VW Is in Too Much of a Hurry to Move On

Volkswagen made every effort to leave its diesel emissions scandal behind this week. It planned to announce a $10 billion deal with U.S. car owners and a fix for their cars, hold a general shareholders' meeting on Wednesday and settle down to implement its new strategy, announced on June 16. VW's management and top shareholders haven't, however, done enough to turn the page, and that's coming back to haunt them.

German prosecutors have opened an investigation into former VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn's alleged failure to inform shareholders of the problem with the company's diesel engines as soon as he knew about it. Simultaneously, U.S. holders of VW bonds have sued, claiming its cover-up of emissions cheating inflated the price of the bonds. And the resolution of the problem with U.S. car owners has been delayed -- VW can afford payouts to customers and U.S. authorities, but lacks regulatory approval for its proposals to fix the cars that had been equipped with emissions-cheating software. Ironically, what would most benefit consumers and governments on both sides of the Atlantic is least likely to happen: letting the German carmaker get on with its makeover.