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What VW have done is extremely clever, design a car to recognise when it's being tested and thus return results that match the requirements. The issue in this case is NOX emissions which are much tighter in the US than in Europe.
This is exactly the point. Well said Mark. The only question to be asked is " Do these cars pass the requirements of the specification under the specified test conditions. " And the answer is a YES.
So no problem.
The only problem VAG had is that they didn't get their lawyers on the case fast enough.
Could I guess that the requirement here is the Euro 6 emissions ?
It is the spec; writers who need the scrutiny. But specifying emissions on a "typical" road will be a minefield.
Do you remember Fiat had a problem with hill climbing in some of their cars ( BBC Watchdog ) which was to be corrected with a software mod ? Now I wonder how they will do that ?
I would guess that tweaking the software here will affect the performance of the car. And who is going to take their VW in to be detuned for the sake of emissions.
But again.... what specification will they be adjusted to ?