You’re right that the rest of the world accepts these standards as a default, and that there tend to be three versions of global cars.

I’m mostly responding to RobertFrankfurter, who was suggesting that the US regulations were created as a competitive barrier for foreign companies. In fact, the US automakers fought the safety and emissions regulations every step of the way, arguing that they would drive up the cost of their cars.

Further, many of these standards were developed well before the european union did the same — airbags, center-mounted brake lights and emissions regulations were implemented first in north america, and later in europe.

Of course, one can point to other regulations and equipment that exist in europe and other parts of the world, but which are not required in the US — the recent pedestrian design changes, and a number of lighting requirements (sidemarkers, rear fog lights, etc).

Ideally, of course, everyone would be on the same standard; but to point to safety standards as an intentional trade barrier in the same vein as a 30% import duty is pretty silly.

The US imposed safety and emissions standards before the rest of the world got around to it. You can argue whether they’re the right standards or not, but now the EU has one set of stringent standards, the US another, and no one has really forced them to unify them.

Can you give a single example of these standards being overlooked for domestic manufacturers?

Trying to get car production in and import out or hinder it as good as they can.

The USA achieved that by painstakingly imposing / enforcing “safety” standards to imported cars as well as taxing them heftily (actually often the cars where custom made for USA unsafe because of the need to fulfill stupid US regulations)

The US was successful with exactly the same scheme the russians are trying, only a bit more elegant.
Instead of only tax they imposed and enforced (shrewd special targeted to the imports only) safety regulations which where overlooked when a local producer entered the door.
Double standard is a costly thing for every producer and the US calculated that the producer would, often drawn by a “incentive” honeypot subsidizing to get the factory in their state, come over and produce here.

Today nearly all “foreign” cars are assembled within the USA
and most domestic brands in Mexico. :-)

but

What is completely blanket out in the whole discussion is the fact that in capitalism a company is not around to employ folks in first place but bring maximum benefit to the owner / shareholder. But this thinking was common knowledge before Russia went capitalistic and the USA the other way round.
Copying Stachanov and imposing a Commissar – car Tzar

Just remember, the final death blow to the old USSR was dealt not by the US, but by the collapse of high oil revenues. Those in power in the Soviet don’t want to see that happen again. Just watch what happens next over there. Especially if oil drops even further.

Stalin- the late car tzar was right all the way!

Thats the solution for our ailing car industry!
We just saved Detroit!

Hurraaahhh!

Wait -…
….are not the production sites of the big 3 mostly outside the US, mainly Mexico, the D3 companies true global players making profit only abroad and loss within the US ?

- and the mean foreign cars roaming our streets in the US (due to unmanageable technical regulations, equal to a blockade, on foreign car imports to the US) nearly all produced in the US?

shit…

Even the Soviet system could be of no help.