I don't know how much energy it takes, but:

1. Do you?

2. America doesn't make all the cars in the world.

According to wikipedia, America made just over 12 million vehicles in FY2015, and India made just over 4 million.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_motor_veh...

I would also point out that India made MORE steel than the USA in the same period. Another polluting industry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_steel_pro...

3. The US has gone through similar stages of growth. Pollution in cities dropped as measures were taken to improve the quality of life over there, and as technology improved.

http://www.businessinsider.in/This-Old-Picture-Of-Manhattan-... .

4. None of the above matters.

That's the wrong metric you're looking at. If the US and India both stopped making cars or invested in lower pollution manufacturing methods, that would reduce the pollutant output. It would also reduce GDP.

Neither country is willing to sacrifice their growth and industry, and so the whole world chooses to keep boiling the frog.

I think the point being made is that America made harsher pollution laws to fix pollution internally, with the side effect that pollution was exported to factories that did the manufacturing (and polluting) in other nations.

Until very recently (in historic terms), America was the consumer of a large share of goods produced in those markets.

So I don't think you can say technology improvements are a prime reason for mfg pollution dropping in America. It is A reason, but not the only.