One of the RustyButTrusty parts runners – the new car that enables all the old car fun – is a VW fitted with the now-infamous TDI engine. Without excusing VW’s actions, a recent article on defeat devices exposed some interesting facts about the history of these cheats and their employment since the early days of emissions systems. Interestingly, while VW was slapped on the wrist 42 years ago for employing such devices on their cars, manufacturers including GM, Ford, Chrysler, American Motors, Nissan, and Toyota, in addition to various semi-tractor manufacturers, have all been caught using work-arounds to get their cars past the EPA while maintaining othe rthings consumers care more about, like power, drivability, and fuel mileage. So for an early example of an emissions-cheating car, let’s take a look at this 1973 VW Type 3 Squareback, for sale for $2495 in Deville, Louisiana.
Rusty But Trusty 