>>reporter: jack fitzgerald has been selling cars for more than 50 years. he doesn't excuse what vw has done but says he gets a lot more riled up over toyota's unintended acceleration and honda's defected air bags. that has cost lives. >> people getting injured is far more significant than whether the epa is satisfied with the amount of emissions in some diesel engine. it just is. >>reporter: but vw is in legal hot water. facing fines of up to $18 billion. class action lawsuits and investigations overseas and by the u.s. justice department. >> people need to to to jail. this is one of the most comprehensive and complex frauds i've ever seen in the united states >> now, adding to the outrage, vw is a serial offender. they were fined back in 73 and 2005 for violating the clean air act. vw admitted no wrong doing. and they're not the only ones. the epa has fined the makers of large diesel trucks and other car manufacturers including honda, ford, and gm. the government relies on car companies to do its own compliance testing with standards and the epa does spot

. >> jack fitzgerald has been selling cars for more than 50 years. he does not excuse what vw has done but they get more riled up over ignition switches, toyota's accelerations and defective airbags. those defects have cost lives. people getting injury is far more significant than whether the epa is satisfied with the amount of the engines. but vw is in legal hot wire facing fines of $18 billion. class action lawsuits and investigations overseas and by the u.s. justice department. >> should somebody go to jail? >> absolutely people need to go to jail. this is one of the most comprehensive and complex frauds i've ever seen in the united states. >> vw has been fined twice before for violating the clean air act. back in 1937 and 2005. the company admitted to no wrong doing. they have also fined the makers of large diesel trucks including honda, ford and g.m. it is up to car companies to do their own compliance testing to show that they meet the emissions standards then the epa does spot checks. and they promised to increase their oversight. >> coming up