  We examine the Standard Model under the electroweak symmetry group
$U_{EW}(2)$ subject to the Lie algebra condition $\mathfrak{u}_{EW}(2)\not\cong
\mathfrak{su}_{I}(2)\oplus \mathfrak{u}_{Y}(1)$. Physically, the condition
ensures that all electroweak gauge bosons interact with each other prior to
symmetry breaking. This represents a crucial shift in the identification of
physical gauge bosons: Unlike the Standard Model which posits a change of Lie
algebra basis induced by spontaneous symmetry breaking, here the basis is
unaltered and $A,\,Z^0,\,W^\pm$ represent the physical bosons both before and
after spontaneous symmetry breaking. Our choice of $\mathfrak{u}_{EW}(2)$
requires some modification of the matter field representation of the Standard
Model. For $U_{EW}(2)$, there are two pertinent representations ${\mathbf{2}}$
and its $U(2)$-conjugate ${\mathbf{2^c}}$ related by a global gauge
transformation that squares to minus the identity. The product group structure
calls for strong-electroweak degrees of freedom in the
$(\mathbf{3},\mathbf{2})$ and the $(\mathbf{3},{\mathbf{2^c}})$ of
$SU_C(3)\times U_{EW}(2)$ that possess integer electric charge just like
leptons. These degrees of freedom play the role of quarks, and they lead to a
modified Lagrangian that nevertheless reproduces transition rates and cross
sections equivalent to the Standard Model. The close resemblance between quark
and lepton electroweak doublets suggests a mechanism for a speculative phase
transition between quarks and leptons that stems from the product structure of
the symmetry group. Our hypothesis is that the strong and electroweak bosons
see each other as a source of decoherence. In effect, lepton representations
get identified with the $SU(3)$-trace-reduced quark representations. This
mechanism allows for possible extensions of the Standard Model that don't
require large inclusive multiplets of matter fields.
