For years, VW dominated the diesel market. No one else was even close to their power, fuel economy, and low emissions. They were set as the example for other manufacturers to follow in that regard. And none of them could compete. Some college, I forget which, was doing a test as a project, and the emissions were off the chart. It escalated from there, and people looked into what was happening. VW, from leadership down, was cheating. They developed an advanced system that the vehicle knew when it was being tested, changed the emissions to meet regulations, then reverted afterwards. But when they were meeting emission regulations, they could not perform the same way. When they were being driven by consumers, the emissions drastically exceeded the allowed amount.
So VW was forced to offer a fix or buy the vehicles back, the consumer's choice. I chose the buyack because they offered almost what I paid when I bought it new, and I put a lot of miles on those two years I owned it. A lot of people went and bought as many of these VWs as they could and then turned themin for the buyback since there was no limit and it was not limited to the original owner.
