No , the DOT did , thanks to their regulations being shadowwritten by Detroit . Each time that the diesel tech could meet the cleanliness standards , they raised them so that they couldn ' t import any vehicles . One of these was the deliberately slow rollout of low sulphur diesel at the pumps . The Big 3 had also tried to block the Japanese hybrids with a DOT crafted rule proposal that all vehicles with fuelelectrics be required to have a expensive racing grade fuel cell to prevent fires during accidents . ToyotaHonda ' s response to the rule change proposal was paraphrasing We think that this is a WONDERFUL proposal , although we do note that since all automobiles have electrical systems starters , headlights , etc it applies to ALL vehicles , not just hybrids . Golly , that hidden trade barrier rule change proposal mysteriously disappeared . And given how VW is getting crucified while we still have knowndefective airbags in GM other vehicles , it ' s the height of hypocrisy . hh