251–259 of 259 posts
In other words, it's the programmers, the "geeks," the "code monkeys" that should take the fall for all of this and not the non-technical, MBA-holding managers to whom they answered and who almost certainly enjoy better compensation and more respect.
The perils of our profession's relatively low prestige are on display here for all to see.
"This was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason" In other words, it's the programmers, the "geeks," the "code monkeys" that should take the fall for all of this and not the non-technical, MBA-holding managers to whom they answered and who almost certainly enjoy better compensation and more respect. The perils of our profession's relatively low prestige are on display here for all to see.
Not that it changes your overall point to VW/VAG is a pretty big on having engineers in senior management. Both their former and current CEO have a serious technical background (metallurgy and Computer engineering respectively). As does their chairman of the board.
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That's evidence of pollution in general being a problem, which isn't even in the same ballpark as establishing culpability for any amount of deaths for an extra amount of one kind of pollutant by one carmaker over a fixed time period.
See what was published just days before the VW scandal in Nature. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v525/n7569/full/nature1...
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The "individuals" VW is claiming are responsible are 10 managers and 3 top engineers, which include the head of R&D, the head of engine design and the head of Audi. The definition of "individual" might be different between what VW claims and what you read, though.
Michael Horn, CEO of VW America: "This was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason." That sounds nothing like what you're describing. The article alludes that many were suspended, but it doesn't directly attribute blame to them. I find it impossible to believe any software engineer at the implementation level would assume that level of risk. This is obviously scapegoating. I really hope the…
In contrast, VW US seems to be even more a bunch of liars.
Nope, definitely systemic within the company. The engine is a system that must meet certain requirements. The standard way of meeting those requirements is to have a urea injection system. That's what the competitors in the US do; it's also what Subaru, for example, don't do, and they don't sell into the US market. In order to pull off this little 2-person hack that Horn alleges, those couple of software engineers wo…
"that's what the competitors in the US do" It's also what another VWAG member, Audi, does on the TDI's in America. These were also very high level engineers. I can also totally believe that, in order to not seem like a they wasted billions on engine development that they literally would not be able to sell without significant changes, that people in charge of the project would just figure out a way to make it seem li…
Look into the VW / Porsche infinite share squeeze. These people aren't affable fools. They didn't just accidentally let engineers write code to skirt around international rules by a factor of 10-40.
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Michael Horn, CEO of VW America: "This was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reason." That sounds nothing like what you're describing. The article alludes that many were suspended, but it doesn't directly attribute blame to them. I find it impossible to believe any software engineer at the implementation level would assume that level of risk. This is obviously scapegoating. I really hope the…
Well, I’m extremely disappointed with VW US. VW Germany instantly had CEO resigning and taking full responsibility and in days started suspending top managers. In contrast, VW US seems to be even more a bunch of liars.
If you think this hasn't been endemic in this industry, let me take you back to 1998: 'Car manufacturers can use modem electronic equipment to adapt the engine to any type of test cycle. They can even tell the computer of the car how to recognise when the car is being driven according to a specific test-cycle and adjust the combustion accordingly. It was this kind of software that six truck manufacturers, including t…
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My favorite manager ever told me when I took my first management job that "you can delegate work but not responsibility"
He was very old or simply lying. Very first thing University of Washington Center for Information Assurance and Cybersecurity (accredited by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, whatever that means) teaches you about becoming a CIO is precisely delegating responsibility :)
Do we think VW are the only car manufacturer doing this? I very much doubt it. They're just the first to get caught. Where rules stand in the way of profit, they get bent or broken. Banking, automotive industry... which next? Oil? Housing? Pfff ... come on, we all know they're rotten, it's just a question of how rotten and whether it comes out. I suspect it's the tip of the iceberg for the auto industry. Whether we g…
Why are so many people keen on defending VW with the claim "if VW are doing it, everyone else must be"? That dilutes the severity of this problem. I've seen several threads on HN meant to do this.