> why did the US govt fail to properly test a car made by a foreign company ?

I propose that we focus on what's right to do rather than who gets the pie, so:

Why did the US govt fail to properly test a car that was destined for consumer use (regardless of company origin)?

The EPA has the same problems as almost every US government department, lack of funding.

The government doesn't test the cars. The manufacturers self-certify.

> The real blame lies with government. why did the US govt fail to properly test a car made by a foreign company ?

What does VW being foreign have to do with it? Are US companies inherently more trustworthy? You should ask "Why did the US government fail to properly test a car made by any company?"

We'll find out when we can compare the fine that VW gets with the one that GM got for selling cars that actually killed their occupants.

Now that VW is investigated, we should focus on the emission standard themselves - not the tactics to avoid or optimize for the tests.

In Europe, the standards are a joke (no one drives like we test the cars).