Angela Merkel learned early in her political career that taking on the German car industry carries risks. It was the spring of 1995 and the newly appointed environment minister was trying to convince her cabinet colleagues to back a bold new set of anti-smog rules that included tougher speed limits and summer driving bans. Wissmann’s argument won the day, reducing Merkel to tears, according to a 2010 biography by Gerd Langguth.