Re: Fuel efficiency not allowed in the US

R.H. Allen wrote:
Eeyore wrote:

Rodney Kelp wrote:

Geo Metro killed (58mpg) VW Jetta TDI banned (50+mpg) 80mpg European
diesels banned from importation. Citroen's 60mpg cars banned from
import. All high mileage cars banned in the US.

How about providing evidence of this alleged banning ? There aren't
any 80mpg
European diesels btw. Also, a lot of Americans probably couldn't even
fit inside
some of the smaller European cars.

The Geo Metro became the Chevy Metro back when gas cost $1.00/gallon
because everybody was buying SUVs instead. It continued to sell poorly
and GM killed it in 2001. Nothing sinister about it, there's just no
point in building something you can't sell.

The Jetta TDI wasn't "banned," but failed to meet emissions standards in
California and four other states. It was still available in the other 45
states through the 2006 model year, but emissions standards changed in
2007 and it was removed from the US market altogether. It will be back
in 2008. Cleaner diesel fuel was introduced in the US this year, and on
top of that the 2008 Jetta TDI will have a *far* cleaner engine anyway,
though VW anticipates it will be rated around 38 mpg (which is about the
same as the old US model).

The story with other diesels "banned" from the US is much the same as
for the Jetta TDI. (Well, that and the fact that they just don't sell
well here.) That said, a number of European and Japanese diesel models
are slated to be introduced in the US over the next few years, in part
because of the cleaner fuel we now have.

As for Citroen, their cars are not banned from import, but Citroen
withdrew from the US market in 1974 because they consistently used
technology that was not yet approved by US regulators -- things like
adjustable-height suspensions, swivel headlights, new brake fluid
formulations, etc. (most, if not all, of which is now legal here).
Nowadays, since they aren't in the US market, they make no effort to
comply with US regulations. Anybody in the US who wishes can import a
Citroen, but if it is less than 25 years old it cannot be driven on
public streets until it is made compliant with US regulations. That's no
different than for any other vehicle made for a foreign market -- even
one made by Ford, if it was made to be sold in Europe.
Complete and utter bull***. The fact is they ARE running in Europe
without problems so US safety is like I said, complete and utter
bull***. US safety is nothing more than BIG THREE protectionism,
nothing more. Lie all you want.
.