There are hundreds of regulations that Congress and agencies have imposed on the auto industry, driving up their costs unnecessarily. As an illustration, these are the new rules from the DOT identified by Wayne Crews in the 2008 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments:
• Reform of the automobile fuel economy standards program.
• Light-truck Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards (2012 model years and beyond).
• Upgrade of head restraints in vehicles.
• Rear center lap and shoulder belt requirement.
• Monitoring systems for improved tire safety and tire pressure.
• Automotive regulations for car lighting, door retention, brake hoses, daytime running-light glare, and side impact protection.
Plus these from the EPA:
• Rulemaking to address greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.
• Clean air visibility, mercury, and ozone implementation rules.
• Review of National Ambient Air Quality Standards for lead, ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide.
• National emission standards for hazardous air pollutants from … auto paints.
These rules and all those from previous years need to be reanalyzed in the light of the industry’s troubles to see whether they should be repealed, suspended or weakened. In particular, attention should be paid to their aggregate effect on the industry. A deregulatory bailout would save the industry billions, and also save thousands of lives.
