Deja Vu all over again

"Coke doesn't give away the recipe for Coke," said Charlie Territo, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. "What this bill seeks to get is the recipe for Coke."

Yes, Charlie. But if I wanted to drink Pepsi, RC Cola, or any kind of generic cola, I could. When there is a specific car to fix that only you have info, the tools or the parts to fix, that is a monopoly. And this is one case where the monopoly needs to be broke up.

"Coke doesn't give away the recipe for Coke," said Charlie Territo, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. "What this bill seeks to get is the recipe for Coke."

Yes, Charlie. But if I wanted to drink Pepsi, RC Cola, or any kind of generic cola, I could. When there is a specific car to fix that only you have info, the tools or the parts to fix, that is a monopoly. And this is one case where the monopoly needs to be broke up.

*** There is a law which deals with "tying" of services or products. It is a federal concept. These people are nudging very close to it, but as these sleeze sleep with the congress, no action is likely.

Kruse wrote in news:f338ffdf-1e0a-4351-a370- snipped-for-privacy@21g2000vbh.googlegroups.com:

I believe there is a federal law that prevents automakers from collaborating on a common emissions-system design. It dates from the '70s.

I can't find a reference to it online just now, but I remember when the law was passed. House Speaker Tip O'Neill was warned that the steep expense of emissions development and certification might drive American Motors under. His response was, as I remember reading, "So be it".