@Naive
Martin, please leave this forum alone, nobody's listening to you.
I'm aware there are some VW fanboys that for some reason protect and justify what VAG was doing. You're forgetting (or ignoring) three things:
1. When CAFEE of U of West V tested a Jetta and a Passat on the road last year, they ran them alongside a diesel BMW X5, and the BMW met the limits, while VW exceeded the limits 20-35 times. This vindicates the lab tests, and cars that do pass the test seem to be able to meet the limits on the road, too.
2. There are no legal holes in the test -- you are not allowed to tamper with the test much the same way as you're not allowed to cheat on an exam. If you cheat on an exam, it's not valid regardless of whether your answers were correct or not, and you'd be prosecuted for cheating even if you fail the test. The test, as such, is null and void.
It's the same situation here. VW tampered with the test, it's not valid, the cars do not and cannot meet emissions standards. It's an offense and much more serious than exceeding the emissions. VAG would be in trouble if it turned out their cars did not exceed emissions for 10,000 miles, but started to exceed them afterwards and it couldn't be predicted in advance. They'd be told to fix this discrepancy, but otherwise nobody would do as much as wag a finger at them.
3. VAG did not mess with the emissions test so they could shave off that last 0.01 g of NOx to just barely pass it. They flouted the standard and presented cars that are completely unfit. Not only in USA and Europe, but in any country that has any sort of emissions standard testing.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
