In September 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to the German automaker Volkswagen Group. The agency reported that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines to activate their emission controls only during laboratory emissions tests, causing the vehicles' nitrogen oxide (NOx) output to be in compliance to US standards during regulatory testing, but emit up to 40 times more NOx in real-world driving. Volkswagen implemented this programming software in approximately eleven million cars worldwide, including 500,000 in the United States, for model years 2009 to 2015.

On January 4, 2016, the Department of Justice, on behalf of the EPA, filed a lawsuit against VW in federal court in Detroit. The lawsuit, which seeks up to $46 billion in penalties for violations of the Clean Air Act

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2. ANALYZE 
3. Identify the problem and why it is important. Determine what you need to find out.
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5. RESEARCH AND EVALUATION
6. Present relevant facts and evidence, or issues.
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8. RESPONSE 
9. Provide your opinion based on your discussion of relevant facts, evidence, or issues.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

ANALYZE The problem identified is the intentional violation of the Clean Air Act by Volkswagen Group where they programmed their diesel engines to che... View the full answer