What’s the Point of Building Cars, Anyway?

While most Januarys in the car world are dominated by new model reveals, this one was defined by scandal: an FBI arrest of a Volkswagen executive, a $1 billion Takata airbag settlement, and an EPA violation notice against Fiat Chrysler, all within weeks of each other. Here’s a look back at what each story actually involved, and why a month like this raised bigger questions than any new car launch could.

Automotive news in the second and third weeks of January is usually dominated by the newest cars and trucks from the Detroit show, but this year we’re hearing just as much, if not more, about the various punishments and legal difficulties besetting automakers and their suppliers. The FBI arrested a VW executive. Takata, the subcontractor at the heart of a horrible, deadly mess involving improperly-assembled airbags, is looking at a billion-dollar tab for its misdeeds. And the EPA just told Fiat Chrysler that there’s troubleâ€”big troubleâ€”ahead.

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Most Januarys in the car industry are dominated by the shiny stuff: new model reveals, concept cars, the annual parade out of the Detroit auto show. The month this story ran was different. Instead of headlines about horsepower, three of the biggest names in the business were making news for entirely the wrong reasons, all within a matter of weeks. An FBI arrest, a billion-dollar settlement, and a federal notice of violation stacked up almost on top of each other, and together they raised an uncomfortable question for anyone who loves cars, this author included: what’s actually at stake when an automaker cuts a corner? Here’s what was actually unfolding behind those three headlines.

Three Scandals, One Bad Month

In January 2017, the FBI arrested Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt at a Florida airport, charging him with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government over his role in the company’s diesel emissions cheating scandal, the same “Dieselgate” affair that had already cost VW billions in fines. Around the same time, Takata agreed to pay a $1 billion criminal penalty, including $975 million in restitution, to resolve the fallout from its defective airbag inflators, a defect tied to multiple deaths and one of the largest automotive recalls in history. Then, on January 12, 2017, the EPA issued Fiat Chrysler a formal Notice of Violation over undisclosed software in roughly 104,000 diesel Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee models, alleging the software let the vehicles emit more pollution on the road than they did during testing.

Why It Mattered to Everyday Car Buyers

None of these three stories were really about horsepower or design. They were about trust, and what happens when the companies building the cars people drive every day decide testing compliance is optional. For an industry built on performance bragging rights and brand loyalty, a month like this one was a reminder that the fundamentals, safety, honesty, and following the rules regulators actually wrote, matter just as much as what’s under the hood. It’s easy to get swept up in horsepower wars and forget that.

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