Directly from the CEO a few days ahead of the EPA release. This was not a case of defeat devices or programming intended to circumvent regulations:
I want to underscore that the company has not admitted any wrongdoing nor seen evidence that anyone acted in bad faith. As this resolution is finalized over the next several weeks, we expect that the government will discuss it in a way that disparages the company. This is disappointing given how diligently and collaboratively we have worked with the regulators for more than four years to resolve their questions.
From the beginning, we have cooperated fully with the relevant regulators, conducted a thorough internal review of the affected pick-up trucks and recalled many. We also expanded and strengthened our emissions compliance program by creating Product Compliance & Regulatory Affairs (PCRA), which has a reporting line into me, to help ensure our products comply with increasingly stringent emissions regulations around the world.