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The regulations and tariffs are what the federal government uses to determine what vehicles may be imported or produced here. Consumer demand and profit margin are what companies use to determine product mix. Costs of R&D and tooling have to be recovered in an acceptable length of time for shareholders. One of the downfalls of our domestic producers has been an over reliance on advertising to influence consumer demand rather than anticipating customer preference. To paraphrase the light beer commercial, "Drives great - less filling". I remember having similar discussions in the late 1970s. Now my father's full sized Chevy gets 32 mpg instead of 16 mpg back then. Will my grandchildren drive to Florida in a car that gets 100 mpg or will they take a highspeed train traveling 300 mph?
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