Should car companies be forced to cut car emissions by 25% by 2009?

Question

California is considering forcing automakers to reduce their vehicles' emissions. At what price?I. I am not wealthy and I can barely afford a $15,000 vehicle. How am I supposed to to afford a more expensive vehicle?

I think the automakers should ignore global warming until hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can be sold for $15000.

Answer 1

Yes I believe so !!!

Answer 2

I've got to disagree with you on this. The wealthier members of society will continue to buy new cars if all car companies have to cut car emmissions, even if it is at a higher resulting price. People who can't afford new cars will continue to help the environment by buying a used product, in the form of a car, and keeping it maintained - rather than crushing it and depositing it in a landfill. Our country doesn't need to continue producing gas guzzeling, high emissions vehicles.

I've never been able to afford a new vehicle, but I've decided to make every vehicle I drive into the ground more fuel efficient than the last one. Right now I'm driving a 1995 Honda Civic LX which gets me 35 - 40 mpg on the highway. Suffice it to say that I am NOT impressed when a new car commercial "brags" that an SUV built in 2007 is getting 25 or 30 mpg. I also don't believe that we shouldn't be making more progress in reducing car emissions.

Answer 3

Yes they should . If you can't afford a new car , especially in California , there is always public transportation. Most residents of NYC don't have vehicles and they manage to conduct the business of daily life just fine.

The problem is we are so short sighted and worry about things that we actually have alot of control over , as if we were powerless against them. In 2009 will you

- need a new car ? (probably not)
-be able to afford a used car ? ( probably so)
-Would you be able to save money to purchase a vehicle in an appropriate time frame ?(probably so)

Stop thinking about 2009 and start thinking about 2029.
Everytime I cross the mountains into California and see your hazy blanket of smog so thick it blocks out entire cities , I realize you people are a day late and a dollar short on environmental issues. California has a real problem and I think that 25% reduction is not even enough to make a dent in the issue.

Answer 4

General Motors produced about 50 electric cars in the 70's or 80's and after 1-2 years of GREAT performance they demanded and got every single car back. These cars required no gas, had very few engine parts and required basically no service. You can guess why that upset so many people.

The US govt. paid GM to obtain each and every electric car it had out. These cars were all taken from their owners and were sent to be crushed.

The fact that this technology has been proven to work and that our own govt. is not allowing it tells you where the problem lies.

Answer 5

I agree that a 25% reduction in 2 years in unrealistic.

Of course the environmentalists will point out that if they just stopped selling big cars, and continued selling their small cars that already get 25% better mileage and so emit 25% less, then the cost of the change should be zero. The only problem is that people that want a big car will simply not buy the small ones, they will just keep repairing the big old ones and keep driving them. Then the car companies will loose billions in sales and close plants and lay off workers.

Answer 6

You have an extremely narrow view of what can be done. First of all, how can you compare the cost of a car with potentially disastrous climate change?? How self-centered is that?

Secondly, try to think outside of your little box. Our country's dependence on individual cars is a (thankfully) temporary wasteful behavior that is unsustainable not only because of pollution but also because oil is nonrenewable. The longer we wait to reform our flagrantly selfish lifestyle the harder and more expensive it will be to change it.

Do you think you're immune to climate change because of where you live? What price does the world have to pay for your $15,000 car?

Answer 7

No.