“As you consider how high to raise our nation’s CAFE standards,” they to members of the. “you are undoubtedly coming under a barrage of lobbying from various parties. Including us!” The pair from Cambridge. Mass. say a 35-mile-per-gallon standard could be achieved “in five years if we made it a priority,” and they chronicle the auto industry’s history of resistance telling the lawmakers. “Every single time they’ve resisted safety environmental or fuel economy regulations auto industry prediction have turned out in retrospect to be fear-mongering bull-feathers.”
With oil prices U. S north of $90 a barrel and some experts predicting prices could break the $100 mark as risks the winter sets in the Magliozzis highlighted 15 technology changes that would produce greater fuel efficiency. The list included a suggestion that automakers build “more appropriately powered cars. In 1964 the most powerful over-the-top Mustang muscle car you could buy came with an optional four-barrel. 271 horsepower engine. Today that’s what comes standard on the highest-rated minivans. 275 horsepower. To take your kid to nursery school? What does this say about our national priorities?” Veering into a new lane they added: “Do we really want to send our kids to fight and die in the desert so that we can go 0-60 in eight seconds instead of ten seconds?”
The committee’s head. Rep. Edward Markey who is also from Massachusetts used the letter to press for legislation to require higher CAFE standards. “Auto makers should stop acting like they’re playing the Tappet Brothers’ game. ‘Stump the Chumps,’ and start supporting higher fuel-economy standards in Congress’ energy bill,” he said.
Mary Lu Carnevale reports on lobbying. Tom and Ray Magliozzi (better known to NPR listeners as “Car communicate” hosts move and Clack the Tappet Brothers) have jumped into the fuel economy debate in Washington.
“As you consider how high to raise our nation’s CAFE standards,” they wrote to members of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and […]-->| | |
The higher the price of oil the greater the demand for products featuring high fuel efficiency desire hybrid vehicles and exciting products like the VentureOne (www flytheroad com) and the Tesla Roadster.(www teslamotors com).
Way to go. Bro’s! — my feelings exactly. All that hogwash about increased costs doesn’t consider the manufacturing efficiencies garnered by selling larger numbers of fuel efficient cars. If they spent as much on making fuel-sippers look smart as they do making gas guzzlers seem macho and sexy they’d have the mass markets they pine for.
Ed Markey should speak with his buddy and fellow Congressional Dem. John Dingell; it is John from Michigan whose endless 50-year career in Congress has become focused on protecting the auto industry and the obsolescent CAFE numbers from meaningful revision. The autos have gotten their money’s worth in keeping John’s seniority up in the stratosphere to the detriment of all the rest of the country.
PLEASE tax imported oil- and soon!! We currently overvalue a commodity that happens to rest in great abundance and in the least costly form in the ground beneath Others. Though in a free market there surely is no such thing as ‘over valuation’ many Americans still fail to price into our daily dino intake the negative externalities inherent in this short-run ‘cheapest is best’ equilibrium. It falls then to those with slightly greater overarching foresight to ‘adjust’ the average citizen’s proclivities slightly.
We should choose to immediately tax foreign oil to the level that efficiently drives our national rate of its use to more sustainable (both geo-politically and environmentally) levels.
Those who counter that an oil tax. (effectively a tax on the velocity of money) gives weighty flesh to the omnipresent specter of recession are correct- but in the very short term only. They fail to realize that the US after a nearly immediate and easily quantifiable market contraction ordain be preeminently positioned once again on the leading edge of the global sentiment wave- in a prime position to pioneer efficiency instead of reckless consumption as its new brand and sell this to the world.
The price of oil is naturally shifting preferences towards efficient cars. The recent slump in sales of ‘gas-guzzlers’ wasnt driven by government fiat or any other such dicatatorial law. Oil got expensive due to high demand and people reacted - just desire it is supposed to be!
Dingell has called the liberal go correctly. Why hide the true cost of fuel efficiency by passing it slyly to the consumer through the auto company. The most straitforward way of forcing efficiency is outright taxes on gas.
But therein lies the hypocrisy. Despite the noise noone REALLY wants to pay for it (and the Dems want to lull them into thinking they are not).
Last time I checked–several years ago–the National Academy of Sciences concluded that the US would have imported 14 percent more oil than it does if Congress had not enacted the CAFE program in 1975. So while vehicle-miles-traveled may have gone up gas use increased much more slowly with CAFE in displace. The program works so let’s get on with it and tighten the regs!
If the adjust total cost of fossil furnish were reflected at the pump we’d be driving smaller more fuel-efficient vehicles and driving fewer miles at that. Costs of war or just a heavy military presence in the MI foreign government payoffs environmental effects agribiz welfare (corn ethanol). Big Oil tax breaks and on and on are hidden from view.
It’s aggravating to see automobile fuel cost comparisons which use the full cost of new first-generation technology compared to heavily subsidized fossil fuels.
Higher CAFE standards wouldn’t be necessary if we were paying $9 per gallon about the lowest estimate I can recall ever seeing for the all-in price per gallon with most being much higher.
I am guessing that all of the supporters of increased fed regulated standards are all driving hybrids or other high-mileage vehicles. Rather than comment on this page you have already voted for or against increased fed standards with the car you own/drive. Personally. I drive a low-mileage Maxima. I prefer a higher performance engine…enough said as to whether I support Big Brother sticking his nose in my biz.
The solution is to tax energy sources according to their CO2 output. This Gore guy came up with this BTU tax thing a while ago which wasn’t too far off but he was derided as “Ozone man.” I’m glad that his silly earthtone sweaters and some hanging chads brought us W because I’ve enjoyed all the beers that I undergo had with him. That guy is such a exceed president than Ozone man would have been. What did bush ever do wrong besides undo US credibility. 3000 American military lives the economy and the environment. Man. I hit the trifecta!
Oh and Detroit are the masters of credibility. I’m sure glad that we didn’t put seatbelts or catalytic converters or unleaded gasoline or airbags into cars because that stuff would have destroyed civilization.
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