Boynton Beach Woman Sues Volkswagen Over Cheating Cars

WLRN Public Media | By Wilson Sayre

Published September 25, 2015 at 2:32 PM EDT

Lisa Lowrance points to the TDI insignia on the back of her Beetle that means it is part of the class of cars that was equipped with technology to cheat emissions tests.

Volkswagen has now admitted that it misled everyone by equipping about 11 million diesel cars with a device to cheat emissions tests.

Lisa Lowrance owns one of those cars—a 2013 Black Volkswagen Beetle TDI—and has filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in Florida against the German-based car company.

Lowrance bought the car after a long search for an eco-friendly vehicle that didn’t compromise on performance. Like the rest of the world, she found out her car was not eco-friendly when the story broke online and in the news.

“They lied to me,” said Lowrance. “It’s diabolical what they did. It’s evil thinking. It’s just wrong and they need to be held accountable for their misconduct.”

Volkswagen does not comment on pending litigation.

"This lawsuit is about all the consumers who are conscious about the environment who have been deceived," says Jeffrey Haberman, Lowrance's lawyer. No one knows how long it will take to sort out any compensation for car owners and renters.

In the meantime, Lowrance says the car is just going to sit in her garage in Boynton Beach until it’s all sorted out.

Florida actually has a close tie to the company; earlier this year, Volkswagen relocated its Southeastern distribution center to Jacksonville along with roughly 100 new jobs.