[DGthe3]

I am generally in favour of enviro stuff. I like the concept of a hybrid Camaro. I want to see cellulose ethanol. I want a hydrogen economy to happen at some point. However, I must issue a Rant Warning


This law makes perfect sense. The automakers say it will be hard to meet a 25% increase in 12 years. SOO, after they meet that requirement make them do a 115% increase in 10 years right after that. Doing something impossible should be easy after doing something hard. Kinda like how it would be easy to swim accross the atlantic ocean right after you swam down the entire Mississippi. Wonder these people have taken into account the fact that car sales will drop dramatically and people will just keep driving their older cars. Fixing and fueling them would be cheaper than getting a brand new ultra efficient car.

Today, even the most fuel efficient cars on the market here cannot match that 75 mpg average. So if the best can't do it, it is not possible for average vehicles to do it. Let alone the worst. For example, you can't make a family hauler get 50 mpg. With enough technical innovation it may eventually be possible for it to reach 40 highway. The only way that things could be legit in that article is if there is some way to incorporate hydrogen and electric cars into the mix. Even ethanol wouldn't be enough.

I think that this entire article is BS. Some politicians are stupid, but not enough are that stupid. Cars and trucks account for something like 10-20% of CO2 emissions. Why pick on the little guy? Its much easier to elimanate 100% of the CO2 produced by power plants than to reduce CO2 from internal combustion engines by 50%. AND it would be more effective. But no, someone decided that picking on Detroit and helping Japanesse automakers was good. Give Toyota and Honda tax breaks to build factories here. Allow 1 way trading. Let GM and Ford shut down their factories. Don't force the Japanesse to import our cars. Impose fuel economy laws which favour import auto makers. Its all a big crock and its been building for 20 years. This is just the latest incarnation.

rant is over now.