Abstract: A system for remote analysis of vehicle emissions also determines whether each vehicle's engine and exhaust system are hot or cold by measuring infrared radiation reflected by the roadway beneath the vehicle. A source transmits a beam of radiation through at least a portion of the motor vehicle exhaust to a number of sensors. Each sensor generates a signal indicative of the absorption of the beam in a wavelength band indicative of a corresponding exhaust gas (e.g., CO, CO.sub.2, HC, NO.sub.x and H.sub.2 O). An infrared detector measures infrared radiation within a field of view including at least a portion of the roadway beneath each passing vehicle. A processor then computes the concentrations of each exhaust gas from the sensor signals, and determines whether the vehicle is hot or cold by measuring the intensity of infrared radiation detected by the infrared detector.