Volkswagen Issues Apology After Emissions Scandal

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Volkswagen is at the center of one of the biggest scandals in the company's history.

Tracey Leong reports for WJZ.

The emissions rigging "defeat system" allowed more than 11 million cars to pass EPA standards, and Volkswagen have offered a solution to their alleged foul play.

The company announced that they will start recalling the affected diesel cars in January. But many say that merely fixing the software is not enough.

"I think this is egregious," said Volkswagen driver Nicole Barnard. "I think this was intentional."

Barnard bought her defective car several months ago, and she is the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit in Maryland against the company.

"This is an intentional act by Volkswagen to make their vehicles do something other than what customers were paying for," said Ryan Perlin, the attorney with Salsbury Clements Bekman Marder & Adkins that is representing her.

Some drivers are feeling helpless because it's their only mode of transportation.

"I have to drive my car, I have to go to work," said Barnard. "I have to pick kids up. There are a lot of things I rely on my car for."

The company issued an apology, and in it they said that "certain models were able to pass emissions tests they should have failed."

Volkswagen has set aside $7 billion to address this problem, and they say some of the cars will need a software upgrade and others will need hardware changed.

Click here for a list of the affected diesel models.