Having the buy cameras for each new car means they can buy them in bulk. This will naturally lower prices. The camera doesn't have to be particularly high resolution so relative to the cost of a car it'll be entirely insignificant.
Additionally, a lot of car manufacturers were going this way regardless. Toyota and Ford certainly were.
My guess this was just a way for the Democratic wing of the corporate party to lessen the fallout.
I did a little digging and came up with the proposal itself, which you can find
here.
Of notice is that they're not going to put it forward until 60 days after it's entered into the Federal Register. You can give feedback on the proposal
here
The timeframe for implementation, if the proposal is accepted goes like this:
• 0% of the vehicles manufactured before September 1, 2012;
• 10% of the vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2012, and before
September 1, 2013; 12
• 40% of the vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2013, and before
September 1, 2014; and
• 100% of the vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2014.
Comparisons with the success of other auto-safety programs can be shown below:
Thanks, I hope this helps.