Do you have a source? Those are extraordinary claims. I'm not aware of any other cheating anywhere close to the magnitude of what VW did. Also, what "defeat device" are you talking about? VW's cheat was in software; it wasn't some specific device.
And are you seriously surprised that it can take 1.5 years for a massive multi-billion dollar lawsuit to wind its way through federal courts? If you think 1.5 years is long, look at the Exxon-Valdez settlement, parts of which are still unpaid 28 years later!
The "defeat device" was a specific piece of software that Bosch provided with the chips they sold.
Also, it was 1.5 years from discovery to investigations being started.
And regarding the claims: They’re not extraordinary. 4 companies have been in the original report that incriminated VW, others incriminated themselves [1], etc.
Germany is deciding to ban GM cars in Germany because they used the same defeat "device" VW used but refuse to fix things, etc.
The wheels of justice grind slowly but exceedingly fine. VW is the largest and first target to be taken down, but hardly the last. I don't think your expectations of all of this getting resolved very quickly are realistic. Mitsubishi is currently being investigated by US regulators as of this past April, and will probably be charged on a similar timeline as VW. Keep an eye out for it. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mitsubishimotors-regulatio...
As for the Germans taking on Chrysler, good. If Chrysler did it then they should pay, same as VW has and Mitsubishi is going to. http://www.autoblog.com/2016/05/23/germany-fiat-chrysler-ban... No one deserves to develop lung disease because some stupid manufacturers decided to cheat on tests rather than passing them. I still don't see how this is a trade war, when it clearly looks to me like an environmental enforcement issue.
And are you seriously surprised that it can take 1.5 years for a massive multi-billion dollar lawsuit to wind its way through federal courts? If you think 1.5 years is long, look at the Exxon-Valdez settlement, parts of which are still unpaid 28 years later!