I'm a regular reader of Seth Godin - an Internet marketing guru. This past week in his post "Do you have to be anti-change to be pro-business?," Seth makes a case for struggling companies to "change the game" and succeed on new terms. Of note in the WorldChanging context is the comment that Seth makes about American auto manufacturers:

If I were Ford Motor, I'd lobby as hard as possible for the strictest emissions regime in the world. If you're losing the game, change the rules. Start over. Be the only major car company to produce 100% zpev or hybrid cars.

So - my question is, why doesn't this happen? Whether its US firms or Asian, as evidenced by the nearly exhaustive list of car companies that have sued the CARB, nobody is willing to step out of line more than a little and change the game. With the profile of hybrids, electric cars, climate change, foreign oil dependence, and gas prices, as well as the precarious position of the American auto industry, you'd figure this would be the time for either an American company to make the leap and stick it to Toyota and Honda, or for Toyota or Honda to make the leap and put the final nails in GM & Ford's coffins.