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Without predicting the exact nature, this is going to turn into something or other of monumental size.

I kind of thought it was odd/remarkable how the Germans had fully conquered the diesel emission standards over the years. I don’t claim to have a full understanding of the physics.

Here in CA, for just an example of a thought exercise, these cars may become illegal to operate. How that would happen, I have no idea, because I don’t own a diesel and I am not familiar with the arcana. If they can’t pass smog tests, though, they don’t get a registration, period, end of subject. So somehow, even emitting 10 and 12 times standards, they have been coming in under limits.

Seems odd.

I kind of thought it was odd/remarkable how the Germans had fully conquered the diesel emission standards over the years.

"Just like we conquered Poland, and Czechoslovakia, and France......DEUTSCHLAND!!!! DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES!"

they will pass the smog tests. the issue is whether the emissions systems are on all the time or only during the test. in either situation, under testing they’ll pass. how will the smog testers know whether the car’s software has been updated? short of a master database maintained by dealers of who has or hasn’t brought their cars in for the “fix”, the government wouldn’t really know... i suspect that outside of California, this won’t be a big deal. since California has the toughest smog standards, car manufacturers make their cars meet those standards. most other states don’t have emissions testing, or the standards are not as tight.

i think what VW did was unethical, but faced with increasingly ridiculous bureaucracies writing arbitrary regulations (i.e. did any of us ever get to vote on these smog standards? or vote for the people who wrote them? or have veto power over them?), they found a loophole which was probably legal and took it. the government routinely does wrong things while explaining them away as “legal”. so turnabout is fair play.