VW offers a few employees amnesty for info on cheating

Kalafer said he hasn't heard yet from customers about Volkswagen's offer, but he expects they will want more from the company to address the many issues raised by the emissions scandal. VW's diesel cars promised exceptional fuel efficiency that was also better for the environment. "That trust is gone", he added.

Volkswagen have created a website where owners of affected vehicles can enter their respective vehicle identification numbers in order to find out if they are qualified to get the $1,000 gift cards.

Volkswagen and Audi will give owners a $500 Visa gift card, a $500 dealership card and free 24-hour roadside assistance for three years.

VW has said about 482,000 cars sold in the United States since 2009 with four-cylinder diesel engines had software installed that allowed the engines to pass government tests for smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions, but pollute at levels far above government limits in normal operation.

Volkswagen has said it is already in high-level negotiations with the affected European countries to reach a settlement on taxation losses from the Carbon dioxide cheat. KBA has yet to announce which brands and models are under this investigation.

Whether they are among the models found to have "defeat device" software or not, Volkswagens have been lingering on dealer lots longer, and selling at lower average prices over the past month or so.

The $1000 offer is in addition to the $2000 VW owners can receive to trade their cars in for new vehicles.

"I bought this auto because of good mileage", said Joe Kolash, who owns a 2012 Jetta that gets about 45 mpg.

VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan explained that the gift cards and vouchers have no strings attached.

Early in October, Kelley Blue Book said the average resale value of Volkswagens with two-litre diesel engines fell 13 per cent since mid-September, when VW admitted it cheated on the tests.

The gesture will cost Volkswagen almost $250 million - a fraction of what the automaker has warned investors the scandal will costs. Volkswagen has yet to describe how it will address the issue for the almost 11 million cars affected worldwide. It also helps bridge the gap while their cars are being repaired and ridded of software that was created to ace emissions tests while secretly belching out far more pollutants than is legally allowed in real-world driving conditions.