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Oofacts=> Here's why its NOT in the big 3 interest to have inspections.
=> DETROIT.
As I see it the industry's resistance to gummint inspections goes back
to the '60s and '70s, when the country began to demand that the
automakers clean up their act. Roadworthiness inspections, which New
Jersey, for instance, has required for decades, are entirely different
from emissions inspections. Americans are generally against
roadworthiness inspections and don't vote for them. That's a control
issue that Detroit can happily ignore. Emissions is another story.
There is little need for the automakers to skew their market in
Michigan, since the weather and salt there make hash out of most any car
within six or eight years of daily driving anyway.
=> Also the secondary market is a crucial part of the auto industry,
SEMA, the aftermarket manufacturer's lobbying group, disagrees mightily
with you on this point. It's their contention that the automakers are
actively working to create what amount to one-use products -- cars that
generally last longer than they did in the '70s but which are not
repairable by anyone but the manufacturers, at least in ways that make
economic sense. This has the effect of gradually eliminating the
aftermarket. If by 'secondary market' you're referring to the
manufacturers' pet parts suppliers, I see what you mean, but I don't
think repairs or maintenance are seen as at all in the interest of the
large industry players. Sell 'em a car and let 'em pay it off with
interest, at which point it starts falling apart, and leave 'em no
choice but to buy another one.
Steven Ayres, Prescott AZ
'66 343