If I am not mistaken,the Big Three lobbyists were partly responsible for the loophole exempting light trucks,but there was and is a genuine need for light trucks.My folks raised five kids without a car,because they could not afford two vehicles and the farm simply could not function without a truck.We sardined into the cab,rode in the back,or stayed home.

The bosses in Detriot got together with the guys from Madison Avenue and convinced the typical suburbanite citizen that he really would morph into an alpha male if only he would pay two to three times the regular price for a truck tricked out like a car.

The profit margins were enormous.Suv and over decorated truck sales kept the production lines humming.The lower end of the auto market was more or less orphaned;money was available for styling changes and advertising,but not engineering.If not for that pesky CAFE thing,they might have just quit building lower end cars altogether.

Japanese cars kept getting better.The young folks who bought Cavaliers and Contours either new or second hand learned the hard way about gas mileage and maintainence/repair costs,but they did learn for the most part,and when they got a little older and more prosperous,they were not inclined to buy domestic makes again.OTOH,the typical buyer of a small,cheap ,cramped Toyota or Nissan ,new or used,was quite happy to buy the same make again,just a bigger and nicer version the next time around.

Detroit RIP

I'm not an auto expert,but I used to read all the good car mags,and this is a pretty good short summary of thier interpretation of the facts.