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FTC reviewing VW’s ‘Clean Diesel’ ads for fraudulent claims

This is a framegrab from a Volkswagen commercial for a vehicle with their TDI Clean Diesel engine. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether Volkswagen's "clean diesel" advertising claims amounted to a fraud on American consumers, adding a new avenue for regulators to punish the company for its deception. For years, the company aired memorable TV spots using terms such as “miraculous” to describe the car’s seemingly too-good-to-be-true balance of peppy acceleration, 40-mile-per-gallon gas mileage and low greenhouse gas emissions. The company has withdrawn those ads following last month’s admission it had engaged in an scheme to rig U.S. emissions tests. (Volkswagen/Youtube via AP) This is a framegrab from a Volkswagen commercial for a vehicle with their TDI Clean Diesel engine. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether Volkswagen's "clean diesel" advertising claims amounted to a fraud on American consumers, adding a new avenue for regulators to punish the company for its deception. For years, the company aired memorable TV spots using terms such as “miraculous” to describe the car’s seemingly too-good-to-be-true balance of peppy acceleration, 40-mile-per-gallon gas mileage and low greenhouse gas emissions. The company has withdrawn those ads following last month’s admission it had engaged in an scheme to rig U.S. emissions tests. (Volkswagen/Youtube via AP)

By Associated Press October 16, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Volkswagen’s “Clean Diesel” advertising claims amount to a fraud. The examination adds a new avenue to punish the German automaker for its emissions-rigging deception.

FTC spokesman Justin Cole declined to comment Friday beyond confirming coordination with other federal agencies conducting a criminal probe into VW’s use of a “defeat device” to hide illegally high emissions of smog-causing gases.

While the FTC can’t send anyone to jail, it has authority to protect consumers and impose wide-ranging penalties. Those could potentially include paying cash restitution to the affected car owners and forcing VW to buy new national ads admitting the company lied to its customers.

VW hastily withdrew its “Clean Diesel” ads last month following the company’s admission it had cheated on U.S. emissions tests.