That's the feeling I got from the responses here.

That's because you're trying SO HARD to get that feeling. You absolutely refuse to acknowledge that the article "solves by inspection" a dozen different things that absolutely no one else considers solved.

Car manufacturers sell cars on the selling points that matter to consumers. In the '90s it was cup holders. In the '80s it was a commanding view over the road. In the '70s it was "please god can we return to the '60s despite these horrible emissions standards."

You act as if consumers buy cars based on their emissions levels when even the EPA just insists they pass. All the ZULEV PZEV bullshit the manufacturers slap on the back are poorly-defined terms created by the California Air Resources Board, not the EPA, and they're not something you test for. Most consumers want the best performance they can get that abides by the laws they believe in and don't concern themselves with minute decisions influenced by driving habits beyond pass/fail.

That whooshing sound is you blasting by #dieselgate as if it isn't there.