The curious paradox of American corporate lobbying
The main causes of the US motor industry’s current woes by now have been well established: soaring pension costs, crushing healthcare obligations, ossified management, uninspired car designs, clumsy marketing practices. Yet, amid all the analysis, one important factor has been overlooked: the industry’s own lobbying efforts. For more than 15 years, US carmakers have strenuously and successfully opposed efforts in Congress to raise fuel-efficiency standards. Thus freed, General Motors and Ford have directed their energy and talent into selling highly profitable
