I think one difference is that VW wants to break into the US markets, but is already a dominating brand in the EU market. The number of diesels sold in the US (low) compared to the risk of legal fallout there (high) means they have one strategy there, compared to the EU where the number of diesels sold is much bigger. If VW offer compensation without requiring you to not claim anything in the future - that's pure goodwill/marketing. That's good to hear. They probably can't afford that here, or they don't want/need to because of the market situation.