VW was for sure caught red handed. But so many other manufacturers were doing the same thing, and just got away with it.
The one bit of information I would like to know is just how high up the chain of command did the foreknowledge go on the scheme. Did the top brass really know? or was it indeed something done my subordinates just to meet unrealistic sales goals and emission standards.
We will never know the whole truth. In the end a very wealthy company will spend a small part of the profits as a penance, and one engineer was arrested in the USA for it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/business/volkswagen-engineer-prison-diesel-cheating.html