"F. George McDuffee" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 1 Jan 2009 16:57:26 -0800 (PST), oldjag
wrote:
snip
Holman Jenkins continues making his case against CAFE and other root
causes of the Big Three's inability to make profitable cars in Detroit.
snip
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Its a shame these laws only apply to Detroit and not all car
producers in the US....[not] :-

The *do* apply to all car producers in the US, and to importers, too. They
all have to comply with CAFE or pay a fine.

Detroit got around it by lobbying for a lower standard for light trucks,
which they got. Then they started making a lot of light trucks and created
the SUV. The light-truck/SUV market went from 18% of their sales in 1980 to
51% early last year.

Most of the importers and foreign builders in the US make enough small cars
that they have no trouble meeting the CAFE standards. BMW is an exception
(and Benz, too, I think), but they have no trouble paying the fine and
adding it to the price of the car. That's what happens when you build good
cars and don't destroy your own reputation.

--
Ed Huntress