>Maybe I'm wrong here, but I do
>believe that the beetle was discontinued because it no longer was able to
>meet emmissions standards, set by the federal government.

You also couldn't fit an air bag into it (not enough room to deploy) without
radically changing the body style.

Auto safety and pollution are areas where the Gummint has actually
done some good, where individual initiative has failed. Seat belts were
available as options in cars, both as factory options and aftermarket
add-ons, for years in the '50s and '60s. Same with rear-view mirrors in
the '30s and '40s. Few people bought them, like less than 3% of the
auto-buying public, until the gummint made them mandatory.

Air bag technology was worked out in the mid-'70s, but marketing
surveys showed GM that very few people would buy them if offered--
not enough to warrant the tooling-up costs, so they were never placed
on options lists since they were very expensive compared to belts etc.
Only since gummint regulations made them mandatory, have they become
widely available. History shows that this would not have happened, if
people were left to their own devices.

The $64,000 question: do the increased safety benefits, justify gummint
meddling in formerly private affairs? Careful how you answer-- the same
argument can be made for, say, a national 30-mph speed limit, or even
banning cars altogether in favor of commuter bus exclusivity.

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Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com       '80 V6anagon w/Chevy 2800
                                  '66 Mustang Coupevertible, for sale

Check out the cars at http://www.lookup.com/homepages/76242/home.html

         *** Friends don't let friends vote Democratic! ***
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