Honda and Toyota had a better chance because they had a longer time frame to do their work. They used incrementalism to full advantage and over time gained what they wanted to.
And it is funny because our current leaders have been using incrementalism to whittle away at our rights to bring us to where we are today. They did not take them from us over night, but gradually over time.
If Ron Paul was just looking for a personal victory, then he has a slim to none chance. But his ideas are still spreading. His book is a best seller. He is in the race until the convention. His goal is to awaken more and more people to what the government has become, and in that goal, he has some victory already as the TV3 cannot silence him.