Business Wars: Dieselgate | Truth or Dare | Episode 1

Original air date: September 24, 2025
Host: David Brown (Wondery)

Episode Overview

The premiere episode of the Dieselgate season plunges into the origins of one of the most devastating corporate scandals in automotive history. Host David Brown guides listeners through the rise of Volkswagen’s “clean diesel” narrative, the intense internal pressures to dominate the global car market, and the fateful decisions that paved the way for deception on a giant scale. This installment peels back the layers of ambition, innovation, and ultimately, ethical collapse at Volkswagen, setting the stage for the unraveling of Dieselgate.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Volkswagen’s Meteoric Rise—Built on a Lie

[00:08 – 02:35]

• The episode opens at the 2008 LA Auto Show, where the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is named Green Car of the Year.
  • Journalists and executives hail the dawn of “clean diesel”, positioning it as an eco-friendly rival to hybrids.
  • CEO Stefan Jacoby boasts:

    “This is a breakthrough for clean diesel as a real alternative to hybrids... It's environmentally friendly, and most of all, it's fun to drive.” (Jacoby, 01:10)

• Volkswagen’s diesel cars sell spectacularly even during the recession, but “the phenomenal success is all based on a lie.”
  • The new technology that ostensibly enables ultra-clean emissions is, in reality, a sophisticated cheat.

2. The Defeat Device: Engineering Deception

[02:36 – 04:50]

• VW’s engineers, unable to satisfy strict emission and efficiency targets on deadline, secretly install a “defeat device.”
  • This software detects when an emissions test is happening and switches the car into a special mode, drastically reducing pollution output.
  • On the road, the engine reverts, emitting up to 40 times more nitrogen oxides.
  • Quote:

    “It seems foolproof. The clean diesel engine is hailed as a game changer... But how long can they get away with it?” (David Brown, 04:22)

3. The Pressure Cooker: Enter Martin Winterkorn and Strategy 2018

[08:01 – 13:10]

• CEO Martin Winterkorn is painted as an exacting, intimidating leader who demands results and tolerates no dissent.
  • He launches “Strategy 2018”, aiming to unseat GM and Toyota as #1 global automaker.
  • Ambitious targets: Raise annual sales from 6.2 to 10 million, profit margins from 6% to 8%.
  • Central to the plan: conquering the US with diesel cars.
• Diesel’s reputation in the US is poor due to noisy, dirty engines of the past and strict NOx emission standards.
  • VW’s plan relies on developing a proprietary emission control system (Lean NOx Trap), scrapping a more reliable competitor solution (BlueTec from Mercedes) due to cost, engineering fit, and egos.
  • When the Lean NOx Trap system fails to meet standards, engineers face impossible deadlines and corner-cutting becomes inevitable.

4. Genesis of the Cheat: Legacy Code & Corporate Culture

[22:40 – 29:12]

• VW’s diesel engine project borrows legacy software from Audi (a VW subsidiary), accidentally discovering a code enabling stealth emissions cheating.
  • The “noise function” is the precursor to the defeat device.
  • Not all engineers are comfortable; internal meetings show unease:

    "'I'm not going to prison so we can meet a Q1 sales target.'
    'Then you're welcome to quit. The door is over there.'”
    (Engineering meeting dramatization, 26:21)

  • Fear overtakes honesty in meetings. Critical dissent is shut down, marking a key cultural failing.

5. Suppression and Spin: Marketing Clean Diesel

[41:35 – 47:50]

• The Jetta TDI is launched in 2008 to acclaim and heavy promotion, riding themes of eco-friendliness, efficiency, and fun.
  • VW creates “TDI Truth and Error,” an interactive website debunking diesel “myths.”
  • Diesel is billed as “no longer a dirty word.”
• As US automakers are pummeled by the recession, VW’s clean diesel fleet keeps profits afloat while competitors flounder.

6. Internal Alarms—But Doubling Down on Deceit

[50:00 – 01:00:40]

• By 2012, technical problems surface: some cars get stuck in emissions test mode, causing hardware failures.
  • Engineers escalate the issue to management (“the fireman”, Gottweis), who orders them to “destroy those documents” and surreptitiously fix the software.

    “‘First of all, destroy those documents. No one else sees them. And second, fix it.’” (Gottweis, dramatization, 58:15)

  • The focus shifts to making the defeat device harder to detect, not solving the underlying emissions issue.

7. Questions at the Top: Who Knew What, and When?

[01:01:00 – 01:04:30]

• The episode questions how much CEO Winterkorn knew.
  • Publicly, he denies knowledge of the defeat device, but his notorious hands-on management style, obsession with details, and numerous interventions make this questionable.
  • Notably, he is shown lambasting staff over minutiae (e.g., steering column noise in a competitor’s car).

8. Metaphors Can’t Fix Engines: Business Culture Warnings

[01:06:40 – 01:09:20]

• At a management meeting, Winterkorn plays a World Cup game video where Germany squanders a lead, likening overconfidence and failure to adapt to corporate vulnerability.
  • Brown’s commentary:

    “Metaphors don’t fix engines and bumper-sticker business philosophy can’t patch up systemic rot. And for VW, it’s really starting to stink.” (David Brown, 01:09:10)

9. Cliffhanger: The Truth Approaches

• As the episode closes, it foreshadows the exposure of VW’s deception—student researchers, EPA intervention, and the unravelling to come.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Clean Diesel’s Promise and Peril

  “When customers buy the story, it boosts the brand. But if that story turns out to be fiction, trust crashes. And it’s hard to tow that back.”
  (David Brown, 01:53)

• On Workplace Fear

  “The moment fear enters the room, honesty leaves it. Look, if your team is afraid to push back, or worse still, afraid to tell you the truth, you’ve got a problem bigger than you probably know...”
  (David Brown, 27:30)

• On Covering Up

  “‘Regarding the backup slides, we shall please never present this anywhere and will also not distribute it.’”
  (Email from Hadler to Dorencamp, dramatization, 30:32)

• CEO Winterkorn’s Ethos

  “‘As we begin this new chapter of our company’s history, I want to be very clear. The road ahead will not be easy. Times are changing... to keep up, we need to move boldly.’”
  (Winterkorn speech, 10:00)

Important Timestamps

• 00:08-02:35: Jetta’s Green Car win and early success
• 04:00-05:00: Explanation of the defeat device
• 08:01-13:10: Winterkorn’s rise, Strategy 2018, US market focus
• 22:40-27:30: Discovery of “noise function”, engineering meetings, cultural breakdown
• 41:35-47:50: “Clean diesel” marketing, TDI campaign
• 50:00-01:00:40: 2012 engine failures, cover-up, enhanced defeat device
• 01:01:00-01:04:30: Scrutiny of Winterkorn’s knowledge, obsession with detail
• 01:06:40-01:09:20: Football metaphor management meeting

Conclusion

Episode 1 of Dieselgate sets the stage for a tale of ambition, technological hope, and corporate misconduct. Through dramatizations and sharp narration, it illustrates how Volkswagen’s single-minded pursuit of market dominance, coupled with a culture of fear and denial, led to catastrophic corner-cutting. The stage is now set for the unraveling of a scandal that would redefine the auto industry—and the meaning of corporate accountability.

Next Episode Preview:
A team of student researchers starts peeling back the layers of Volkswagen’s deception, the EPA gets involved, and the company scrambles in damage-control mode.

(End of summary)