Politics. There were political reasons to force us into using our food for fuel.
On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 7:39 AM, Matthew S. Taylor <taylorsmatt...@gmail.com > wrote: > Why do you think we don't have them now? I honestly have no idea but it > could be one of the following: > > 1. The cars do not meet US safety standards as currently configured. > > 2. The cars do not meet US or California emissions standards (no catalytic > converter). > > 3. The cars do not appeal to a large enough share of the market to warrant > their importation or construction of a domestic plant. > > 4. The tax rules for importation do not favor these vehicles. > > As I said, I don't know. It does strike me though that if the market was > so obvious, the demand so strong, that Fiat et. al. would already be > shipping them here. That they are not indicates that there is a business > reason for not doing so, as businesses will not typically long ignore pent > up demand. > > Matthew > > On Feb 18, 2009, at 8:59 AM, Jeff Wright wrote: > >> >> >> I'm no Europhile, but it's a crime that we don't have access to these >> wonderfully made, small, fun cars that they do have in Europe. We don't get >> the Fiat 500 Abarth, or the Ford Ka or the Citroen Picasso line. What do we >> get in the US? Pathetic, tiny econoboxes that rattle down the road, >> wheezingly emphysemic in reality and offering barely any better mileage than >> larger cars. (Toyota Yaris and Nissan Versa are close to the real Euro car, >> but no deal.) If for no other reason, GM and Chrysler deserve the bone yard >> for that. Adapt or die; no wait, just die already Chrysler, you moth-eaten, >> giant sucking sound. You haven't made a good car since 1973. Ford will be >> bringing its brilliant Fiesta to the US next year. >> > > > ************************************************************************* > ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** > ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** > ************************************************************************* > -- Make sure you support your local CarbonONset programs! ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
