VW's emissions-test trickery may not be illegal in Europe

London

FOUR years ago, European vehicle regulators identified and debated a loophole in their pollution testing rules that could render vehicle emissions tests ineffectual, but it was ultimately left in place, internal documents show.

The loophole lets carmakers change the performance settings of their engines before a pollution test. "A manufacturer could specify a special setting that is not normally used for everyday driving," British regulators warned, according to minutes of a 2011 meeting in Geneva of officials across the region.