At this point, we have to assume anything that becomes a published benchmark is specifically targeted during training. That's not something specific to LLMs or OpenAI. Compiler companies have done the same thing for decades, specifically detecting common benchmark programs and inserting hand-crafted optimizations. Similarly, the shader compilers in GPU drivers have special cases for common games and benchmarks.
VW got in a lot of trouble for this
Apples and oranges. VW actually cheated on regulatory testing to bypass legal requirements. So to be comparable, the government would first need to pass laws where e.g. only compilers that pass a certain benchmark are allowed to be used for purchasable products and then the developers would need to manipulate behaviour during those benchmarks.
The only difference is the legality. From an integrity point of view it's basically the same
VW was breaking the law in a way that harmed society but arguably helped the individual driver of the VW car, who gets better performance yet still passes the emissions test.
And afaik the emissions were still miles ahead of a car from 20 years prior, just not quite as extremely stringent as requested.