Let's force government, not cars, to be more efficient

[msirach]

Gerdes certified driving training mandated?

Scott Burgess - DETNEWS - July 30, 2011

What if.................? --Ed.

If the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations were a vehicle, it'd be a Ford Edsel, Pontiac Aztek and Chrysler Sebring combined.

No, that's not fair. All of those cars served a purpose and actually could do something.
Now that all the haranguing has finished and a giant number has been attached to CAFE, car guys can get to work and politicians can do whatever it is they do.

Here's what I think of CAFE: It's a farce, a joke, the result of spineless politicians taking the easy road. Over its more than 30 years in existence, it has not reduced U.S. consumption of oil. No, it created more. CAFE, and the people behind it, helped create the Hummer H1 — a beautiful vehicle that was completely misunderstood.

The only thing CAFE does is guarantee future cars will cost a lot more money than present-day cars. But higher-priced cars do help states, which typically collect a percentage of the vehicle's price, known as sales taxes. CAFE is worse than pandering; it's political pandering.

And no one will ever be satisfied. There's one group of greenies — supported by the usual bunch of greenies — who think the fleet average should be at least 60 miles per gallon by 2025 — instead of the new 54.5 mpg standard. No doubt, that number will continue to grow higher as carmakers outpace expectations and create even more efficient vehicles because consumers want them, not because government demands them.

Even today, car sales are not proportional to CAFE standards, and they never have been. The No. 1-selling vehicle in America is the Ford F-Series pickup. The No. 2 selling vehicle is the Chevrolet Silverado. Both vehicles do not top the EPA fuel economy chart. (They are great trucks, though.)

If anyone actually wanted to manipulate the market and force people to buy smaller, more efficient vehicles, they could simply raise the federal gas tax much higher than its current 18.4 cents a gallon. Make it a buck more a gallon. Make it $2 more a gallon. That will push people into smaller cars for sure.


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[herm]

so what has been the per-capita gas usage since CAFE was enacted?

[jimepting]

I like the idea of the Gerdes certified driver! Heck, we could even include that requirement within the driving test for new driver's licenses.

We could also ration gasoline - wouldn't hurt me any. Of course that would require a new government agency and we all know how that would work out ;-)

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Originally Posted by jimepting

I like the idea of the Gerdes certified driver! Heck, we could even include that requirement within the driving test for new driver's licenses.

Well, I like the idea of ensuring drivers are aware of efficient driving techniques as part of their learning to drive. The Free Money is out there.

[JusBringIt]

www.cleanmpg.org doesn't exactly bring traffic to cleanmpg.com . I'm sure anyone that found that article has enough smarts to find the site however.