Volkswagen’s (VW) recent emissions-rigging scandal has its proverbial foot firmly rooted in the automaker’s use of a federal tax credit (the advanced lean-burn technology motor vehicle credit) intended for fuel-efficient cars.
On the heel of certain allegations came an admission from VW that they installed “defeat devices” in nearly 500,000 diesel vehicles in the U.S. that emit far more exhaust pollution than is legal. The automaker had installed the devices on as many as 11 million vehicles worldwide between 2009 through 2015.