Hi just a quicky question please?

[Chlorate]

It has a quick fling with the truth, but makes a hasty retreat in the morning and never calls. But it is indeed thoroughly incorrect and could be viewed as false advertising.

OBD-II was mandatory in the US from 1996 onwards, so any manufacturer that wanted to sell cars over the pond would have to comply.
However there isn't much demand for French cars in the states, so I should imagine the likes of PSA stuck to their guns until the very last minute and didn't bother changing their engine management systems until Brussels told them they had to.
However the universal connector was probably read across due to convenience.

[Xaccers]

Was it around 1999 that it became standard for euro petrols and several years later for diesels? So well beyond even the S2 Hdi's.

[Chlorate]

Yeah, 2000 for sparkers and 2004 for compressioners according to Wikipedia.

Explains why people are making a lot of money selling us chaps Lexias.