Those are good points. However...
I recall very well the last round of increased Federal fuel efficiency and safety standards. Some of my car buddies (enthusiasts who have made “automotive” their vocation in one way or another: some are engineers, all are very knowledgeable regarding the “tech”, and are all quite successful people) and I were discussing the then proposed requirements. I asked, basically, “Given these standards, how on earth are the “Big Three” going to be able to make affordable, reliable cars that an average person can afford? Is the “tech” there?” The answers were basically “can’t be done” and “no”. (This is not to say that the “tech” is not impressive — the fuel efficiency some fairly hefty vehicles get, these days, is almost amazing, given their size. But, even that comes with reliability and other compromises aside from the $$ costs. Some compromises are non-tech, too: The roof of our Ford Explorer is so thin it’s scary. And it’s an “’08”.)
Anyway, at the time, the auto mfgr’s went along with the new requirements with barely a squawk. I can almost see why the players like Subaru, Toyota, etc., would go along, as their competitive advantage would increase. But why could not Ford, for example, take 5% of the huge advertising budget that they use to oversaturate the market, and explain to consumers that the new standards would force them to move production of some models out of the US? It’s not like Ford execs are too stupid to realize it...
In the two fields where they were used...law enforcement and livery...the replacement vehicle if choice was an SUV, which gets much worse fuel economy.