I'm no scholar, but I'll give you the KnockKnock-version of how we got to the sorry state of automotive affairs that we have today.
Turn signals became mandatory in '59 = good thing
Seat belts became mandatory in '65 = good thing
...and later seat belts became an enforced infraction of the law because of insurance companies = Crony capitalism / infringement of personal property rights = bad thing
By the same logic that put this mandate into law, we could easily outlaw motorcycles.
In 1970, auto companies were made to install full-width metal bumpers (bye-bye split-bumper Camaro) = huh?
Was this really a problem for the folks that bought '53-'67 Vettes (aside from the early RS Camaro what else had splits - a Jag maybe)? The government thought that it wasn't the fact that these cars came fully equipped with all the stuff you needed to rail tail, but it was the lack of a full bumper that was killing the drivers at break-neck speeds? ...at least they didn't outlaw horsepower.
The catalytic converter was standard on '68+ Cadillacs (that's why I believe people call them a "Cadillac converter" is not because people are as ignorant as I suspect [impossible] but because they were first widely used on Caddy's), and because people in California were getting sick & dying because of smog, they were made mandatory by law in '76 = good thing
The 70's gas-crunch put the auto-makers and the government into hysteria with the government beginning strict MPG, EPA, warranty and safety mandates, and the auto companies wondering where all the extra cash for R&D is going to come from, which eventually lead to the ugly 80's with the demise of the muscle car long in the rear-view, flag-ship Camaros & Mustangs putting down dismal HP numbers with the only driven survivors twenty years later being those that were gutted of all their asphyxiating and trouble-plagued emissions garb, and brought back to gas-guzzling basics, and ever since the cars that we once knew and loved, were dead & gone forever = bad thing
Does the government not think that if the consumer wanted all that safety-stuff, that companies would make it, but we wouldn't buy it - ask Volvo. Would someone that wants a fuel efficient car actually go buy one? Ask the guy that drives a Smart. Meanwhile try to find a V-8 half-ton pickup with a manual trans. At one point in time, there were so many American auto manufacturers out there that you could buy just about any configuration your heart desired. Any chance of anyone here opening a new car company? ...ever thought about why not? There's not a shortage of willing workers; it's the thousands of pages of legislation and impossible mandates that would prevent the backyard builder from ever going pro.
The government has over-stepped so many bounds that no one is even paying attention anymore. The government will continue to tell us what kind of car, with what features, warranty, and mileage we have to buy until we all own 2.5HP enviro-plastic golf-carts that run on dreams & laughter, but they'll lose so much tax revenue from the decline in gas usage, that we'll all have to start paying an oxygen tax.
So what do we do about it?!
...go grumble about it on the forums, I guess ...that's what I did