Where to put all those VW buyback cars?

Motorists driving Interstate 25 near Pikes Peak International Raceway may be seeing where some of the cars from the Rocky Mountain region are going.

A large car lot is currently being carved from the vacant prairie immediately adjacent to the raceway. The lot is filling with hundreds of newer-model used cars.

Volkswagen will not confirm the location of any of its U.S. storage sites for the cars in its nationwide buyback program, a spokeswoman said Friday.

The company anticipates buying back more than 200,000 recalled cars across the U.S. as part of a settlement over its 2015 emissions scandal. Storage sites have been popping up in various places. In Baltimore, thousands of the cars are parked near the city's port, according to one newspaper.

Don't expect a giant used-car sale to take place at any of the storage lots, VW says.

The company's is still in talks with federal regulators but its' current hope is for many of the cars to be maintained, fixed and eventually returned to U.S. or foreign dealerships with the remainder recycled for parts.

PPIR executives on Friday declined comment other than to confirm the land adjacent to the raceway was leased to an outside party.

Jeannine Ginivan, a spokeswoman for Volkswagen of America, issued a general statement Friday on the handling of buyback cars:

"Once a buyback transaction is complete, Volkswagen will remove the vehicle from the dealership and store it at a regional facility. These vehicles will be held and routinely maintained until it is determined whether an approved emissions modification becomes available," she said.

"If approved, the (emissions scandal) settlement allows Volkswagen to modify affected 2.0L TDI vehicles so they can be returned to commerce or exported. Vehicles that are not modified must be responsibly recycled."

In October, a judge approved the $14.7 billion settlement in which owners of newer 2-liter diesel vehicles can choose to have their vehicles modified or bought back. Owners also receive additional restitution payments of $5,100 to $10,000.

The emissions scandal broke in 2015 when Volkswagen admitted that it had rigged diesel-powered cars built between 2009 and 2015 with "defeat devices" to emit much fewer pollutants during emissions tests than during normal road driving.

According to the terms of the settlement, 85 percent of the vehicles must be modified or removed from the road by Volkswagen by 2018. If the automaker does not reach this goal in time, it will be required to pay a penalty, Cabraser said.

The settlement affects 475,000 vehicles, and as of Feb. 14, more than 360,000 owners and lessees had submitted a claim, according to a Volkswagen lawyer during a court hearing last week.

Volkswagen has given offers to more than 300,000 of those individuals, and almost 250,000 offers have been accepted. Of those, 125,000 have been completed, according to the lawyer.

Tribune News Service contributed to this story.