Obviously compelling improvement will result in... improvement. That, or manufacturers couldn't adapt with regulations and would have to drop out of the market.

Obviously compelling improvement will result in... improvement. That, or manufacturers couldn't adapt with regulations and would have to drop out of the market. The US auto industry is mature and wealthy enough to be able to handle the burden. However, in a general case, market forces should theoretically be pressuring the manufacturers to improve in that 10 year standstill. The real question is why they didn't compete. You could fill up an entire book exploring the economic motivations that might stifle that, though. There is probably some low key argument here about how these regulations price out new entries into the industry, but what was the last successful gasoline car startup in the US that survived? I remember Delorean, launched 75 and bankrupt in 82. Doesn't seem like an industry that is disruption friendly, especially when Chrysler seems to be on deaths door. I'm surprised they float every year. The only real disruption is coming from parallel industries in Tesla, and the volume of Tesla sales is a blip on Fords and GMs revenue.