Environment: Exhaustive Test for Detroit

Although all U.S. manufacturers are now worried about pollution controls, no industry is more concerned—or has better reason to be—than the automakers. Under the Clean Air Act of 1970, Detroit's 1975 models must be built to emit 90% less of both carbon monoxide and gaseous hydrocarbons than is given off by 1970 cars; by the 1976 model year, emissions of nitrogen oxides must be reduced by a similar amount. If Detroit fails to meet these deadlines, the Federal Government can close the industry down. As a result, the automakers have launched a crash program, investing both manpower and money ($250 million...