PPIR lot stored an estimated 10,000 or more cars bought back after automaker's 2015 emissions cheating scandal

The last of the Volkswagen buy-back cars in the Colorado region were getting hauled away Friday from the huge dirt lot next to Pikes Peak International Raceway.

There were fewer than 50 of the cars left as of midmorning. At one time there were an estimated 10,000 or more of the cars at the lot.

The haul-offs began slowly within the past year and picked up speed in recent months. The first cars arrived at the lot in January 2017.

Nationally, Volkswagen opened 37 secure facilities around the U.S. to temporarily store nearly 300,000 newer-model diesel vehicles the automaker bought back from customers as part of the settlement of its 2015 emissions cheating scandal. In all, VW bought back a total of about 350,000 cars as of last year, according to court filings.

Under the settlement, Volkswagen was given approval to install new emissions software in the best of the cars and re-sell them in the U.S. used car market with any remaining cars to be scrapped or possibly sold overseas. Attempts to reach a Volkswagen official for comment on Friday failed.

Tim Jackson, director of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, said the cars are in good enough shape that he anticipates almost all of them are getting fitted with the new emissions software and being re-sold in the U.S. used car market.

Any damage that resulted from the cars sitting for so long also is getting fixed, he said. Examples of that kind of possible damage range from loose valves and hoses to wiring damage caused by critters like rabbits, he said.

"What they're doing is taking those in one at a time at VW service facilities and having those fixes made on those cars and those will go back into auction," he said.

In Colorado, state law requires new and used car dealers along with auction houses to fully disclose a vehicle's past damage history, so consumers should know if a car they're buying was part of the buy-back program, he said. Colorado's consumer protection laws for auto buyers are among the toughest in the nation, he said.

The dealers association does not know how many of the cars from the PPIR lot are staying in Colorado or getting transported out of state, he said.

The U.S. emissions scandal marked a difficult and expensive chapter in Volkswagen's history, Jackson said.

The German automaker reportedly has paid a combined $25 billion to cover the cost of the fines by federal and state governments, the vehicle buy-back program and changes needed to come into compliance with U.S. emissions laws, he said.

"It will go down in automotive history as a monumental fiasco," he said.

Since then, the automaker has put in place reforms and reaffirmed it status as an industry leader with several new product lines and more investment in fuel-efficient cars, including electric cars, he said. In 2018, VW was the global leader in car sales for the fifth straight year.

"I think it's safe to say they were penalized heavily, learned their lesson and are coming in with a new approach," Jackson said.

Other storage lots in the country include the former Pontiac Silverdome football stadium in Detroit and a decommissioned Air Force base in California.

PPIR owns the dirt lot where the Colorado region's recalled VWs were stored. The lot was once used for overflow parking when PPIR hosted periodic NASCAR and Indy Racing League events in the mid-2000s. Today, PPIR is used as a venue for other smaller races, training, auto shows and festivals.

ddarrow@chieftain.com

Twitter: @PuebloBusienss