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, Wed, 27 May 2009 14:39:08
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"1. We like bigger vehicles"
And that's why we commute in cars instead of mopeds.
"2. Crash incompatibility with other big vehicles on the road already, (affects my vehicle choice considerably)"
See the moped reference above.
"3. We're spoiled and want power, think 4 cylinders are weak and rough"
Speak for yourself. I have a 4-cyl car. It's turbo-charged, and it burns more gas than a V6.
"4. We are anti-wagon, so we resort to generally less efficient SUV's for utility"
Speak for yourself. I have a wagon. However, the wagon maker has to be CAFE fines because wagon burns more gas than sedans . . . whereas SUV's are considered trucks under CAFE rules so they are held to a different standards. CAFE rules literally plucked Americans out of their wagons and put them into minivans and SUV's.
"5. We have negative associations with diesels"
Had a diesel many years ago. It spewed soot. Now the diesel fuel is much cleaner, but also much more expensive than gasoline.
"6. We are fatter, need more lateral space"
Speak for yourself. I'm less than 150lbs.
" 7. We think we need AWD to be safe"
Getting stranded somerewhere far away from home would indeed be unsafe. . . although the more likely scenario would be getting stranded in one's drive way because the town hasn't plowed yet or has plowed the road snow into your driveway. LOL.
"8. We will not pay a lot of money for a small car even if it has all the options we want. More money should mean more car size-wise."
Americans tend to buy cars for their functionality. We need our cars to get around whereas most Europeans do not need cars thanks to more tightly packed cities and public transportation. Most Americans do not live within short distance from vehicle rental outlets either. So a vehicle has to be versatile. Ever since the 1920's, when automobile just became popular, the most useful size for a family car has been a "station wagon" at about 65-70 inches in height with comfortable step-in without having to lower oneself/kids/cargo into the vehicle, 190 inches in length . . . in other words, a midsize SUV by today's lingo.
"That's it in a nutshell. And that's why the government has to step in to do what's best for us in the long term by raising CAFE requirements."
Here will be some of the consequences:
(1) Cars will be less affordable to the poor; but hey, taking them off the unwashed masses off road is part of what the wise and benevolent government should be doing right?
(2) Cars will be made lighter, and those at the lower end of the price scale will be shaving weight by removing safety equipment that has been adding weight to vehicles in recent years. More of the poor and the young will be killed. Well, that just saves the wise and benevolent government from wasting money on jail cells and paying for executions.
(3) Old cars will be kept on roads longer because people are less able and less willing to replace them. Don't be surprised if the wise and benevolent government then sets the maximum number of years that a car can be on the road before mandatory scrapping. That will also force people into buying crappy cars made by carmakers under long term government ownership. Castro should really have thought of this policy; that would have forced the 1950's Chevy's off the road to be replaced by brand-new Lada's and Trabants made in the 80's with 1940's technology and even less reliable than 40-year old Chevy's.
(4) A new type of loophole will be found to circumvent the new CAFE rules, just like the invention of Minivan and SUV's to circumvent the existing CAFE rules, making real energy consumption even worse. My current top three candidates are: (a) hybrid cars with big batteries to go through the entire EPA test cycle substantially on battery power; (b) hybrid programming in such a way that the "test mode" can be used to satisfy EPA/CAFE requirement, then "normal operation mode" will be available to let people drive the vehicle the way they like to drive it; (c) A $2500 Nano car will be attached every $35000 SUV; don't worry if you don't have parking space for the Nano: you only "take delivery" of the Nano on paper, the real car will be parked out in the New Mexico desert for you for $50/mo including the car lease cost. You don't even have to pay for insurance for the parked car. After 36 months, the parked car will be shipped back to India to be sold at residual value. Indians will love a 3yr old undrived car parked in dry desert all for half price, really cranking up car ownership and CO2 emission there.
The more you let the government mess around, the worse things get . . . because contrary to what you might think, most people of the world are not stupid. They figure out ways around your silly rules in order to optimize for themselves.
posted by 76.118.39...
, Thu, 28 May 2009 09:07:56, Wed, 27 May 2009 14:39:08, Thu, 4 Jun 2009 06:34:56, Sun, 31 May 2009 01:35:25, Sun, 31 May 2009 09:46:10, Wed, 27 May 2009 14:39:47
, Wed, 27 May 2009 06:45:45, Wed, 27 May 2009 16:07:04, Wed, 27 May 2009 15:56:01, Wed, 27 May 2009 19:27:34
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