ir well-being. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created standards for new cars called emission standards, which prevent excess carbon monoxide from being released into the atmosphere. There has been much talk of creating international standards to regulate the automobile and recently some progress has been made. Many nations including the US and Japan has become active participants in the Group of Experts on the Construction of Vehicles, of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE/WP29), the principal international forum for harmonization issues. (Hoovers Online) The future of the automobile industry looks rather stable. More than ever, international competition will keep individual companys sales from soaring. Cost efficiency is a major issue with todays car manufacturing, as is expanding into developing countries. The Far East and Latin America are expected to be the source of most new profits and demand in the years ahead. The current global car market is expected to grow from about 44 million vehicles sold per year to 64 million by 2002. (Hoovers Online) The automobile industry is also spending great amounts of time and money in developing new cars and luxuries to offer their customers. Like in airplanes, car makers are looking into placing a black box in each car to record valuable information in case of a car accident. Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems was a government sponsored study analyzing traffic patterns and ways to improve motor transportation. Creating environmentally safe vehicles is also a major concern. Companies are looking into solar powered, battery-operated, and electric cars, plus a new technology that converts liquid hydrogen into electricity. All these new low emission automobiles are still under development, but many prototypes are expected to reach the market by 2003-2004. The rise of computer technology in todays society has greatly affected the automobile industry. Global Positio...
