Terry Blanton wrote:
Maybe, but, for as long as I can remember (which depends on the weather =), standards have always been different for California. Indeed, certain items are different for "Calcars" and must be so maintained, eg the Toyota Echo required iridium tipped spark plugs to meet CA standards. These cost $15 each. Standard $3 plugs were fine elsewhere.
That is a small difference. Expensive, effective, but small from the engineering point of view.
The car makers will only make two cars: Calcars and everywhere else, assuming CA has the most restrictive standards.
No doubt this is true. For that matter there are regional variations in cars such as the type of fuel allowed (more or less polluting) and customer requirements for things like road salt sealants under the body in northern states. But in the broader view the California standards will push the auto industry in the direction Obama wants it to go, and he will not have to pay all of the political price.
- Jed
