Scale of VW's crisis makes it a particularly unusual case

New York

SOMEDAY, Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal will be studied in crisis communications textbooks. And not in a good way.

"There was something like a tsunami," said Hans-Gerd Bode, Volks-wagen's communications chief since September. "Thousands of calls and e-mails coming in at the same time. A crisis like this, the company was not prepared for," he said. With the company continuing to negotiate with foreign governments: "We don't know the right way out."