"Paul Stevens" bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:gXAAk.29369$IB6.27671@bignews8.bellsouth.net...

Actually the blame can be divided, like Gaul, into 3 parts.
Detroit for building what consumers wanted, the Federal
government including Congress whose EPA set up bogus
standards, and yes, California whose more stringent smog
control laws stiffel innovations.

The EPA CAFE standards were set by law by lawyers (Congress)
and bureaucrats, not engineers. The ratings are measured by
using an unrealistic driving cycle and a computer program
instead of on the road, real world conditions. Some cars
are built to the tests, others are built to do the best job
the cars are supposed to do.

The ones built to the test rarely do as well in the real
world. The others beat the test standards after 5-10k miles
break-in.

The more stringent California standards keep some
manufacturers to withhold innovation because the state is a
large part of their market and it sometimes takes a little
time to bring new products on line to meet those standards.
If the old products can be made to make the California
standards at the cost of efficiency, that's the route that
will be taken.

For example, Honda has two alternative fuel cars, one LPG
and a Diesel. The LPG powered Civic is sold in California
since it meets the state's standards. The Diesel Civic
isn't. It can meet the state's standards, but not Honda's.
U.S. Diesel fuel has a high sulfur content and would cause
the Civic to be less reliable and less efficient than the
Japanese model. Honda is working on the problem and may
have a solution by 2010.

Then there's the problem of infrastructure. Several
manufacturers have experimental fuel cell vehicles, GM and
Honda among them, but there's a very small number refueling
stations in Southern California for GM and Honda and NYC for
GM. Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband have a Honda Clarity,
leased for 3 years at $600/month.