Mexico bans used cars from America - except for 1998 models

It was come to my attention recently that the president of Mexico, Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa, is an avid AutoblogGreen reader. Just the other day we mentioned that gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing, used American cars were flooding the streets of Mexico, creating the conditions for impending environmental disaster. Well, the good president obviously read the post and quickly made an astute decision. Ban this horde of iron invaders! One bold decision and everybody's happy, no? The environmentalists are happy, the Asociacion Mexicana de Distribuidores de Automotares,AC is happy. Everybody's happy. Well, everybody except for the poor used car dealers. So, in a move of stunning political adeptness the likes of which had not been seen since el revolución, an exception was made. Since 1998 was such an exceptional year in automotive styling, let them continue to send 1998 models - and only those - down. That'd be cool. Now everybody's happy.

[Source: Associated Press with an H / T to commenter Phil L.]