Imported Cars

I read that Ford and General Motors requested relief from the federally mandated automobile mileage standards, the reason being that the American public wanted big gas-guzzling cars, not small high-mileage cares.

Later, I read that Japan plans to increase its volume of car imports to the U.S. next year, “shocking� the U.S. auto industry. Ford was quoted as saying, “It’s almost incredible that Japan would consider increasing the flood.� The flood, in this case, is of small high-mileage cars, which Japan does so well.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it seems to me there is a flaw somewhere in Ford’s and General Motor’s line of reasoning.

JOHN H. TERRELL

San Diego