If you’ve read op-ed pages in newspapers lately or spent much time online, you’ve probably seen these complaints: Why can’t U.S. car buyers get the same high-miles-per-gallon vehicles that are sold in Europe? And why do U.S. automakers seem to make high-mpg cars elsewhere but not here? As late-night TV host Johnny Carson might have ...

You might think the Big Three would be the only automakers trying to buck regulations mandating fuel efficiency. Detroit, after all, is synonymous with “gas guzzler.” Guess again. Toyota took time off from making Prius hybrids recently to criticize an energy bill passed by the Senate that boosts mile-per-gallon targets for new ...