[Big Dave]

Whether the Euro-cars are more or less safe than US cars is completely beside the point. The lightweight Euro-cars simply will not pass the safety tests demanded by US regulatory agencies. Whether those tests have anything to do with real safty can be intensely debated. As you know my contempt for bureaucrats is fairly high.

But even that is irrelevant. If the lightweight, fuel efficient Euro-cars don't pass the crash tests, they don't legally get sold in the US. Period. End of story. Lutz is saying (between the lines) is that GM has also simmed out lightweight cars and found they would not meet crash safety standards.

The central question is: Since safety and MPG are mutually (and proportionally) exclusive, which is more important. If safety is more important, then shut up about MPG and drive your heavy cars. If MPG is more important, drive your 1,900 lb deathtrap and take your chances.

Same thing is true of enviro-regs. Which is more important?