On Thursday, Volkswagen has agreed to either fix or buy back about 500,000 diesel cars in the U.S. These cars were equipped with illegal emission software that had the cars cheat on pollution tests. It’s ironic the brand most associated with tree-hugging hippies is actually helping kill the very trees they hope to hug. Maybe they should look to Tesla and Nissan Leaf for some inspiration.
VOLKSWAGEN GETS CAUGHT CHEATING
Despite Volkswagen making a supposed deal, a number of financial and legal holes were left wide open on the case. The company rigged diesel vehicles in order to cheat on pollution tests, so there’s a lot of work to be done in terms of negotiating fines. What is clear is that the German automaker will have to pay and pay a lot. Estimates are upwards of billions of dollars. Just buying back the cars alone will cost $7 billion dollars. Add the fines and compensation to workers into that, and Volkswagen will have some regrets. Meanwhile, Tesla and Nissan Leaf are shining beacons of hope in a polluted game.
TESLA IS BETTER AND THEY KNOW IT
It’s easy to point fingers at Volkswagen in this scenario because, well, frankly, they are in the wrong. In terms of being “green” and being an honest company overall, the German automaker can’t compete with Tesla. Even CEO Elon Musk is disgusted. Back when the scandal was first recognized, Musk wrote a letter to California urging them to abandon plans to fix emissions on the cheating cars. Tesla believes that the companies resources would be better off the transition into a zero-emissions company instead of trying to fix something that can not be fixed. Looking at the history of the German automaker, it doesn’t really seem that the environment is a priority for them. Who knows how much longer their cheating ways would have gone if they didn’t get caught?
NISSAN LEAF ONE OF THE CLEANEST CARS EVER
While Nissan Leaf didn’t make a statement like Tesla, they have spoken out with their skills. In 2016, the Nissan Leaf was listed by ASG as its best performer. It has 47 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than the top contender, Honda Fit. Besides being general great for the environment, Nissan Leaf is more affordable than most electric cars on the market. Not only are they not cheating like Volkswagen, but they are making it easier for the world to go green.
