Posted on 08/12/2011 10:18:59 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
We’ve had the opportunity to previously discuss the Obama administration’s proposed changes to CAFE standards for the nation’s fleet of passenger vehicles and the downstream effects this will have on auto prices and jobs. Never satisfied with half measures in “helping” us in this struggling economy, the White House has apparently decided to double down and apply similar new standards to long haul, big rig trucks now.
WASHINGTON–President Obama announced the first-ever fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for long-haul rigs, work trucks, and other heavy duty vehicles Tuesday, the second mileage pact with manufacturers in less than a month.
The regulations call for reductions on fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 2018 of 9 to 23 percent, depending on the type of vehicle. Trucks and other heavy vehicles make up only 4 percent of the domestic vehicle fleet, but given the distance they travel, the time they spend idling and their low fuel efficiency, they end up consuming about 20% of all vehicle fuel, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Experts say that a 20 percent reduction in heavy vehicle emissions would boost fuel efficiency to an average of 8 miles per gallon from 6 miles now.
I’m sorry, but didn’t the president just stand up at a battery factory someplace and tell us that his renewed focus was not only on jobs but on repairing the tanking national economy? I thought I remembered something about that.
Transportation companies have their eye on the bottom line just like everyone else, and fuel is one of their biggest expenses. Does anyone honestly believe that they aren’t already demanding the most gas efficient trucks the manufacturers can provide at a sustainable cost? It’s just how the market works.
So if this plan has the same effect we anticipate ramped up CAFE standards to have on the passenger vehicle fleet, it’s going to cost more for these companies to operate and haul their cargo. And who gets the bill for the increased shipping costs? I’ll give you one guess.
These trucks haul all sorts of things… particularly food. The Lonely Conservative chimes in with what should be a no-brainer.
President Obama and his nasty regulators have set new fuel standards for large trucks. No doubt this will drive up the cost of the food we put on our tables, because that food has to get from point A to point B. Does anyone out there think this won’t drive up the price of our food, and everything else we buy? Hellloooo? McFly?
By now, savvy observers should see something of a disconnect between the stated goals of the Obama administration and the actions of its regulatory agencies. The hits just keep on coming, don’t they?
Zactly. They create 30-60 times the output for less than 5 times the input (the 5x figure includes the impact of the higher use percentage) and these geniuses think they can save by making them MORE like the less efficient vehicles (weigh less, use less fuel). How can anyone be so stupid?
It's just as stupid as when envidiots complain because the US uses energy disproportionate to the population, but they [intentionally?] fail to factor in that the GNP is even MORE disproportionate. IOW, we're making cars and bikes and wheat for less energy per unit/bushel than China is or whomever they're comparing us to. If AGW were a real threat, and if these people were honest (two whoppers as far as 'if's go, I admit) the solution would be to move ALL manufacturing to the US, not discourage it here.
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