Steve Kalafer has produced 16 films and been nominated thrice for an Academy Award, but he also doubles as a car dealer.
In fact, the 66-year old has been in the trade for 39 years and is the chairman of Flemington Car & Truck Country, a chain that counts a Volkswagen dealership among its total of 17.
Unfortunately for the German company, Kalafer is very unhappy with their way of handling the whole diesel emissions cheating scandal. So much so, he’s making a documentary titled “Backfire: The VW Fraud of The Century”. He makes it clear that the execs’ reaction to blatant cheating is far from satisfactory.
“When I came to Volkswagen to discuss the film, they said, “Why are you doing this?'” Kalafer told Autonews. “I said, “To tell the truth.'”
He accuses company leaders of being “silent” on the issue of offering compensation to customers and dealers alike. “The worst part in all of this”, he points out, “are the single-point dealers who have invested their life savings and family’s reputations in VW franchises. They’ve been thrown in the gutter, meaningless. That hurts me.”
The film is a work in progress and it hasn’t been decided if it will air as a single documentary or a series. One thing is certain: Backfire will add another headache to Wolfsburg. If you can’t do the time…
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