Originally posted by: marincounty
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Originally posted by: marincounty
That's not true. Honda stepped up with the CVCC engine and announced it could meet proposed federal emissions regulations. This forced the other manufacturers to step up and meet the same requirements.
That's just plain false. Honda developed CVCC to avoid the expense and hassle of having to use catalytic converters. In many ways, CVCC can be considered
worse since it allowed the use of leaded fuel (and thereby the emission of lead into the air via vehicle exhaust) to continue because it didn't require unleaded fuel as cars with catalytic converters do.
Originally posted by: marincounty
GM fought emissions regulations in the '70's, with GM chairman Roger Smith saying that automobiles were not a significant contributor to air pollution.
I'm shocked, shocked that a company would fight against regulations that would increase the cost of its products without adding any features that buyers actually demanded.
Originally posted by: marincounty
Detroit has similarly fought airbags and any other safety or smog reduction plan.
The air pressure sensor requirement-is BS, pushed by govt safety nazis.
Detroit pioneered airbags, just look up GM's ACRS. No-one bought them and they discontinued them because the market did not demand them. As far as fighting the other regulations, see my response above.
ZV
The difference is, the Japanese manufacturers didn't bitch about emissions regulations, they engineered a way to meet them. Detroit lobbied against the regulations and claimed there wasn't a problem.
Text
Licensing agreements were eventually signed with Ford, Chrysler, and Isuzu, and during that period Honda R&D was in constant receipt of visitors from auto companies around the world.
The EPA held a public hearing on March 19, 1973, in Washington, D.C., to hear the testimony of automakers on whether to implement the 1970 Clean Air Act as scheduled. At the hearing,
the only automakers who testified that they could meet the 1975 regulations were Honda and Toyo Industries (now Mazda).
?At the hearing,? recalled Date, ?we were asked, ?Can Honda really produce cars that meet the 1975 requirements? And if so, can Honda supply CVCC engines to automakers such as GM?? But honestly, we had our hands full just taking care of Honda?s business. We didn?t have the capacity to supply products to a company the size of GM. It was a very frustrating experience.?
The demands were simply too much for the industry as a whole. So, as a result of the hearing, it was decided that implementation of the Clean Air Act would be postponed.