Volkswagen Hid Emission Issue From Regulators in 2004: WSJ

Volkswagen failed to disclose emission issues to U.S. officials as far back as 2004, according to the Wall Street Journal. That’s eleven years before the public first heard word of the scandal, just three months ago. ‘In the early 2000s, Volkswagen, in filing mandatory reports with the Federal government, failed to disclose a part that could affect the amount of pollution coming out of the tail pipe,’ said Justin Scheck, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, based in London. ‘A few years later, when the part started showing up defective, they decided not to report some of the faulty parts to California regulators.’ The auto in question was an Audi sold in the U.S. in the early to mid-2000s. The aforementioned auto part is meant to keep the engine intact should the engine overheat. U.S. Volkswagen employees tried to tell regulators about the faulty part, Scheck said, but their bosses in Germany told them not to disclose the issue. He said it’s unclear why the employees were given such instructions. Scheck speaks with TheStreet’s Scott Gamm.