ripped off) is a less significant offense than knowing of something that was injuring and killing people and not doing anything about it for about 10 years. That's even worse, IMO, than the Ford Pinto fuel tank filler neck scandal. Ironically, that didn't kill sales of the Pinto, and GM's sales didn't slow down after the ignition switch deal.

And on the Toyota thing, I guess that does show how little people know about cars nowadays, something that CBS exploited with the Audi "unintended acceleration" scandal.