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Bryon--If everyone wanted to buy those electric cars, why did state governments have to offer HUGE financial incentives to get them sold, and even then find they were an abysmal flop? They simply didn't appeal to enough people. Governments don't have to subsidize things that there is a ready market for.

The idea that car manufacturers want cars that require lots of maintenance defies logic. First of all, new cars have warranties. The cost of the maintenance doesn't help manufacturers one bit. And manufacturers simply don't make much money off of maintenance requirements of old cars. Second of all, the market isn't stupid. It doesn't reward manufacturers who make cars that break down over manufacturers who makes cars that don't. Consumers value quality and reliability. If markets worked the way you imply, capitalism would have failed many decades ago. And I don't understand how "requiring the most fuel" fits into even that indictment. How do car manufacturers benefit by selling cars that require more fuel? People don't say, "Hey! This one burns a TON of gas! I want it!"

Yes, people are suddenly wanting older cars because of the price of gas. Older cars weren't subjected to the same stringent emissions requirements, so the designs were different. Plus, the cost of gas was low until recently, so fuel efficiency wasn't a major market concern. But then two things happened: one, government regulations basically put a stop to the construction of any new refineries to meet growing fuel demands, and two, China's economy began expanding rapidly, greatly increasing demand for oil on the international market. Now that the cost of gasoline has risen, the market will address it and individual people will make individual buying decisions based on trade-offs decided by them, not by the government.