DIRTY

VW April Recall Letters Warned of Glitch

Told owners to take cars in to fix emissions issue.

Volkswagen of America sent recall letters in April to customers in California stating that their vehicles’ emissions software needed upgrading, raising questions about how long the carmaker has been aware of the issue. Reuters reported Thursday that recall letters told California owners of diesel-powered Audis and Volkswagens to take their cars to a dealer for new software to ensure tailpipe emissions were “optimized and operating efficiently.” Volkswagen failed to explain that it was attempting to to satisfy government regulators over discrepancies between laboratory emissions-test results and actual pollution from the company’s diesel vehicles. The revelation follows the announcement that CEO Martin Winterkorn would resign after the company’s diesel cars were caught cheating emissions tests.