VW offers gift cards

Owners of 482,000 diesel Volkswagens and Audis in the U.S. are eligible for $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers as the automaker strives to placate customers dismayed by an emissions-rigging scandal.

VW announced the offer Monday. The car owners have been in limbo since mid-September, when VW admitted the cars are equipped with software that turns on pollution controls during government tests and turns them off while on the road.

VW has yet to unveil a fix for the cars. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the cars, with 2-liter four-cylinder diesel engines, emit 10 to 40 times the allowable amount of harmful nitrogen oxide while being driven.

The $500 Visa gift card can be used anywhere, while the $500 voucher can be used at a VW dealership for things such as an oil change or new set of tires, or even a down payment on a new car. The offer also includes free roadside assistance for the diesel vehicles for three years.

To get the gift cards and vouchers in the U.S., owners will not be required to sign anything giving up their right to sue Volkswagen or force them into arbitration, spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said.

Volkswagen already is offering $2,000 to current VW owners to trade in their cars for new vehicles, and the gift cards and vouchers would add $1,000 to that.