Chuck
01-17-2008, 03:22 PM
What bothers carmakers most after the threat of recession? How to adhere to CAFE fuel rules without losing customers. (http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jan2008/bw20080115_583092.htm)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Cadillac_Escalade.jpgDavid Welch - BusinessWeek - Jan 15, 2008
Detroit and the typical American driver...starting to look like a pair wanting to jump off a bridge - Ed
Ask auto executives what keeps them up at night, and right after the 50-50 chance that the U.S. economy will slide into a recession is the new set of fuel-economy rules handed down by Uncle Sam in December. They all say that they will meet the new rules, but the question is how? What scares them is that to meet the new rules, they will have to make automobiles either more expensive or smaller and less powerful, two types of cars that have traditionally been about as popular as a Greenpeace delegation at a National Rifle Assn. convention.
The source of their discomfort is the new energy bill that Congress passed in December mandating that carmakers achieve a corporate fleet average fuel economy (CAFE) rating of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, up from 22.2 for trucks and 27.5 for passenger cars.
Passing Costs to Consumers
The federal government has long preferred regulations that force carmakers to improve fuel economy, instead of gasoline taxes that would give consumers incentive to buy more efficient vehicles. The conventional wisdom behind this stance is that consumers won't vote for public officials who levy taxes at the pump…http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jan2008/bw20080115_583092.htm
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Cadillac_Escalade.jpgDavid Welch - BusinessWeek - Jan 15, 2008
Detroit and the typical American driver...starting to look like a pair wanting to jump off a bridge - Ed
Ask auto executives what keeps them up at night, and right after the 50-50 chance that the U.S. economy will slide into a recession is the new set of fuel-economy rules handed down by Uncle Sam in December. They all say that they will meet the new rules, but the question is how? What scares them is that to meet the new rules, they will have to make automobiles either more expensive or smaller and less powerful, two types of cars that have traditionally been about as popular as a Greenpeace delegation at a National Rifle Assn. convention.
The source of their discomfort is the new energy bill that Congress passed in December mandating that carmakers achieve a corporate fleet average fuel economy (CAFE) rating of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, up from 22.2 for trucks and 27.5 for passenger cars.
Passing Costs to Consumers
The federal government has long preferred regulations that force carmakers to improve fuel economy, instead of gasoline taxes that would give consumers incentive to buy more efficient vehicles. The conventional wisdom behind this stance is that consumers won't vote for public officials who levy taxes at the pump…http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jan2008/bw20080115_583092.htm