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Iran War and rescue of pilot of downed F15-E in mountainous terrain in southern Iran April 4 2026. CSAR or Search and Rescue Missions become a critical part of the war. The pilot was a colonel trained for the mission and spent 24 hours in mountainous terrain which was monitored by US forces, after intelligence located him in a mountain crevice. For this to be possible unlike in the Vietnam War and Korean War other nations are not involved as in the earlier Cold War.  The US under DJT as president has shifted to respecting Russia as a Northern European power that it can talk with (meetings with Putin in Alaska 2025) and China as a trade partner (planned meeting in Beijing in April 2026) that it can talk with unlike with previous administrations of Biden, Obama and Bush where China had afree hand in economic matters and global trade and Russia was shut out of the world economic system by elites who ran the government in the US at that time. Russia seeks reintegration in the world political and economic systems, and China seeks acceptance as an economic power which the US respects, both points in which the US has offered to accept. US has also repeated the line to China that it was not going to do the job of keeping Hormuz open for China and Japan to get 90% of oil imports, and in oding so risk losing its soldier's lives, while China and Japan can quietly watch doing nothing to help free navigation of international waters. Note that the narrowest strip of water of 13 miles separates Oman from Iran so that a part of these waters are on the Omani side and not on the Iranian side making free use of that Omani part under international law possible- in which sense Iranian hostile activity closing the Omani side also is a violation of free navigation. This is not pointed out by Iran or Japan or even Britain who are benefitting from US action and remaining silent or being ambivalent or accusing US of being interventionist even when everyone knows MAGA base rejected Bush in the Republican party and the elites and embraced DJT for great part because they want nothing to do with interventionist adventures in the Middle East for certain. US is getting a bum rap from European allies and from China, India, Japan and the media inside the US and in those countries as if the US seeks oil from the Middle East. It was Britain where a lot of the posturing goes on about non intervention that started this oil based intervention since 1900 in Iran itself, and in artificial states of Iraq, Syria, that it created out of the collapsed Ottoman Empire in World War 1. Sykes and Picot were the US and French diplomats who set that up. US under DJT has accomplished self sufficiency in oil and US has no need for anything from the Middle East, no desire to even get involved, and MAGA well grasps that fact and wants to keep it that way. Only nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles with long range to hit US and EU are reason for US action, which is reason enough for EU, China, Russia to set their own goals so that non proliferation in dangerous areas is prevented. So that the people of China, Russia, India, Europe and the rest of the world can enjoy the fruits of their own labors after a century of severe hardships and struggles which the American people if not their elites respect, and the fruits of peaceful cooperation which the American people extend to the World, and to China, Russia and India. ...

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There is a price for a socialist state run society adopting capitalism without understanding it. Russia experienced this in the 1990's as the Soviet system collapsed and the capitalist system took its place by 1990 with flagrant abuses. Only to be stabilized in the Putin years till the war in Ukraine affected the Russian economy. China avoided this fate by continuing its accelerated path to industrialization till the 2009 financial crisis. But hidden in its seemingly successful modernization effort was the role of LGFV's and selling of land to support the LGFV's. Local governments did not take on debt themselves, they passed on the debt to Local Government Financing Vehicles LGFV's- about 8 trillion dollars of debt 80%-90% not serviceable for interest payments, zombie status requiring borrowing for annual spending.  Most city councils or mayors did not understand these vehicles were debt and some even asked "do we have to pay it back?" LGFV's were not understood by mayors and city councils brought up under a socialist state run economy. They used it to follow the central government in Beijing's orders to come up with projects to boost growth year after year to rates of growth of 10% in the 1990's and 2000's, heedless of the risks because they never really understood the capitalist system and its pitfalls.  As long as land could be sold there was some revenue for local governments and room for shifting $8 trillion in debt to other LGFV's. Once the construction industry collapsed and companies went bankrupt their were few buyers for land. The central government cannot take on some of this $8 trillion in debt. As a result China is now facing what the Russians faced - a crisis from lack of grasp of the severe pitfalls of capitalism when its risks are not understood for economies that were in the 20th century experiencing upheavals, wars and then socialist state run economies. What this means is that the Chinese economy will slow, has no choice but to slow down for the next decade to find solutions to this debt overhang over its economy and industrial plans. It also means China's support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict is also problematic for China's internal growth to meet the aspirations of its people. As long as the administration in the US continues to pursue its own economic policies for growth as Biden has done by investing in the American economy, it will have the opportunity to lead the free world and be able to hold out hope for aspirations of countries and regions such as India, Africa and Latin America. ...

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The government sets a goal of reducing the number of automakers in China from 70 currently to a much smaller number by 2015. With slower growth in the Chinese market, 55 of these companies sell only 11% of the total cars sold, and no sales for 10 manufacturers. Foreign car companies are investing heavily and control 58% of the 18 million cars sold in China. Domestic car companies are faring poorly. Cherry sales dropped by 30% in November 2011 acccording to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Changan, Guangzhou Automobile Group and BYD have seen sales declines of 10% in 2011 for domestic sales.

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Indian prime minister Modi speaks to a special session of parliament on the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement. Modi says by 1942 conditions were right for the goal of independence declared by the Quit India Movement and its leader Mahatma Gandhi. He suggested a slogan in Hindi for "we will do and surely will do" to overcome corruption, illiteracy and poverty. For 2017 to 2022 five year period he suggested taking the resolve for "Sankalp se Siddhi." Making the good thoughts happen. Modi told parliament that just as in 1942 the global conditions are favorable for India today.

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The renewal of America requires new leadership at the helm of America's institutions for higher learning when men's enrollment in college education is endangered as reported in WSJ. This WSJ report shows presidents choosing to retire at Dartmouth, NYU, Columbia, U Penn, MIT. Lee Bollinger is 75, he started at Columbia as president in 2002. He helped raise $13 billion and expanded the 13 acre Manhattanville campus. Yet what does it say for so many college presidents when during the period when they raised vast sums of money and during the last 2 decades college education is harder and harder to afford for ordinary Americans? During the pandemic WSJ reports in 2021 even show that American men are having a hard time paying for college education and rates of enrollment are dropping for men to alarming levels. Never before in America's history has it been said that American men are becoming endangered for higher education. One rarely hears college presidents talk about these social issues that are top and center for ordinary Americans. It is not just Columbia or what are called Ivy League institutions, most of the leading colleges in America have forgotten why they are here in the first place and what made America what it was and again can be, a land of opportunity for all. It is time for anew generation of leaders in American higher education to dedicate themselves to this task - so that we hold these rights to be self-evident, to renew America in the face of many challenges and set a model for the free world. ...

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The 2022 industrial trade fair in Hanover, Hanover Messe, is covered here in DW.com with 2500 exhibitors showing how they are responding to a changed world after the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine with support from China. Export oriented companies have to rethink their strategy says Thilo Brodtmann, the executive director of the German Engineering Federation, Supply chain disruptions and the pandemic have led to many German companies reexamining their reliance on Chinese suppliers. Human rights and democracy are now part of the reorienting of business in a new direction. The war in Ukraine is also having an impact. Reducing CO2 emissions is also a major part of the reexamination. Chancellor Scholz told the Hanover Fair at the opening ceremony -"We need to bring along with us emerging and developing countries, whose demographics and economic dynamics are turning them into new centers of power." Brodtmann says the solution is "to become independent and to have a completely different value chain." The head of the German Associaltion of Electrical and Electronics Industry Wolfgang Weber says "I'm quite sure that German companies are ready to invest in any of these countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa to diversify their supply chains." However such new markets are not very well represented at the Hanover Fair, so that policymakers and German business have a lot of work to do to open up new markets across the world in Asia, Latin America and Africa. India, Indonesia and Vietnam are considered to offer good prospects for diversifying Germany's supply chain and a lot of work needs to be done. ...

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Keir Starmer and the Labor party's plans for Britain are laid out in this interview in The Observer. He says "This will be a bold and reforming Labor government bringing about real change, that I hope will be felt through the generations." On the 13 years of Tory Conservatives in government- "It is important that everybody asks themselves: am I better off now than when this government started 13 years ago? Is the health service working better? Have my wages gone up in real terms? Is the criminal justice system better? Is anything better? And the answer to those questions is going to be no, no, no, no, no, no." On change even though Labor will be fiscally savy and prudent- "So therefore we need change. We have to be the party of change. Are we going to inherit a very broken country including the economy? Yes, we are. I accept that. But I don't accept that that means we can't inject real purpose and meaning into change." Starmer wants to get the economy of Britain growing again. He plans to do this by making Britain a world leader in a green industrial revolution and through redistributing power to the regions to take advantage of opportunities to tackle climate change. "Clean. energy by 2030 is critically essential. And we will be part of the global race in renewables." "There is a theory of growth that you grow London and the southeast even faster and redistribute to the rest of the country. I reject that model, as I want growth in every part of the country." Home ownership for first timers- "I want Labor to be the party of home ownership." Starmer wants to build 300,000 houses every year and first time buyers given preference, no foreign buyers.  ...

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The new J.D. Powers Quality Survey put out in Feb 2013 showed the Lexus, Toyota, Mercedes, Buick, Chevrolet, Lincoln and Dodge Ram brands performing at the top level in number of problems reported by owners of 3 year old vehicles. Land Rover, Jeep and VW brands did poorly. Most of the Chrysler Dodge cars performed poorly. The redesign of vehicles initiated by Fiat Chrysler CEO Marchionne does not show up in this study. The redesigned Jeep and other vehicles will show in next years study. The study also showed buyers of economy vehicles were likely to switch easily when buying another car. New models are showing fewer problems and are more dependable compared to previous years, with the average number of problems declining from 170 per 100 vehicles in 2009, to 132 in 2011, and 126 in 2012.

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Create small, more transparent financial institutions out of the big banks by breaking these big banks up and selling them to private equity. These big banks are too big to save, too big to manage, andprone to taking excessive risk, thus damaging the economy. Craft policy and antitrust laws so that no financial firms become too large, as this has been proven to create risks for the whole economy. Do this by dividing banks up regionally or by type of business. TARP simply contimues the old game of big banks and financial institutions. These are the views of Paul Krugman and Simon Johnson presented to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress on April 21, 2009. Also on the panel Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig who said policy measures have focussed too heavily on propping up big institutions like AIG.

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Most people hae not heard the name Radhabinod Pal the sole dissenting judge at the Allied Tribunal who questioned its legitimacy in a dissenting opinion. Here we learn that Judge Pal's opinion sealed a friendship between him and Abe's grandfather Nobusuke Kishi charged with war crimes but never tried. Mr Abe visited the Netaji Subhas Bose museum in Calcutta and said that he was determined to strengthen Japanese Indian bilateral relations that Bose wanted to see. Appears to be an emotional bond and a visit that aroused old feelings from a family tie for Abe. Note that India and Japan vowed to seal a economic partnership by December. Small as this seems this may be a big turning point for South Asia. See the details of the Japanese investment plans in India especially in infrastructure projects in related article.

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Heathrow was built haphazardly as traffic increased since its opening in 1946, with a capacity to handle 45 million passengers at its 4 terminals it was congested and handled 68 million annually. The building of Terminal 5 will ease congestion and increase capacity by 45% making a big difference for British Airways which will operate out of T5 and a big difference in baggage handling ( a million bags weren't ready for passengers at destination in 2006), in the lounges and lounge environments for waiting passengers 2500 at a time) ., and after an annex is built by 2010 passengers will not have to be taken by bus to waiting planes. other airports like Schipol with 4 runways compared to Heathrow's 2 and built with a better layout and plan, and airports in Asia of Singapore Airlines and in the Middle East at Doha are upgrading so BA will only be doing what places are doing. Because the terminal hangups have been costly for British Airways leading to a shrinking of about 20% of its flight network, as it concentrated more on upscale customers, and lost passengers to more efficient airlines., ithe cost will likely be paid off quickly for BA. Demand. is so high at Heathrow that a pair of takeoff and landing spots can cost as much as $50 million and would be going up as Star Alliance and Skyteam member airlines move ito BA's old facilities. Considering the losses from th inefficient setup at the old terminal BA's estimate that T5 savings would cover its cost of 330 million pounds ($660 million) to equip the new building in in the next 10 years may even be understated. Of this 62 million pounds was spent on the new lounges. BA leases the T5 Terminal from Heathrow's BAA owned by Spain's Ferrovial SA, which spent $4.3 billion to build T5. ...

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In his commencement address to to 1000 cadets graduating from the US Military Academy at West Point, NY, DJT tells graduates to think big, take risks and hold on to the culture. He says president Dwight D. Eisenhower who graduated from West Point believed that it was important to think big the harder the challenge, as problems sometimes difficult to solve become easier to tackle when one thinks big at the larger problem. Other advice was to hold on to the momentum achieved in any task to move on to the next step which may lead to big results. And always living with thrifty habits and hard work that pays of with perseverance. A certain CEO of a large bank who has been around almost forever says most important in life is to go out and listen to people, talk to people, the only way to find out what is happening. He also says courtesy and humility are very important. These are not habits DJT mentioned at West Point but are very important in real life along with hard work and perseverance to achieve lasting results. ...

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Turkish Opposition alliance leader Kilicdaroglu, a civil servant who has acted with humility throughout his career leading the Republican party founded by Kemal Ataturk in 1923, says he will bring Turkey back into the European fold. He would do this by strengthening NATO and Turkey's participation in NATO, admitting Sweden, and by seeking membership in the European Union. He tells a huge crowd in Istanbul:   "There are 5.3 million people who will go to the ballot box for the first time and cast their votes, and they want freedom and democracy... This fact is very important for us, for Turkey, for the European Union of which we are trying to be a member, and for western civilization." The last line "for western civilization" is striking as Turkey now and its younger generation sees itself as part of western civilization, of the EU and the US. Modernization of Turkey happened after Kemal Ataturk became president in 1923 and Turkey's identity has been forged as part of Europe in the twentieth century. It is now returning to its roots from the period before the Renaissance in Europe. ...

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As winter approaches pollution reaches dangerous levels in New Delhi causing a public health emergency. Millions of anti-pollution masks are now distributed at schools, colleges, hospitals and local markets. As the weather cools a thick haze from car emissions and coal power plants builds up over New Delhi making it hard to see. The cool weather appears to trap the pollutants in northern India against the Himalayan mountains creating a stifling haze. Construction dust and smoke from paddy crop burned in the Punjab adds to the problem. This year it is getting worse than ever. Pollution levels are about 20 times what is considered healthy by the WHO. The air quality index hit 494 on November 3, 2019. Some parts of the city hit 1000 on the index. Over 500 is considered dangerous and "hazardous" to health. The government of Delhi and the state and federal authorites have taken some action to close schools, ban work at construction sites, implemented odd even license plates rule for cars entering New Delhi. A survey shows about 40% of residents of New Delhi wanted to move to some other city, and 16% want to travel this time of the year to escape pollution. ...

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This BBC report shows how much has changed with Germany's erstwhile leaders. From 1998 to 2005 Mr. Gerhard Schroeder was head of the German government. His ties with Russian leaders and Gazprom have led to severe criticism in Germany. He survived an effort this week to remove him from the local chapter of the Social Democrat Party. He now faces a loss of his office and staff and other privileges in the German parliament. The Budget committee of parliament says "he no longer upholds the continuing obligations of his office," says this report. Mr. Schroeder has filed a suit against the German parliament in the Berlin Administrative Court. This BBC report shows how things are changed in 2022- Merkel, Schroeder, Steinmeier and other politicians of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats face intense public skepticism of their role in a situation where Germany faces a cold winter with gas rationing. It is the Greens with Robert Habeck who are faced with the hard work of finding the energy to meet the shortfall and to build back on renewable energy to fight climate change. Very little was done under the previous administrations it now appears, as the public looks back with regret. ...

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The Jal Jeevan Mission (tap water for all), Swacch Bharat Mission (Clean India), cooking gas for rural women, digital bank accounts for all, and other projects pushed forward by Mr. Modi are changing life for India's 1.3 billion people. Gati Shakti is a master plan for integrated development of infrastructure by bringing in all ministries of federal and local governments together to work together in an overall plan. Because of the new digital capabilities in 2021, and large technical capabilities India is witnessing development in a way that is unprecedented. Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state in the north with a population of 230 million, is the focus of a major development transformation through infrastructure building with determined effort at the state and federal levels. For the first time Mr. Modi is ensuring projects are part of a master plan for transforming the country making certain projects get done on time, efficiently and without leakage of funds. The best evidence of this delivery of services is the vaccination drive with nearly 1.4 billion people vaccinated. And projects to complete new vaccine development including mRNA vaccine that does not require cold storage, and is easier to provide. ...

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is pushing for a large pandemic stimulus package to ensure the recovery of ordinary Americans after suffering through this pandemic. Yellensays: "We need to make sure that people aren't going hungry in America, that they can put food on the table, that they're not losing their homes and ending up out on the street because of evictions. We really need to address those forms of suffering, and I think we should'nt compromise on it." Mr. Biden has a $1.9 trillion stimulus package for the pandemic related recovery to relieve suffering people and businesses. Yellen and Biden feel it is really important to do this immediately. A recent picture in the NYT shows Stephen Schwarzmann of American finance with Mr. Trump showing him as one who stuck with Mr. Trump to the end. Much of this play as Shakespeare calls it, is the result of Democrats of the old tradition like Yellen trained by economists from the New Deal and Johnson era, who have not walked the talk and forgotten the suffering of American workers. Yellen held a Conference on Equality at a branch of the Federal Reserve during her time at the Fed, used strong language about the neglect of American workers but did little under the Clinton or Obama administration about the underlying structures of tech and shift of American jobs overseas that led to the destruction of America's manufacturing. Today they are faced with the picture of food insecurity in American homes once a situation that afflicted China and India. ...

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Even with the growth strategies of the Abe administration in 2014, projections of the IMF show growth rate for Japan are at 1.0% for 2015, compared to 3% for the U.S., 2.5% for UK, and 1.6% for Germany. The Third Arrow in prime minister Abe's Three Arrows program now follows the implementation of the other two Arrows- monetary easing and public works spending. Abe is faced with the task of convincing foreign and domestic investors that he can implement a winning growth strategy for Japan. The plan announced in June 2014 is an effort to overcome barriers to growth with a strategy that will work. The core of the plan is to cut the corporate tax rate from 35.64% to below 30% in the next couple of years. The corporations are expected to do their part to improve corporate governance and return on equity, so that shareholders, domestic and foreign investors, have more incentives to invest in the Japanese stock market. Analysts and economists say this plan has attractive features. It asks Japanese companies to increase ROE and ROI to global levels through a Tokyo Stock Exchange corporate governance code. Companies listed on TSE and not following the code will have to come up with reasons why they are failing to do so. Some analysts say this would increase the value of companies. Companies are more likely to make investments with cash that is not being invested. The plan includes measures for bringing more women into the workforce, which is seen as a serious committment to women. In addition to increasing the number of child care centers, this plan includes tax revisions that benefit women joining the workforce. Increased representation for women at the executive level is also part of this plan. Hiroshige Seko, a top adviser to Abe, says importance was given to execution for results, so that a score of 80 with definite results was preferred to an uncertain attempt to get a 100. To do this some compromises were made. The plan for special economic zones is still in the drafting stage as discussion is just beginning. A shakeup of the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives and more flexible medical care will be taken up gradually. The efforts to increase ROI, ROE, and improve corporate governance were initiated from the time of the Koizumi administration, and the latest plan may bring results after over a decade of effort in this direction....

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The system of using performance evaluations for "forced" or "stack" ranking of employees started with Jack Welch at General Electric. Microsoft adopted the system under Ballmer till 2013, when it decided that the need for teamwork was more important and discontinued the practice. Welch used it to get rid of "underperformers" or managers who did not conform to his requirements when he became CEO of General Electric. It was his personal style and way of bringing change to GE. The practice of "forced" ranking increases competition inside the company instead of teamwork, say managers, and leaves a lot to the caprice of individual managers. In December 2013 Ballmer facing criticism from his Board for missing some of the disruptive technologies in the information tech business and falling behind Apple and Google, sought the advice of Alan Mulally of Ford Motor Company. Mulally had to fight entrenched Japanese competitors and pull Ford out of a crisis in which even Ford's logo had been put up as collateral for loans. Meeting for 4 hours on Mercer Island in Seattle Mulally told Ballmer that he focussed on teamwork and simplifying the way Ford did things. Ballmer phased out the "forced" ranking system as one of the last major steps before he leaves Microsoft. In today's environment for tech companies of intense competition worldwide and disruptive technologies without teamwork and employees looking to come up with new and exciting products the future is surely lost. Having the "bottom" 50% of the employees compete for limited positions can be dangerous or suicidal without the dominant position in markets that GE and Microsoft had. It also makes no sense to substitute internal competition and capricious manager behaviours for teamwork. It is the responsibility of managers to do as much as possible to make good hiring decisions, and then motivate and help employees to achieve their best performance with frequent helpful feedback, and to promote teamwork. This is the lesson Ford learned through its crisis and Microsoft is now learning....

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Wha is life like for a grocer, a food store owner in a rural county in America. Frank Timberlake in this story is a former law enforcement officer running a store in Northhampton County, North Carolina. He looks after his employees, and his customers in this rural county.  Rich Square Market is the only grocery store in this town. He is all on his own as he deals with supplies of expensive Charmin toilet paper, or shortage of paper towels, and the rising price of eggs.

His worries- if one worker get sick the rest are quarantined. He has kept the store open through hurricanes, floods, yet this is tough. He jumps when he sneezes, sleeps in a separate room at home, and can't hold his wife's hand.

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A call from German chancellor Angela Merkel to the Greek president to hold a referendum on Greece's participation in the eurozone. Political parties in Greece denounced it as considering Greece a "protectorate" coming from the Syriza party, to calling it "unacceptable from the New Democracy party. Karel De Gucht, trade commissioner of the EU, and Olli Rehn commissioner of economic affairs, issue conflicting statements. Gucht says the EU and ECB are working on preparations for Greece's exit, and Rehn says that this in not the case, that Greece is staying in.

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Apple offers a new way to buy iPhones directly from Apple with financing in September 2015. This will change the way iPhones are sold, giving more control over the sale of iPhones to Apple. It will enable Apple to stabilize core sales for iPhones by encouraging upgrades every year. The monthly payments are $32.41 for 2 years for the cheapest iPhone. Apple is taking aim at the average upgrade time which is increasing- it went up to 26.3 months in 2015 from 18.2 months in 2010, according to a telecom consultant. With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales surged for Apple in the first 3 quarters of 2015 by 50% from the prior year period. It will be harder for Apple to generate this kind of sales increase as the new iPhones introduced in September 2015- the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have better cameras and "3-D Touch," only incrementally different. A 16 gigabyte iPhone 6s would cost $778, about the same as the $649 price and Apple Care coverage of $129. The way iPhones were sold through wireless carriers kept the price hidden with higher wireless service charges- 2 years of a Verizon wireless 3 gigabye data plan ended up costing users twice the amount of the $649 price of the iPhone. Now the competition among wireless carriers will shift to pricing cuts and changing their pricing strategies. The result of the changes is likely to be increasing shifts from one carrier to another as Apple allows direct buyers to choose the carrier they want....

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Analysts raised questions about the 57% of IPO shares in the Facebook IPO that are being sold by private holders. By comparison the figure was 28% for Google and 38% for LinkedIn.

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The House-Senate conference report contains $1 billion for the cash for clunkers program. It provides funding through the end of the current fiscal year September 30, 2009. It is expected to result in 250,000 better mileage cars being put on the road. Originally the House had voted in facvor of a $4 billion 2 year program. To qualify older trade-in vehicles must be driveable, insured by the same owner for at least one year prior to the trade-in, have been manufactured in the 1984 model year or later, and have a city-highway combined fuel rating of 18 mpg or less. Vouchers are baed on the mileage of the new vehicle compared with the old and can be worth upto $4500.

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Highlighted green for fuel economy miles per gallon information and green for types of vehicles sold and the mix which is weighted towards bigger vehicles. More than 55% of all new vehicles purchased in 2005 were minivans, pickup trucks, vans or SUVs, says R.L. Polk, an auto-data provider in Southfield, Mich. Despite gas prices topping $3 a gallon in California and other parts of the country, light trucks have outsold passenger-car vehicles for the first six months of this year, making up 52.5% of total vehicle sales, according to Autodata Corp. The average fuel economy of new 2006 models was virtually flat with a year ago at 21 miles per gallon, according to the latest EPA report, despite the increasing deployment of technologies such as systems that shut off cylinders in V-8 engines and six-speed transmissions. The incremental gains from those technologies were offset by consumers, who continued to buy lower-mileage minivans, pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles....