This VW debacle.

no it shows that you dont seem to have a clue as always . i was thinking you would dream up some wrong crap on the other thread also . if i say red is red you say no its not. thats how you exatly are

What other thread?

Errr. um. shh. ye-
s I'm sure you're right!

I was reading how in California after a certain time of abt 2 years or so, vehicles that had not had the recall done would no longer be road legal and owners would likely not be able to renew their registrations. So not doing it won't be an option there really.

So the German's try to "fly under the radar" and that's OK . is it?
Obviously not . they got caught out, no point crying wolf at all as it makes the naysayers seem to be just plain stupid.
Serves them damn well right. litigation in future is going to cost them dear me thinks.
Exploit . wow now that's an interesting word, VW were out to do that very thing . no matter what the cost or whatever laws were in place for the betterment and protection of health etc.
Nah they were just purely and totally Dollar, Euro driven no matter what !

Here is an interesting read on the VW situation.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/11/22/volkswagen-crass-crony-corporate-capitalistic-capitulation/comment-page-1/

Big ship engines have really high compression ratios. And run at slow speeds. Around 900 RPM. (with a redline of 1000 RPM as a guess) It would not be fun to drive a car with an engine like that. And no NOx filters or other emission controls either. And those engines will be 2 stroke Diesel - meaning they can very easily vary the amount of air going into the engine. And less losses as no need for a dedicated intake or exhaust stroke.

Yeah - except that's written from the perspective of a climate change skeptic and misses many points:
Some car buyers might compare CO2 emissions for "greenie" reasons, but CO2 emissions are anyway the result of fuel economy, most car buyers even if not believing or caring about global CO2 emissions, do care about how much it costs to fill up and run their vehicle.
Airlines care about fuel economy and maintenance costs / reliability/ down time, because that "TCO" translates directly to the bottom line, if there's a reduced "carbon footprint" then that's a bonus they can use for advertising to greenies, but they'd be doing it anyway, even if "carbon footprint" wasn't an issue, but because they want to make a profit and stay in business.
So the "market" model works for airlines to reduce fuel use and CO2 "footprint", and the consumer who gets cheaper air travel.
Car buyers shouldn't have any confidence that what they're being told isn't just abject BS. The average car owner spends a hell of a lot more on car ownership/maintenance/fuel use than they do on airline tickets.
Anyway, NOx is mainly a local air-quality issue in cities, so while it's possibly true that failing to meet NOx emission targets is tied in with technology used to improve fuel economy, skepticism about climate change is not a reason to doubt why the hazards of emissions of NOx, particulates, CO and HCs do really matter.

Not in NZ though surely? Is there a legal standard here at all? You cant sue them for not meeting a Californian standard we don't use, and for adverts that may never have appeared here.

No, that's not the point. Irrespective of the fact the cars in question almost 100% DO meet the current (or as-then when new current) emission standards, the point is they may have been (I use the term "may" as I personally have not seen the marketing material in question) marketed and sold to consumers here in New Zealand on the basis that they met the VW-advertised Euro specifications now found to be incorrect. Think of it a bit like an ANCAP crash test. Joe Blow Motor Company sells a car and advertises that it meets ANCAP 5-star crash ratings. The current minimum standard it NEEDS to meet is only 4-star. Consumers buy the Joe Blow cars thinking it's a 5-star car, a "safer" option than a competitor. It turns out, though, that it actually only meets an ANCAP 4-star rating. It's still legal to be sold as an ANCAP 4-star, but buyers have potentially been misled about the "superior" crash rating of the car they bought.

I know there are holes like Swiss cheese in this analogy, but you get the drift.