It is now time to raise CAFE standards?

Question

Just now Pres. Bush says we need to raise fuel standards. However, when Toyota started to build its Prius other car companies followed like Ford with its Escape and Mariner, GM with its Chevy Malibu and Cadillac Escalade, Daimler Chrysler with its Mercedes S-Class and Dodge Durango, and there are countless other companies joining. I think its because customers wanted them to be built and Toyota is approaching #1, or has it? There is market COMPETITION. I'm asking, if these corporations are already doing it, why must the government step in to raise CAFE standards? Please give me plenty of thought when you answer it. Thank you very much.

Answer 1

Hmmm... No real easy answer here.
One might ask why our Octane ratings are downgraded when viewed elsewhere. 91Oct here is about 87.5Oct in Europe. Some claim it's the other way around. Oh, the US is so much better. So why is it that high performance cars must use 91+Oct in the US (or possibly void the warranty), while you can fill up with just about anything in Europe and Asia? Or one could ask why the current administration has fought tooth and nail to prevent high mpg cars from being imported from other countries? Why is there a 600HP Electric Car tooling around Europe when the current administration says they can't be made?
Yes, by the way, Toyota IS currently #1. Why? Well, for one, their two major sub-companies (SCION and Lexus) help Toyota fill a gap from low to high incomes. It has little or nothing to do with fuel economy. It has to do with the bottom line. For instance, with the exception of the Prius, most Base Model MINI Coopers get better gas mileage than Hybrids, and even that changes based on driver. If the owner of the Prius guns the engine, jackrabbits off the green light, and constantly runs in town, then their MPG will be worse than say, a VW TDI that is driven carefully and conservatively. On top of that, US Oil Companies do not allow gas saving features to be included on US versions of Hybrid cars(1).
Now that the falseness of the 'Hybrid' arguement is out there, let's also look at the basic truths of the past ten years. The US is the second largest Oil Producing country in the world, second only to Saudi Arabia. We Export NOTHING. It's all used here. Out of the top ten oil producing countries in the world, we consume more than the entire export of other top five countries. That's not some liberal, left wing arguement, that's the facts based on Federal Trade Commission reports, and data gathered from Nation Master, an online data tracking site(2).
Of course, this means nothing except that true competition, at least as it applies to Auto production and Oil conservation, is next to null. And why shouldn't it be? Even though the US consumes huge quantities of Oil/Gas/Diesel daily, we are still only paying, at most $3/Gallon. When I was living in Europe, we were routinely paying $6/Gallon (about €1.60/litre). So why give lip service to raising CAFE standards?
Because Joe Q. Public, American Taxpayer, thinks that spending $200/week to fill his jacked up, supercharged/turbocharged 4x4 is too much. Maybe it is.
Maybe it's better to raise CAFE standards instead of re-thinking the way we live. I've seen an Englishman towing a utility trailer of gravel with his Jaguar. I've seen Skoda Octavias towing RV Trailers. Just not in the US. Here the thinking tends to be that it's our right to own a 'monster' truck. So it's up to the Government to 'force' the car companies to figure out a way to bring in better economic cars, without getting TOO economical, so the Oil Companies can continue to make a profit.

Answer 2

CAFE standards are pure political BS. When gas prices soared over the summer, the value of gas-guzzling SUV's nose-dived as the value of Priuses and other economical vehicles soared. A classic example of economic forces in action. Market forces will dictate what people will buy.

A much better way to cut fuel consumption would be the way it's done in Europe. Raise the tax on motor fuels gradually over a period of 3 or 4 years until the TAX hits about $3.00 to $4.00 per gallon. Fuel economy averages will follow suit. Those with lots of $$$ who want to be wasteful are free to do so. The average motorist will move towards more economical vehicles and their net costs will remain fairly flat. A nice tax on the rich that they are free to avoid if they don't want to pay it. Use the extra tax money to help fund things like universal health care or other programs that need funding.

Answer 3

because of the fact they are going to reason havoc with US industry and make contributions to much greater plant closings and job loss. it extremely is going to additionally do no sturdy to our surroundings because of the fact no different u . s . a . on earth is insane adequate to interrupt their economic device to repair our surroundings, according to a challenged concept. truly, i'm touching on US production facility workers, no longer "a area of interest production industry ". additionally, whilst plant life start to close, greater workers would be on the familiar public dole, maximum suitable to larger taxes for all. whilst industries are compelled to alter to greater environmental standards, they are going to bypass their costs directly to the buyer. maximum suitable to larger power charges for all. So it extremely is not merely the yank production facility workers which you look down on so disdainfully, that's going to be actually everyone who works for a living.

Answer 4

He wants hydrogen... they want to start selling that now.. That's where Bush is coming from. EXPENSIVE..