This is an interesting question. It would be nice to get an industry insider to provide a reply. In the meantime, there could be several reasons.
Testing.
Car companies usually take a long amount of time testing their products in other markets before introducing them to the incredibly competitive US market. This extended testing period could be driven by:
1. Fear of lawsuits.
US law is very lawsuit friendly because unlike most of the rest of the world, the loser often
does not have to pay the other guy's legal costs.
2. Modern cars are very complex.
Look at
this thread from yesterday. For '09 the smart changed something with the auto wiper function and the function is draining cars so that they will not start the next day. People are complaining and I quote:
«When a large and I mean "large" corporation produces something and then sends it out unfinished....well that is just...
so wrong...»
We are talking about a secondary or tertiary function in a minuscule optional controller here. These cars are sold
worldwide and yet this error has only now been identified and the company is working on fixing it.
Now imagine
a similar software or hardware error on a critical, used-at-every-stoplight function. People would be screaming from the rooftops because (according to them) "it... would be...
so wrong". The lawsuits would not be far behind.
3. Regulation.
The body of law that impacts cars runs hundreds of thousands of pages long, is issued by multiple regulatory bodies including CARB, EPA, DOT, NHTSA and who knows who else. The Micro-Hybrid impacts driveline. Lord knows what certification, re-certification, re-classing, compliance, CAFEing, homologation, or what not is required? These things cost millions. If the initial design that is certified is later found to be defective, you may have to amend, appeal, file revised, give up your firstborn, who knows?
4. Range
The US is a large country encompassing climates from arctic to tropical. Fuels vary from county to county (due to EPA regulations). For all we know Micro-Hybrid is
perfect for template Euro-Jap markets at 95 RON non-ethanol gasoline. What if the darned things conk out in Arizona heat at unleaded gas with 10% ethanol fuel instead of good 'ole European 1% MTBE? (The engine is stopping every few minutes so what if gases start to build up due to unexpected volatility and kill re-ignition? Welcome to lawsuit territory!
Finally, it is important to remember that several cars in Europe already stop and restart and every stop light. But not in the US. I am sure Daimler and Penske are trying to figure out if they really want to be the guinea pig. Can they afford the lawsuits?
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