Abandoned History: OBD-II and the Standardization of Our Troubles (Part II)

We began our deep dive into the history of on-board diagnostics last week. OBD began in earnest on the 1967 Volkswagen Type 3 when it launched with an engine that featured electronic fuel injection. Regulation pushed things forward over the years: Emissions standards and monitoring were required by law, and manufacturers had to implement some sort of system to provide diagnostics. What resulted was a proprietary connector that linked the car to the proprietary OEM diagnostic computer, and it provided real-time information. It would later be called the OBD-I era.