Fortunately for VW, American consumers generally have the collective memory of a flea. Take the financial crisis of 2007/8 and the automobile bail outs which tax payers paid for- even when the recovery came from our own pockets there seemed to be a lack of accountability demanded by consumers for what got us in the worst financial position since the Great Depression. It will be fascinating to see the VW advertising and PSA’s that come next. The inevitable backing by VW to an existing or quickly fabricated “green conscious initiative” just as the oil companies do post oil spill disaster. VW has been an iconic brand along the likes of Apple for so long, it’s a shame their desire for corporate greed made them loose sight of the brand equity they had that many companies can only dream of obtaining. A healthy reminder of the fact that “Authenticity” is the key ingredient in a leadership brand.