harley
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I wouldn't be surprised if people died, and that others were sickened as a result of this VW fraud. People do die of respiratory problems made worse by higher NOx levels, and there's no doubt these cars contributed to increasing those levels. Figuring out the exact mortality/morbidity would be a good subject for an epidemiological study. I sure don't think we can say now that VW's fraud didn't kill anybody, and it's possible the number will be higher (but less directly attributable on an individual case basis) than more well-known instances of safety-related auto defects.
That's a huge stretch, IMO. How would anybody ever know if it was VW exhaust that caused somebody to die? Versus healthily jogging down a busy road, which I've always likened to smoking cigars while running. The exhaust probably didn't bother the drivers, since it was coming out behind them, even when idling. And I can guarantee you getting stuck behind a school bus is far less healthy, but nobody is suing the school system or Blue-Bird for it. So, yes, fine and sue them into bankruptcy, they deserve it. But do it for real things like fraud.