Environmental Regulations And The Development Of Automobile Industry In American During 1970s-1990s

Before the 1970 s,the U.S.seized the sales market through price war.However,after the 1970 s,its automobile industry faced multiple pressures including oil crisis,stagflation and environmental regulation,and lost part of the market of light-duty vehicles and small vehicles,which were occupied by automobile manufacturers in Japan,Western Europe and other countries.Facing with the crisis,GM,Ford and Chrysler responded quickly,and alleviated the crisis to a certain extent through federal government restrictions on imports,enterprise technology innovation and management innovation.The U.S.automobile industry has taken a series of measures to deal with increasingly stringent environmental regulations.However,the traditional Command and Control measures can no longer adapt to the development of the automobile industry under the role of market regulation.Therefore,the government has adjusted control policies to adapt to market changes and the laws of economic development.The United States began to regulate the environment of the automobile industry before the 1970 s.The Clean Air Act of 1963 was promulgated,and the federal air pollution research program was stepped up,The Clean Air Act of 1963 was amended in 1965.Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act became an integral part of the Clean Air Act.Although the early environmental legislation made clear the emission standards and certification process of motor vehicles,the U.S.automobile industry did not respond positively,which resulted in a small achievement of this act.In 1970,the United States Environmental Protection Agency was established,and Clean Air Act was amended,which is of epoch-making significance.It mainly revised the standards of motor vehicle emission and authorized the EPA regulatory responsibilities.Under the regulation,the U.S.automobile industry and EPA are competing for interests.After having analyzed the cost and benefit of installing emission control devices,the U.S.automobile manufacturers began to respond negatively,and carry out a simple technical innovation of external purification and internal purification for motor vehicle emission problems.Finally,strict standards and attitude of the U.S.automobile manufacturers lead to poor regulation effect.Market self-regulation leads to insufficient investment in technology and capital of the U.S.automobile industry.In 1977,the Clean Air Act was amended,and the new standard was formulated based on market.The energy crisis in the 1970 s made the U.S.automobile industry face challenges,but the pace of regulation did not stopped.To deal with energy shortage,the U.S.government has paid more attention to the average fuel economy and formulated standards.However,the U.S.automobile manufacturers began to avoid it.Japanese and Western European automobile manufacturers seized the opportunity to rush into the U.S.market,which caused the loss of sales market of American automobile manufacturers.In the face of competition,the U.S.automobile manufacturers have to continue to develop more environmentally friendly technologies.The three-way catalytic converter was introduced into the market,and the unleaded gasoline was gradually implemented.Finally,regulation achieved good environmental benefits.During the Reagan administration,American environmental regulation developed softly and smoothly.In order to change this temporary stagnation,Congress enacted the Clean Air Act of 1990.In this amendment,motor vehicle emission standard are stricter than before.In combination with the changes of light-duty vehicles market,the regulation of different models is intensified,the attention to clean fuel vehicles is also increased.The U.S.auto industry is also aware of new market changes and develops electric vehicle technology,but it is hindered by all parties and fails to achieve large-scale promotion at the end of the 20 th century.By the end of the 20 th century,the regulation of motor vehicle emission went from the technical to the fuel source,which led to a significant reduction of carbon monoxide,lead and nitrogen oxide emissions in the U.S.automobile industry.The case of Detroit is included to illustrate the impact of environmental regulation on Detroit's automobile industry,employment and suburbanization.