Posted on 08/08/2012 5:37:53 AM PDT by Kaslin
Of course Zero can make that happen.
All downhill. Zero gallons a mile.
What’s being overlooked here is that you can’t legislate technology advances and innovation. That happens as a part of Capitalism & the free market economic model.
If the geniuses in Washington really believe that all they have to do is pass a law to fix a problem, why don’t they dictate that medicine develop a cure for cancer by 2015?
Don’t the care about us?
Sheesh...
Light trucks were previously exempt from these rules, but the Obama Administration now includes them in the targeted 54.5 mpg CAFE average.
This is not going to impact just cars, but SUVs and work trucks.
Perhaps the worst “unintended consequence” of CAFE can be seen by examining the aftermath of the first round of standards begun in the late 70’s.
The automakers did succeed in increasing the fuel economy of cars by roughly 50%. This means that the cost per mile driven went down significantly.
Over time, these more efficient vehicles enabled the exodus from city centers to suburbs and beyond. Commuting an hour or more to work became the norm instead of the exception.
CAFE accelerated urban sprawl and created the shopping mall.
It is estimated that we drive some 35% more today than we did pre-CAFE.
Those of us already outside city centers probably cannot drive much more than we already do, but is it not possible that the future government mandated efficiency will engender further exit from our cities, and thus increase the amount of fuel we use?
In which alternative universe can the conservation of a commodity be increased by making it cheaper to use?
These kinds of policies always make me wonder: do progressives hate poor people?
Don’t you love Central Planning.
Pray for America
Saw a lot of sparse streets with old cars, buses, odd carts, bikes & carriage contraptions. The only newish looking things were these little putt-putt things that looked like the "antique cars" you drive at the amusement park.
Here's my fave (I'm guessing it's from Asia somwhere?
Along the way you can make vroomvroom noises and a scrreeeeech noise when you stop or go around corners.
Just a few weeks a guy said that very thing to me.
I stopped to help him start his car. He had just bought it 3 days before, and it was dead on side of the road.
He said because of the Cash for Clunkers all he could afford was a pile of junk.
He said he was trying to keep working and not go on welfare but it was getting too expensive for him to work. There wasn't anything left to live on.
There was one black voter that had no intention of voting for Zippo again.
I agree with all but one word:
“Unintended”.
Nothing by this administration is unintended. It’s all going according to plan.
By 2025, we’ll all be dying in fiery crashes that today, would “buff out” with a little wax.
But they drove with pride.
I just bought a 2002 Audi TT, AWD. Of course it’s a convertible. I spent $11K on it and can’t imagine any new car for under $30K I would like as much.
If you have basic mechanical skills, a used car can be a great option.
Because of CAFE, they will have to sell the small cars at almost no profit...and tack on a huge prmium to the larger vehicles.
I have long thought that the higher CAFE had the INTENDED consequence of making it harder for Joe Siz Pack to own a pickup truck. With a truck, you can do crazy things, like start a small (non-union/non crony capitalism) business....and in general have way too much independence.
Just a guess but I think that the average American simply flouts the law. They'll keep their old cars on the road. Disconnecting advanced systems (emissions, electronic ignition, etc) as they fail. A whole black/grey-market industry will spring-up to keep older cars on the road. Gypsy garages, too.
Then the "ball" will be in the government's court. Do the ignore the violators? They probably will if they are confined to favored minority groups living in no-go areas where regulations are already being flouted. Or do they get agressive with rolling inspections? If that happens then you're going to see sparks of violence.
Yes, regulation makes the big boys too big to fail.
How about getting the inefficient Ethanol out of the fuel chain first. You’d see vehicle mileage increase accordingly.
C for C destroyed an incredible amount of perfectly good used cars. A total sin.
How much pollution and resources were consumed to create the new vehicles to replace these perfectly good used vehicles?
The idiotic fools in government destroy everything they touch.
I'm 50 years old, 6-5" tall and weigh 215-lbs. I have the usual lumbar problems from athletics and a work-a-day life. I physically do not fit into these roller skates that they are building now. If CAFE mandates nothing but Prius' & Smart Cars, I'm quite literally in a world of hurt.
Unintended consequences? The cost of aluminum is going to soar due to increased demand in the auto industry. So the price of everything else made of aluminum will soar, too. Expect increases in the cost of air travel (aluminum in planes), canned beverages and aluminum foil.
Realistically, now. Who could possibly have anticipated increases in the cost of corn when half the supply goes into our gas tanks?
Reading past the headline often pays rewards.
Progressives have “solved poverty” by making it illegal.
Prohibiting affordable transportation is just one of many ways they’ve implemented a practical ban on functional poverty. Poor and need a car? sorry, all the viable “clunkers” were destroyed (at a cost of $24,000 per car), gas taxes raise per-gallon prices 33%, cumulative mileage & safety minimums double base prices, and financing what is available jacks resale prices. But there’s mass transit that goes from where you aren’t to where you’re not going!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.