-
Recent Posts
- UK New Car Registrations at 2M during 2025
- Ford Motor 2025 U.S. Sales Posted at 2.2 Million
- GM at Top of U.S. Auto Sales in 2025
- Audi Recalls Seat Belts for Child Seat Retention Failures
- Porsche Recalls More Than 173,000 Vehicles for Rear Visibility
- Ford Recalls Previous Expedition Roll-Away Recall Repair
- BMW Group Adds Alpina Brand
- Milestones – 50 Years of the VW Golf GTI
- EPA Administrator and Trump Booster Zeldin Praises Himself
- Happy Clean New Year California Air Resources Board!
- Chicago Auto Show Shrinks
- Porsche – Happy Birthday Hans-Joachim Stuck
- Ford Recalls Mavericks, Escapes, Mach Es, Transits, Broncos
- Annals of Marketing – Kia and Times Square New Year Partyers
- December U.S. Vehicle Sales Forecast Down. Global Sales Up
Recent Comments
- Ken Zino on Ford Fuel Injector Leak Recall Now at ~694,000
- Laverne Oliver on Ford Fuel Injector Leak Recall Now at ~694,000
- Magna on its Share Repurchase Plan in reference to on Magna Posts Solid Q3 2025 Earnings Gain
- Daniel Ricciardo Global Ford Racing Ambassador on Ford Performance Rebranded as Ford Racing
- Gen 3 2026 Nissan Leaf Less than $30,000? | AutoInformed on Milestones – Nissan Begins Assembly of 2013 LEAF EV in Tennessee
Archives
Meta
Tag Archives: emission control defeat devices
Parts Maker Sinister Diesel to Pay $1 Million After Guilty Plea
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced in the criminal case by US District Court Judge John A. Mendez for the Eastern District of California on 14 November 2023. Although Sinister Diesel agreed to pay a $500,000 criminal fine under its plea agreement, the company faces – for each count – a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain derived from the offense. Its sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of all applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which consider a number of variables. Continue reading
Posted in environment, fuel economy or emissions, litigation, public health
Tagged Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, clean air act, conspiracy to defraud the United States, Death of the diesel, emission control defeat devices, epa, Ken Zino, Sinister Diesel, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert, US District Court Judge John A. Mendez, US Justice Department
Leave a comment
Flo~Pro Performance Exhaust To Halt Sales of Defeat Devices
The complaint, filed simultaneously with the consent decree, alleges that the parts described below are “defeat devices” prohibited by the CAA. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that prior to its 2018 investigation, Flo~Pro manufactured or sold more than 100,000 aftermarket defeat devices in the United States per year. In early 2019, Flo~Pro suspended sales of the defeat devices in the United States in an effort to resolve this matter. The consent decree for this settlement was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas and will be open for public comments for a period of 30 days. Continue reading

DOJ – Defeat Devices Plea With COBB Tuning Products
The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have announced a settlement agreement with COBB Tuning Products to settle claims relating to the manufacture and sale of automotive emission defeat devices in violation of the Clean Air Act. The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval.
The settlement requires COBB to pay a civil penalty of just over $2.9 million, based on the company’s limited ability to pay, and to stop the manufacture and sale of defeat devices.* COBB is an automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer and retailer based in Austin, Texas, which formerly sold its parts in Plano, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and Fountain Valley, California. Continue reading →