Government regulation of the automobile industry is well-entrenched and is designed to protect the public. Safety has been a major concern since the 1950s and has spurred numerous regulations over the decades, while environmental concerns are of more recent origin. Both types of regulation, however, shape the way cars are designed and sold, what features auto makers will include in the package, and even how cars are advertised. The latter is because for all the complaints the auto industry may make about government intrusion and over-regulation, the public wants cars that are both safe and environmentally friendly and can be induced to buy cars that fulfill these requirements.
Environmental concerns are addressed from two angles as government regulates the production and distribution of fuel and also regulates what kinds of fuel cars require and what sorts of attachments cars must have in order to reduce emissions. Most air pollution is emitted from the exhausts of automobiles or from the burning of fossil fuels by industry. The primary air pollutants found in most urban areas are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter (both solid and liquid), and these pollutants are dispersed throughout the world's atmosphere in concentrations high enough to gradually cause serious health problems. Motor vehicles produce high levels of carbon monoxides (CO) and are a major source of hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Fuel combustion in stationary sources is the dominant source of sulfur dioxide (SO2)(Socha).
Regulators targeted air pollution beginning in the late 1960s, with California taking the lead by requiring exhaust control devices in the 1966 model year. The federal governments followed suit in 1968 by imposing nationwide standards similar to California's. Senator Edmund Muskie led an effort to amend the Clean Air Act in 1970, calling for emissions of carbon monoxide, h...