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And I don't think that Germany is alone in this. I'll bet that if you look, every EU-based automaker, NA automakers and even Japanese automakers probably engage in some shafting of consumers and governments, like every other industry you can think of.
You have to remember that GM and FCA are getting sued over diesel emissions tomfoolery, Nissan/Renault got sued over lying about fuel economy figures, and Ford and Hyundai/Kia got sued for the same thing.
And yet they're still making profits like the oil/petrochemical industry. Defecting to Formula E is a PC move. And it's not like what VAG did has actually killed people, unlike the GM ignition switch deal. It's all about image and appealing to those who are young racing fans or trying to lure more fans in--at the expense of the diehard and long term fans. Same thing that's ruining NASCAR.
But when you also have someone from the WEC and ACO admit to DSC that the ACO basically screwed up with their LMP1 rules, IMO, that says more than dieselgate does. We have to remember that GM was semi-nationalized under the Obama Administration and were insanely in debt. That didn't stop their racing programs. VAG isn't in debt and I'd bet that the man on the street either doesn't know or doesn't care about dieselgate.
This is motivated by image and wanting to get out of a dying series without saying any other (IMO more pertinent) reasons for doing so/not throwing anyone under the bus.
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