California has strict emissions laws. If you’ve ever looked online for gas engines (lawn equipment, generators etc.) you may have seen a different model for here than the rest of the country. I will readily admit that that CARB is crazy with some of this, e.g. a private residence can’t buy an ozone generator any more (Amazon sells them, but can’t legally ship here). As for Volkswagen, they designed software to cheat emissions tests so their diesels could’ve sold here. The thing about breaking laws to make more money is it’s hard to pretend you’re a principled rebel. And anyone who remembers what the air was like will concede that emissions controls have helped.