From reading the comments here, it’s obvious I’m in the minority, so hopefully I don’t make too many enemies, but how about an opposing point of view?
Disclaimer, I consider myself neither a bleeding heart, treehugging liberal, nor a gun-toting, bible-thumping conservative. But I do find it somewhat amusing that any one side could blame the other for the current state of affairs. The dems cried foul last year when GWB signed this legislation, because it was a slap in the face to their beloved UAW. The conservatives now curse BHO for upping the timetable, mostly (it seems to me) because they simply don’t like him. Flame me all you want, but I think Bush and Obama both did the right thing. I only wish Clinton had pushed the issue when the writing was on the wall.
That being said, I’m one of the few who is fully in favor of the CAFE standards. In fact, I think they may be the only solution to save the US auto industry. The current average fuel-efficiency standards in Japan and the EU are 42 MPG and 43 MPG respectively. That is 7 to 8 MPG better, right now, than the US CAFÉ standards will be when they are fully realized 6 years from now. That is the single biggest reason why Japan and Europe are already making cars that are kicking our butts all over the playground when it comes to fuel economy. Necessity truly is the mother of invention. Their engineers were faced with the problem of designing and manufacturing cars under strict fuel-efficiency standards as much as 15 years ago. The result can be seen in the endless sea of Civics and Corollas. But lest anyone scream that the sky is falling, remember that they were also smart enough to balance the bland cars with ones that keep us car-guys happy. Which is why Japan recently gave us the GT-R. And even though Fiat will soon be pushing the 500 down our throats, they also give us the F430. Other examples abound: the same car company that brings us the Golf/Rabbit brings us the GT3. Some companies are really smart and bring us both thrilling monsters (M3/M5) as well as fun gas-sippers (Cooper S). This is all proof-positive that fuel efficiency standards will not homogenize the car world. The fun and exciting cars will still be around, and those of us willing to pay the gas-guzzler tax will still gobble them up. If keeping Vipers and Corvettes on the road means we need to balance them with a slew of boring mini-mobiles that run on air and rainbows, I say “bring it on!”
Furthermore, we have engineers in the US that are up to the task; contrary to the new wisdom, Japan and Europe are not producing the great scientists and thinkers of our age. The problem is that our designers and engineers, until now, were not faced with the right challenges. Instead, they have been forced to wallow in red tape, and work for the Big Three who have earned a collective reputation for stamping out creativity with ruthless precision. It’s way past time for both sides to step up… time for the engineers to prove (again) that we produce and nurture the greatest problem-solvers in the world, and time for the Big Three to provide them with an environment that is conducive to progress.
My true worry is that this will all be too little, too late. Next year when gas prices are $4 per gallon (again), and people are dumping their daily drivers for more fuel efficient models (again), guess who will have the best product to fit their needs? Hint: the Big Three aren’t ready. These standards are meant to be the kick in the pants that gets us back on track. I only hope they aren’t the last kicks to a dead horse.
