When Jeep and Ram were tuning VM diesels for use in Ram 1500s and Jeeps, it turned to a Volkswagen-owned contractor and VM employees for help with fine tuning the controls. Not long afterwards, it turned out that Volkswagen had been faking its emissions tests, and then researchers and reporters turned their attention to just about every other seller of diesel-powered light vehicles.
Now, at last, Stellantis and the U.S. Justice Department are close to a resolution, having reached a deal for $300 million of penalties—if a judge approves of the settlement. Volkswagen pleaded guilty to criminal charges five years ago; the fallout from that deal included diesel engines falling out of fashion in Europe, with a new focus on battery-electric cars.
