In opposing the 1970 Clean Air Act, the United States automobile industry argued that meeting the act' s standards for automobile emissions was neither economically feasible nor environmentally necessary. However, the catalytic converter, invented in 1967, enabled automakers to meet the 1970 standards efficiently. Currently, automakers are lobbying against the government' s attempt to pass legislation that would tighten restrictions on automobile emissions. The automakers contend that these new restrictions would be overly expensive and unnecessary to efforts to curb air pollution. Clearly, the automobile industry' s position should not be heeded. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the method used to counter the automakers' current position? ['Evidence is provided that the new emissions legislation is both economically feasible and environmentally necessary.', 'A flaw is pointed out in the reasoning used by the automakers to reach their conclusion.', "A comparison is drawn between the automakers' current position and a position they held in the past.", "The automakers' premises are shown to lead to a contradiction."]