To clarify: it’s an amended lawsuit. Remember back in May when GM was accused of installing defeat devices in about 700,000 vehicles? Well, the lawsuit has changed shape somewhat thanks to some new information that has come to light. German auto supplier Bosch, already named as a defendant in the original suit, stands accused of being actively involved in the act of installing the devices, which allowed the vehicles to pollute two to five times the legal limit of NOx pollutants.
“This new complaint shows the big picture of the involvement Bosch has played in the dirty diesel scandal,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “Bosch enabled more than 1.3 million cars in the U.S. to pollute at illegally high levels and supplied this software to GM, as well as Mercedes, Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen and Audi, who then produced more than one million dirty diesels.”
So what’s different from the suit a couple months ago? “The [amended] complaint highlights the alleged collusion among Bosch and GM behind the emissions cheat. According to the complaint, all Bosch Engine Control Units (ECUs) run on complex highly proprietary engine management software over which Bosch exerts near-total control. Design and implementation are interactive processes, requiring Bosch’s collaboration with the automaker throughout. In the affected Duramax trucks, the ECU 17 was used surreptitiously to evade emissions regulations, the suit says. Bosch and GM worked together to develop and implement a specific set of software algorithms to adjust fuel levels, exhaust gas recirculation, air pressure levels and urea injection rates.”
I get that it’s hard to get the same amount of power out of a truck running emissions-compliant equipment as one that’s dirty, but could we not lie to people about what’s going on under the hood?