Understanding driver updates through Windows Update

Microsoft has published a set of short questions and answers about driver updates through Windows Update, and there’s one tidbit in there I found interesting.

Driver dates might look old, but that is not true. The driver date is descriptive info set by the driver provider and can be any date they choose. When determining which driver to install, Windows Update uses targeting information set by the provider inside the driver files to determine the best driver. This lets the device provider promote the best driver, regardless of the chosen date. 
↫ Microsoft knowledge base article

Whenever I do have to fiddle with Windows machines, I always wondered about why some drivers in Windows Update would show some seriously old dates. It turns out the answer is as obvious as it always tends to be: OEMs.