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Car Guy
The Obama Car
Obama’s auto-industry regulations are taking us full-steam into the future — to a world without affordable cars.
Now Obama’s decided to ban cars outright.
Not in so many words, perhaps, but his just-announced proposal that new cars be required by law to average 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025 will effectively do just that.
Not one car sold in the United States currently averages 56 MPG — not even on the highway. Not even hybrids like the Toyota Prius, the best of the lot — which maxes out at 51 on the highway and 48 in city driving. The maximum highway mileage achieved by a current non-hybrid car (the 2012 Honda Civic HF) is 41 MPG. Its average mileage is 33 MPG.
To achieve an average of 56 MPG, one or more of the following would be necessary:
* Massive reduction in vehicle weight
It is easier - more efficient - to move a lighter car than a heavier car. A 2,000 lb. car will use less gas, all else being equal, than a 2,800 lb. car because a smaller, more fuel-efficient engine can do equivalent work in terms of accelerating the vehicle and maintaining speed.
The problem is the engineering/economic conflict between weight and safety.
For decades, the federal government has been passing one safety-minded mandate after another, each of which has had the effect of making newer cars heavier than their equivalents of the past. A current-year subcompact like the 2012 Fiat 500 weighs 2,363 lbs. — a porker in comparison to an equivalent subcompact from the '70s such as an original model VW Super Beetle, which weighed about 1,900 lbs. That 400-plus pound weight difference is the main reason why, despite the Fiat’s 40-year advantage in technology — including computer-controlled fuel injection and overdrive transmissions — its gas mileage (30 city, 38 highway , 33 average) is only slightly better than the Beetle’s high 20s, low 30s.
Of course, the old Super Beetle was less “safe” — that is, less crashworthy (if you crashed it). The government decided that gas mileage mattered less than how well a car performs in an accident. But now it wants cars to do both — comply with all current and soon-to-promulgated “safety” standards while also doubling or even tripling their gas mileage.
Which brings up the next problem:
* Lowering weight while maintaining crashworthiness will not be cheap or easy
There are ultra-lightweight race cars that are extremely crashworthy. You can hit a wall in one at 150 MPH and walk away with nothing more than a few bruises. Of course they also cost hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of dollars each. High-strength, lightweight materials such as carbon fiber and titanium cost a lot more than steel or aluminum, the materials used to make ordinary passenger cars.
The Obama Car could be made of carbon fiber and average 56 MPG while also being very safe in a crash (though few people will ever have to worry about crashing one because no one except maybe tax-feeding millionaires like Obama himself will be able to buy one).
* Nix size
Of course, you could always just eliminate all cars larger than, say, the SmartForTwo car (which incidentally only gets 41 highway and seats — you guessed it — only two people). Maybe with a diesel engine such a car could manage to get close to 56 MPGs, average. There are micro-compacts in other markets, such as Europe, that approach 70 MPG on the highway. But anything larger than a micro-compact is going to be hugely problematic. A current year mid-sized family sedan like the Toyota Camry averages 26 MPG. That’s with the four cylinder engine. Toyota would need to more than double the average MPGs of the Camry (and drop the optional V-6 from the roster) to qualify as an Obama Car, while also somehow retaining the ability to carry 4-5 passengers.
About the Author
Eric Peters is an automotive columnist and author of Automotive Atrocities: The Cars You Love to Hate (Motor Books International) and a new book, Road Hogs.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (140) | Leave a comment
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oldfart| 7.7.11 @ 6:31AM
And we will all run around, in a state of nature, in a world where there is no hunger, sickness, and everyone is perfect in looks and thought. The people that proposed these regs are smoking the cheap stuff off the back 40 again.
Mike Hawk| 7.7.11 @ 6:35AM
The laws of Physics and Thermodynamics cannot be changed by Congress nor by an idiot community organizer. Automobiles in the US will cease to exist under this rule..
John Navratil| 7.7.11 @ 9:21AM
Mike Hawk,
This is the great one. Laws of Physics? Pish-posh. He makes the laws in the country. I'm just frustrated that he didn't mandate 200 MPG so we could let those camel-riders alone, save the planet, and put those evil oil company execs out of work along with their corporate jets.
So get with the program. The solution, which I've written to the great one, is to mandate that they run on jelly beans. I'm expected a cushy sinecure at the Dept. of Energy for my brilliance.
Peter| 7.8.11 @ 11:17AM
Obama will be long gone before any of this will come to pass.
Patrick| 7.7.11 @ 6:49AM
You can build something strong, cheap, or light. Pick two.
squalis| 7.7.11 @ 9:43AM
Same with health care. You can have high quality care, universal access and low cost. Pick two.
Tom| 7.7.11 @ 6:57AM
In other words, at the behest of the radical environmentalists, one of the Obama-Cass Sunstein "nudges" to force us to do what the progressive elite wants us to do without actually coming out and telling us that they're forcing us. In this case, out of the individual freedom of cars and "nudged" into mass transit and out of the post-war "American Dream" of commuting distance / single-family home suburbs, back toward "pack 'em and stack 'em" multi-family units clustered in cities. (Google "Agenda 21" for more on the Obama / United Nations "pack 'em and stack 'em" agenda.)
McBain| 7.7.11 @ 7:02AM
All part of his plan to make us dependant on mass transit, ruin the free enterprise system and make us dependant on the government which will then control/enslave us.
Robert Pinkerton| 7.7.11 @ 8:16AM
"It's easier to control a population that walks." -- HERBERT, Frank: (novel) God Emperor of Dune.
Pam Long| 7.7.11 @ 10:10AM
Exactly. The peons are supposed to walk and help prevent pollution so they leave a pristine world with plenty of resources for their betters. Today the world is too crowded with peons who pollute. The elites need sustainable development.
Flit Andersen| 7.11.11 @ 3:22PM
"Shoes!?" You want SHOES!!!???" "Do you know how many innocent calves must be murderd to make SHOES for you to walk in?
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 7.7.11 @ 7:05AM
The whole gas mileage concept is simply a way of deluding the American public to think they are sticking it to Big Energy by using less of their gas, thereby hurting corporate profits.
It also plays to the progressive mindset that government actually achieves something.
Richard| 7.7.11 @ 7:08AM
Agree that it is nuts to impose regulations (safety and mileage) that conflict in the empirically-driven world of physics. Combine increases in fuel taxes (to incentivize conservation and choices regarding type of vehicle, commuting distance, etc.) with access to U.S. energy resources for increased domestic supply. Or, follow the same U.S. policy we have been shackled to for the past decade or more, which is to send someone else's American 19 year olds to die in the desert for our inalienable right to cheap gas.
dsayne| 7.7.11 @ 7:11AM
I have a friend who, unfortunately, still believes in the "150 mpg carburetor" myth. He complains constantly about how foolish people are to complain about gas prices. Of course, he's a bachelor, who walks to work and only drives his car 5-10 miles a week.
russel| 7.7.11 @ 10:02AM
I have a socialist aquaint who's constantly watching and waiting for something that is propelled by compressed air or literally runs on air . Another fancy is Hydrogen . Whatever the fuel , as long as it's not petrol . Today our senator says our high quality coal is going to China . I read that our quality lumber is going there , which is helping reduce the economic squeeze . Fine , until you go to the lumber yard . Pay up America .
Groad| 7.7.11 @ 10:33AM
We don't use carburators any more. Tell your friend.
Appleby| 7.7.11 @ 1:24PM
NA$CAR does.
Bjzq8| 7.8.11 @ 1:12PM
Even NASCAR is going to fuel injection:
http://www.nascar.com/news/110.....index.html
Flit Andersen| 7.11.11 @ 3:25PM
I wonder how a "restrictor plate" will fit on a nozzle?
LindaF | 7.7.11 @ 7:13AM
It's getting so that families are going to be regulated out of the picture. First, mandate cars to be small, no exceptions. Second, enforce the child protection laws to keep parents from carrying more than 1 kid at a time. Third, use those same laws to take away "excess" kids, of course, for their own protection.
If parents are going to selfishly have "excess" children, well, then, government is just going to have to take away that "mistake".
Appleby| 7.7.11 @ 7:17AM
When we elect adults to run the USA again, this whole idea will join the Kyoto Accord and Global Warming, and the forced use of light bulbs that damage both our eyesight and our environment, on the WhatWereTheyThinking scrap heap of history.
One thing that has held steady about Americans over the past 300 years is this: tell them they cannot do something the majority does, and that is the one thing they will do -- tell them they must do something, and that is the one thing the majority will not do. Ask Jimmy Carter, who promised 40 years ago or so that America would go metric and have a dollar coin under his watch.
The kiddies in charge at present are learning what the Captain and crew of Titanic learned: that you cannot turn a fast-moving ship on a dime. And time for their agenda is rapidly running out.
George S| 7.7.11 @ 12:38PM
The Titanic's captain also knew that if he slowed down he would have more time to steer around the icebergs he was warned were ahead. But that would have impeded his agenda of getting to New York on time. Does Obama care if the ship cannot turn on a dime? Not if it means getting to his destination in time.
Appleby| 7.7.11 @ 1:25PM
I can't wait to see his face when he reaches that destination.
Red Bubba| 7.7.11 @ 7:24AM
Physics shmysics, just do what Obama does, it's easy: "My, uh, Hummer gets 75 mpg, because I keep the, um, tires,, properly inflated." Lie.
POST American| 7.7.11 @ 7:25AM
---For those STILL w/o a clue---
FACT IS the stated goal of the UN Agenda 21
(now hidden under the name 'Smart Future')
is to eliminate entirely the private auto within
a couple of decades.
Beyond that, the capstone EUGENISTS are
calling, indeed, implementing the elimination
of 100 MILLION Americans by 2050.
Remember kiddies, EUGENICS ---means
YOU-genocide.
Further, in case you aren't noticing, the EUGENICS front UN --now sets the agenda.
-------SEE what happens when you retire the
sense, and the very word TREASON from discourse?
chuck| 7.7.11 @ 7:57PM
Go away, nut case.
skip| 7.8.11 @ 7:12AM
Wait a minute wait a minute.
Eliminate all private autos by 2031, ensuring only public transit?
Based on everything said and done by the United Nations, particularly the IPCC, it sounds right up their alley.
Based on everything said and done by the prickly dithering idiot liar in chief, particularly high speed rail, it sounds right up the prickly dithering idiot liar in chief's alley.
And Social Security and Medicare will have bellied up ten years prior so the masses will be hurting enough as it is to protest too much.
Maybe I've been a little too dismissive of POST American slash Dee Cee slash Bee Ess slash Coo Koo.
Richard| 7.7.11 @ 7:36AM
A follow up. First, I agree with Patrick, above. Second, to Linda's point, most families are comprised of two children. Note, I said "most", and I'm not suggesting in any way that this be regulated. The U.S. marketplace and present choices consumers are making lead to these many of these families driving around bigger vehicles than they need for safety, or than they would prefer for mileage. Europe - I know, I know, pause for catcalls here - Europe offers an array of safe, fun to drive, higher mileage, comfortable four-to-five seater wagons that with clean turbo diesel engines get north of 35 miles per gallon. And whose nimbleness, handling and accident-avoidance capabilities are superior to those of trucks. Of these, we only have the VW Jetta TDI in this market segment, smaller than some would prefer (over there such wagons come in an array of sizes), but around here showing up more and more as a vehicle of choice for families. True, these vehicles are not large enough to serve as the auxiliary storage units that larger vehicles become for some families - but there is an entire design segment out there that we don't have yet in America. Google the websites for Renault, Ford of Europe, Skoda, Peugeot or Citroen and surf around a bit. I share Mr. Peters' unwillingness to have future government authorities shoehorn us into Smart cars. All I'm saying is that there is a gap in our current product offerings that would offer a compromise blend of room, performance, safety and higher mileage that for some reason we American consumers don't have, and that's unfortunate.
cactusbob| 7.9.11 @ 12:44PM
Oh, what you're saying is let the free market operate, and demand will seek out the best features for the price for our cars. That's what we used to have, to a degree, and it worked fine. It will work again, if we can get rid of the socialists who are making the rules by which we have to operate.
snipelee| 7.11.11 @ 3:54PM
So - we eliminate the following segments of middle-class Americana with so little thought?
Boating
Camping (RV)
Horse showing
Auto and motorbike racing
DIY home projects
Private ranching and farming
Touring
Vintage cars
among many other areas of interest
And - all of the jobs that go along with these pursuits.
snipelee| 7.11.11 @ 3:54PM
So - we eliminate the following segments of middle-class Americana with so little thought?
Boating
Camping (RV)
Horse showing
Auto and motorbike racing
DIY home projects
Private ranching and farming
Touring
Vintage cars
among many other areas of interest
And - all of the jobs that go along with these pursuits.
Richard| 7.7.11 @ 7:36AM
A follow up. First, I agree with Patrick, above. Second, to Linda's point, most families are comprised of two children. Note, I said "most", and I'm not suggesting in any way that this be regulated. The U.S. marketplace and present choices consumers are making lead to these many of these families driving around bigger vehicles than they need for safety, or than they would prefer for mileage. Europe - I know, I know, pause for catcalls here - Europe offers an array of safe, fun to drive, higher mileage, comfortable four-to-five seater wagons that with clean turbo diesel engines get north of 35 miles per gallon. And whose nimbleness, handling and accident-avoidance capabilities are superior to those of trucks. Of these, we only have the VW Jetta TDI in this market segment, smaller than some would prefer (over there such wagons come in an array of sizes), but around here showing up more and more as a vehicle of choice for families. True, these vehicles are not large enough to serve as the auxiliary storage units that larger vehicles become for some families - but there is an entire design segment out there that we don't have yet in America. Google the websites for Renault, Ford of Europe, Skoda, Peugeot or Citroen and surf around a bit. I share Mr. Peters' unwillingness to have future government authorities shoehorn us into Smart cars. All I'm saying is that there is a gap in our current product offerings that would offer a compromise blend of room, performance, safety and higher mileage that for some reason we American consumers don't have, and that's unfortunate.
Alex| 7.7.11 @ 9:40PM
Oh please! The common people in Europe are forced to drive econoboxes that have neglegible trunks while the elite drives around in V8's and V12's. Not in America, never!
asiago| 7.7.11 @ 7:38AM
one word: diesel
there are cars that average 50-60 MPG in Europe. And they are not Smart fitted with a diesel engine, they are BMW, Peugeot, Fiat, etc
NedB| 7.7.11 @ 8:53AM
There's a reason diesel isn't used as much over in the States. Cost. A gallon of Diesel is more expensive than the highest grade of gas.
The reason for this is the enviroweenies. In their twisted view, Diesel is evil and far worse than gas.
Dustoff| 7.7.11 @ 9:36AM
Just ask the people in CA. The greenies went crazy over diesels. (kill them now was the typical speech)
JimH| 7.7.11 @ 10:40AM
It think the cost of diesel is what it is only because the way refineries here are configured to produce various proportions of product from a given barrel of oil.
irish19| 7.7.11 @ 11:29AM
Actually, the latest prices I've seen are not too much different from regular gas, and look to be lower than premium. They seem to be about the same per gallon as mid-grade gas.
I would buy a diesel if I could.
Alex| 7.7.11 @ 9:36PM
Don't do it. They are very high maintance and repairs are really expensive.
JimP| 7.7.11 @ 7:52AM
We'll be like Cuba. We'll all be driving 50 year old cars and have the "best healthcare in the world". Can't wait.
MoeBlotz| 7.7.11 @ 8:00AM
EPA 56 MPG mandate is fleet average,so your larger vehicles will not necessarily be trashed. To reach the fleet average,we peons have to buy enough of the wee automobiles produced so that Gummint Motors can earn a profit. Didjiz buy a Chevy Volt today?
Racing drivers survive accidents today that would have killed or maimed them twenty years ago,not because the racing car esists damage,but because it absorbs impact. When you see a racing accident,parts scatter everywhere as they break away from the chassis after they have slowed what remains of the car down. Our highway cars now have crumple zones that absorb impact in case we bump into one another.
Our elected elites want to keep their big vehicles so that they can run us over in our little s**t boxes. As long as I have my Peterbilt,they don't stand a chance. Those of us who drive commercial vehicles are in the government's crosshairs too,with EPA mandating ever lower emissions and soon 10 MPG from an 80,000 GCW vehicle.
I agree with Appleby.
NedB| 7.7.11 @ 8:55AM
"I driver an H1 Hummer. The big military version. I pick Prius's out of my grillwork. I also get 7MPG"
Jeff Dunham
irish19| 7.7.11 @ 11:31AM
Love it.
"Did you know that if you are going down the highway in a Prius, and stick your hand out the window, the vehicle will turn?"
/channeling Achmed the Dead Terrorist
Brother John| 7.7.11 @ 8:05AM
I'm still waiting for an explanation as to why any person in government thinks that any property of any car for sale anywhere is any of their business. If I want to pay for air bags, let me make that decision. If I want to pay for size one way or another, that's my decision, too.
PCC| 7.7.11 @ 9:00AM
Right on, Brother John.
This basic principle applies to so much the US is doing wrong these days.
The single most important obstacle to US economic growth and prosperity is overarching government intrusion and regulation of individual and commercial activities.
It would be so easy for the US to return to the pinnacle of economic power: just let people and companies get on with their lives with a minimum of government interference.
Butch | 7.7.11 @ 5:07PM
Right on point, Brother John. None of this has a constitutional basis. We have got to rein this monster in. If the federal government is restrained within its constitutional boundary, the budget can be balanced without regard to entitlements. Those can be addressed later. Eliminate the Departments of Energy and Transportation.
David| 7.8.11 @ 3:41PM
Brother Butch, Brother John,
Thank you. The biggest thing being "nixed" here is our individual rights under the Constitution, and it's being done by an unconstitutional usurpation of power (DO NOT ANYONE quote the Interstate Commerce Clause, please) by the national government.
skip| 7.8.11 @ 11:14AM
As Dan Marxroid used to say:
'John, you ignorant nut'
If you had a modicum of intelligence and honesty, you would understand economic and constitutional experts like Obama, Pelosi, Frank, RCV, DRed, Purpleguy, and Jack London to name but a token few know better than you how you should live your life. You can't be trusted with a simple light bulb for crying out loud. Have you no shame?
Melvin| 7.7.11 @ 8:05AM
People, Diesel is a dirty word to enviros here in the United States. Europe, (Removing Euro hairball) have made great strides in diesel engines.
I have always been a sucker for diesel engines to begin with. They are a marvel of simplicity and engineering. Diesel engines don't just run, they purr.
Plus the power to weight ratio is better with diesel, ya get more power for the buck.
Working on a farm with diesel equipment just starting up in the morning is heaven to my nostrils. When I was on the LST USS Frederick in 1980, the ship was powered by six locomotive diesel engines. Every night the throb and hum of those engines put me to sleep like a baby every-night. Then waking up and standing in the chow line smelling that beautiful diesel odor. Ahh the memories.
Another plus of diesel engines is, that if properly maintained they will last forever, and it doesn't take that much maintenance either.
Richard is absolutely right, diesel engines are part of the solution.
PCC| 7.7.11 @ 9:05AM
Dear Melvin,
I bow to your superior knowledge of this subject, except to say, in all seriousness, that I can't think of one goddam thing of any importance that the Europeans have to teach us about anything.
John Navratil| 7.7.11 @ 9:24AM
PCC,
I like their cheese ;)
Pete| 7.7.11 @ 10:02AM
Amen. They seemed to have mastered decay of all kinds.
skip| 7.8.11 @ 11:23AM
Beer.
Even the Canadians kick our butts with far superior combinations of malt, barley, and hops.
I've had beer from a brewery in Europe in continuous operation over a thousand years.
We've screwed up the definitive governmental document guaranteeing individual liberty in less than two hundred fifty years.
And the definitive economic system guaranteeing the highest standard of living and quality of life in the same amount of time.
The majority of European nations are lecturing us on our imbecilic socialist policies. Even France.
OhioGuy| 7.9.11 @ 10:07AM
Skipper---Canadian beer? Seriously? European beer?
Apparently you missed the craft beer revolution in the US which has been going on since the 90s. There are now more micro-breweries brewing more styles of beer in many individual states in the US than in all of Canada or Europe. California, for example, has 318 breweries, Colorado has 122 and Washington has 136, just to name several states.
Yes, Europe has a few exemplar styles of beer, such as Czech pilsner, but for variety, taste and quality, the US is now the leader---probably because the Feds have basically ignored breweries in their overbearing and overreaching regulations.
If you offered me an all-expense paid beer vacation to anywhere in the world, I'd stay right here in the US and enjoy the product of our own brewing entrepreneurs, no question .
skip| 7.10.11 @ 4:31PM
Craft beers and microbrews have greatly improved the American beer in general.
You can drink alot of awful beer in America.
Take that beer vacation to Germany and when you find an awful beer there let me know.
irish19| 7.7.11 @ 11:33AM
"throb and hum"
I think I knew a girl like that once.
Sorry. I denounce myself.
TomB| 7.7.11 @ 4:36PM
I served on USS Schenectady (LST 1185) in the 70's, after it was hit by NV gunfire and before the engine room fire. I guess it was the golden age.
Anyway, those engines were awesome to behold! Of course we were lucky to make 20 kts going downhill, but that's not the diesel's fault. Diesel engines are brilliant, and Daimler's BlueTec engines are quiet and don't smell. There's future there .
There's also natural gas. I've heard that any car can be retrofitted to CNG, and then you can get fuel for the equivalent of about a dollar a gallon. Not sure if they'd get ObamaCar mileage though.
So it seems there's no choice. After the LST and a series of DD's, I went to SSNs. Nothing like an S6G teapot for mileage! Try a fillup every 10 years or so, depending on how fast your prey is running. Too bad they're made by GE.
They're a bit large for individual use, but if we build a few hundred nuke plants, then electric starts to make more sense. Downside: battery technology is pretty mature and unlikely to get that much better.
Brian| 9.2.11 @ 1:09PM
I rented a couple of diesels in Germany and they were wonderful cars. Good pickup, quiet and good gas mileage, they are very popular over there.
ray bob| 7.7.11 @ 8:07AM
simple conclusion; at what cost are we willing to pay for the folly of those who ride in limo's?
Melvin| 7.7.11 @ 8:13AM
Fame Ray Bob, fame.
Mimi| 7.7.11 @ 8:42AM
From sea to shining sea...AMERICA is a massive country...Lots of ground to cover here!
The DUMB-DE-DA-DEMS are busy as bees to stop this country in it's track....OBAMA'S goal is to STOP us to a grinding Halt....& SAYS " WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE"
We The People know full well who we are....and....we know full well who our ENEMIES are within. The LIBERAL-IDIOTS must be stopped....and NOT danced with..time to call a spade a spade!
Willis| 7.7.11 @ 8:46AM
If I'm going to spend big money on a car it's going to have a V-12 engine, sound like it belongs on the race track, consume as much fuel as it wants and smirk contemptuously as it blows by one of those hideous Priuses.
maximumrandb| 7.7.11 @ 9:11AM
You are correct, Willis. I DO miss my Jaguars, a '73 E-Type V-12 and '82 XJS V12. (Sold them as we needed bigger cars when we started having children). Got a solid 16 mpg on the highway on high test gas! Oh, I did spend almost a year "downrange" in Saudi during the first Gulf War to keep the oil flowing. Better to drill our own here, but as Richard said above, there are too many in this country who'd rather send our young men and women to Middle East war zones.
john dubose| 7.7.11 @ 8:57AM
Bio-gasoline or its equivalent from algae and waste plant material is on the way. It will not be a lot more expensive than from crude oil. There will be plenty. These regulations make NO sense at all.
Dustoff| 7.7.11 @ 9:41AM
John.
When it comes to algae. Where shall we get the land and water to make thousands of gallons of fuel.
I haven't seen one person really answer that yet.
Just like the food for fuel mess.
john dubose| 7.7.11 @ 8:59PM
Algae will be grown in closed cycle tanks in the sun on desert land. Yes it will take some bucks to set it all up. Btu algae grows very fast and converts a decent percentage of the light to energy.
Then there is the technology of using local solar electricity to make fuel on the spot. With some more research and economies of scale, it too will eventually get as cheap or cheaper than dwindling fossil fuel.
When these things happen is a big unknown. But a fundamental flaw in the draconian CAFE standards is the assumption that they will never happen.
Jeff| 7.7.11 @ 10:02AM
the whole point of this is to reduce CO2 per mile based on the scam of AGW ...
the sooner real scientists destory the Global Warming cult the sooner we will return to some sort of sanity ...
skip| 7.8.11 @ 11:32AM
This was accomplished a dozen years ago.
petitionproject.org
For the life of me I cannot understand how this petition is not better known than facebook and twitter.
Intelligence and honesty to a liberal are like deet to a mosquito.
Kills their credibility.
Dead.
Pecos Pete| 7.7.11 @ 9:19AM
Me and my horses will survive. Although I am thinking about some diversity by adding a couple of donkeys for short hauls.
Willis| 7.7.11 @ 9:37AM
I note you are not considering jackasses recognizing, perhaps, there are already enough of those in government.
MAJ Mike| 7.7.11 @ 9:52AM
It is my understanding that THE WON has a secret research project to run vehicles on unicorn farts and rainbows.
At age 61, I've probably purchased my last motor vehicle. Its a Ford F-150 pickup that hauls lumber, bricks, paving stones, compost, mulch, and any number of things that a home-owner requires for landscaping and maintenance. They'll get my pickup when they pry it from my cold dead fingers. I'll never drive one of those Clown Cars.
irish19| 7.7.11 @ 11:37AM
The F-150 will probably be my next as well-although that's still several years down the road.
I've driven Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler Corp products for nearly 30 years ( got a Dakota 4x4 now), but am planning on switching to something made by a company that is not run by the gov't.
Alex| 7.7.11 @ 9:48PM
Irish, I've also been a Dodge man all my life (I'm pushing close to 50 now) but sadly I wont' be buying another one either until an american buys back that company back from Fiat.
Pecos Pete| 7.7.11 @ 12:49PM
Hey Major, I've owned nothing but F-150s seems like forever. My current F-150, a 1998, has 325,000 miles and is running like a top - KNOCK ON WOOD.
I can't wait to load a cord of firewood in a smart car. Or pull my horse trailer.
And, like you, they will get my current F-150, or the next one if I live that long, only from my cold dead fingers.
Albert| 7.7.11 @ 7:55PM
According to the government, you do not need cord wood, since burning wood pollutes the air and increases CO2 levels. Plus you don't need a horse since you don't need land. An efficiency apartment with 7 dissidents and one toilet is all you will ever need and what the government will force you to enjoy. And I'm sure President Bozo's minions in the BATFE will be all to happy to empty your cold dead fingers and in fact have a history of speeding people on their way to cold dead finger status.
p.s. They ain't gettin' MY F-150 either!
Dave Williams| 7.7.11 @ 1:37PM
Last one? Sir, your life expectancy 1s 25 more years at least, of which you'll probably be able to drive 15-20. Show a little optimism out there!
Jeff| 7.7.11 @ 10:00AM
Obama should just ban unemployment ... or house foreclosures ...
See, problems solved ...
Steve| 7.7.11 @ 12:12PM
VIVA LA FRANCE!
MATT M.| 7.7.11 @ 10:08AM
My Harley gets 37 mpg, but I'm usually one up. Put The Wife on the pad and we get 74 miles per passenger mile. Does that count?
PolishKnight| 7.7.11 @ 10:39AM
CNG is popular in Eastern Europe. It's about half as much in cost as regular gas and you get about 100 miles out of a tank and you can convert an existing car.
The reality is that gasoline, as we know it, will probably be uneconomical by 2056 with China and India and even Russia coming online with their own gasoline consumption. What then? We'll need to have moved onto something else.
Bjzq8| 7.8.11 @ 1:32PM
We'll be able to convert natural gas to gasoline by then. It's already feasible, just not economical because we can pump it out of the ground still.
Bjzq8| 7.8.11 @ 1:32PM
We'll be able to convert natural gas to gasoline by then. It's already feasible, just not economical because we can pump it out of the ground still.
Louis Jenkins| 7.7.11 @ 10:46AM
The Smart 2 person Cars look like a wreck waiting to happen. Has anyone seen one after the collision? What happened to the passengers? Enquiring minds would like to know.
Pecos Pete| 7.7.11 @ 12:51PM
The emergency responders looked inside, around, on top and beneath ... couldn't find them. Must have walked away. Right?
Drunken Sailor| 7.7.11 @ 5:21PM
Check the glove box.
G.S. Patton| 7.7.11 @ 11:04AM
Ha ! What a bunch of collectivist, utopian pipe-dream crap ! The laws of Entropy exist, no matter how elegant the "sales literature." There is no "something for nothing." Can't wait to get into my 1500 lb. piece of plastic, with a top speed of 25; rush right on down to get my "gooberment cheese" and my throat checked after waiting 8 months for a doctor ....... and just wait til you see how well the air conditioning works in this baby....... oh; there isn't any. That is only allowed if you work for "The State."
RichTex| 7.7.11 @ 11:34AM
Don’t y’all know we’re supposed to be relying solely on mass transit? No more personal cars; that allows people too much individual freedom in the Glorious Workers’ Paradise we are due to become. And, if mass transit doesn’t take you where you want to go, maybe you just shouldn’t want to go there in the first place. After all, those in the bureaucracy know best.
Of course, the rulers get to keep their limousines. What’s the point in having socialism if the elites have to suffer just like all of the ordinary people?
Marc Jeric| 7.7.11 @ 12:18PM
Man - you are talking like you know what's what. This former refugee from a communist hell recognizes the signs - mass transit for the slaves and the limousines for the "avantguarde"!
Kevin Compton| 7.7.11 @ 11:53AM
The last sentence truly sums up the whole article. Our streets and highways will look like the Soviet Union in the mid 70's if this goes through. The only vehicles on the road will be those owned by the government as, no doubt, they will be exempt.
Johnny Lucid| 7.7.11 @ 11:57AM
While plastics companies would love the idea of polymer- and composite- rich automotive marketplace, one has to ask if they have the capacity to supply the car makers if we went the Amory Lovins-inspired route for the Obama car. Then there's also the costs consumers will bear to insure against damage or replacement in the event of a collision with an auto built predominantly of composite materials like carbon fiber, etc. Can you spell boondoggle? Likely we'll not see any backbone from the car makers. Instead we should count on the automakers to adhere to their very apologetic mode of capitalism
Marc Jeric| 7.7.11 @ 12:14PM
This story of the government dictating car performances reminds me of the medieval pursuit of perpetuum mobile. You know - a machine that once put to work would go forever without further ado. If the Washington lawyers can dictate 30 MPG, then 40, then 50 - why not 200 or even 1000 MPG? Aren't there any engineers in Congress? What - just lawyers?
Smarty Pants| 7.7.11 @ 1:05PM
Yes, there are engineers in congress. Unfortunately they are in the minority and it is very difficult to argue with idiots.
George S| 7.7.11 @ 12:45PM
Whatever solution the free market comes up with, the government will immediately stick its face into. Diesel can get you 60 mpg? Well, nuclear power can get you carbon-free electricity.
Smarty Pants| 7.7.11 @ 1:03PM
We will end up just like Cuba. The auto industry will be gone, thousands of jobs will be lost, and in 20 years we will still be driving the cars we own now. Nobody will buy a car that doesn't meet their needs.
SCM| 7.7.11 @ 1:12PM
While the Chinese continue to buy more and more cars, we will be forced to buy their old bicycles.
Who would have thought that the Chinese would become better capitalists than us?
govt lowlife| 7.7.11 @ 1:22PM
As a former NHTSA "rulemaker" this is basically garbage. Just a political rant. This guy has no idea of what the technologies of 14 years from now will do. He also deliberately ignores the nature of CAFE which allows for trades, offsets and is about averages. Look it up if you really want to know what is going on. Don't take this too seriously. Unless he has a crystal ball, it is speculation at best.
Butch | 7.7.11 @ 5:20PM
". . . which allows . . ."
"Freedom is coming to mean little more than the right to ask permission." -- Joe Sobran
Pat| 7.7.11 @ 1:43PM
California has slipped Obama our secret family recipe for irresponsible government and, lately, Washington D. C. has taken on an odor very familiar to many Californians. The recipe works as follows: Declare a lofty goal: such as human immortality, universal peace, abolishment of hunger everywhere – maybe also elimination of all atmospheric pollution – the specific goal really isn’t important, just that it creates more heartwarming emotions among voters than a room full of Golden Retriever puppies. But your goal should also be impossible to achieve – that’s important for a reason which will be revealed shortly. Next, you name a date when the goal will be achieved, not too soon because then people remember the promise and ask embarrassing questions. But not too far out like the year 2090 – that makes it of ho-hum interest and relegates it to science fiction stories. Somehow, naming a specific date makes it “real” to the voters, no matter how laughable the goal.
So, human immortality by 2035, universal peace by 2050, elimination of all pollutants – the year 2020. Give yourself enough lead time to make as much money as possible off your promise and when your goal isn’t reached blame it on lack of commitment by the voters so no one asks what specifically caused the failure. Pass regulations supporting your goal (don’t forget massive media coverage) and only those regulations which will require maximum government oversight (hint to any slow learners: govt. jobs, opportunities to legally reward family, friends and political allies, future voting loyalty from the less intelligent among your constituents).
That’s it, nothing more need be done. The idea isn’t to actually achieve your goal, it’s to milk its potential for self-serving benefits for as long as possible, at which time you allow it to gradually fade into the mist.
And following this recipe works every time – politicians are continually amazed – and delighted - that exactly the same swindle can work time after time on the same group of voters. Maybe you’re skeptical that’s true – well, back in the 80’s, California’s politicians set the goal of eliminating all smog in the Los Angeles basin which was, of course, ridiculous unless you planned to relocate every resident to another part of the state. But the voters enthusiastically fell for it, the smog isn’t any better today, but no one remembers that it was scheduled to be completely eliminated over 10 years ago.
What about the embryonic stem cell con job initiated twenty years after the smog elimination scam? California’s government working to develop cures for cancer, Alzheimers, Parkinsons and throw in the common cold as well. That was $3 billion taxpayer dollars ago but still no breakthroughs in sight – what a shame, that’s disappointing, but how typical. Obama promised us Hope and Change and California has loaned him our never fail recipe for getting us there.
Tom| 7.7.11 @ 3:46PM
EXCELLENT analysis. One of the best posts I've ever seen -- you nailed it.
skip| 7.8.11 @ 12:00PM
RCV | 6.16.11:
"California will be just fine...California's (massive budget deficits) is already shrinking as its creative and innovative economy rebounds...Talented, creative, entrepreneurial people continue to swarm here...They're drawn here because there is a large critical mass of similarly talented people to work with, because there is a sense of tolerance and progress and optimism instead of the constant whining and badmouthing of American culture...we don't see our country as a failure, but a resounding success - where more people are freeer and able to live their lives as they choose than at any time in history...The people...who've left the state are those in dead-end careers that time has passed by..."
Bob Grant| 7.7.11 @ 1:47PM
Question: How does forcing people into dangerous micro compact cars square with the upcoming government controlled healthcare? Government will be responsible for its citizens' heath care but at the same time forces them into extremely dangerous cars. After all, even the most minor accident in one of those tuna cans they call vehicles most assuredly will result in injuries.
Steve A| 7.7.11 @ 2:48PM
Answer: It dosen't square & they don't care.
George S| 7.7.11 @ 3:01PM
They will slowly implement a ban on driving. Too many injuries puts a strain on the health care system; it's not fair to the taxpayers. Then they'll apply the same logic to the Second Amendment; gunshot wounds are expensive to treat. No need for that, is there?
Bob Grant| 7.7.11 @ 4:06PM
Obviously fast food restaurants will be banned per your logic.
They will die a slow death anyway because there will be no room to fit a happy meal in your clown car...er...that is...your smart car.
Von| 7.8.11 @ 6:15AM
Remember to these people, humans are a blight, a virus. They want to thin our numbers. Who cares if a few million of us peons die every year. To them it's population control, an added bonus as long as it's not them and theirs.
Stan| 7.7.11 @ 1:56PM
It should be pointed out that if they built the Fiat to the same horsepower as the Super Beetle (a total piece of junk btw that got more like low 20's) the Fiat 500 (will utterly fail in the US) would probably get a lot better MPG. What was the horsepower of the VW? 70-80? And that was the "Super" Beetle.
That being said, they are doing amazing things with car mileage now and I wouldn't be surprised if they come close in 15 years. But that doesn't mean bureaucrats should get into de facto car design.
Erik Olson| 7.7.11 @ 2:08PM
I live in Europe and drive a Smart and Ford Focus Diesel. Under optimal highway conditions (i.e. no passengers, luggage, A/C, lowish speeds), both get almost 50mpg. Around town or with loads they of course do much less, which makes 56 mpg impossible even with diesel. Of course the reason we buy such economical cars is because fuel is $8 to $10 per gallon, which the politicians tell us is for our own good. Ha Ha.
govt lowlife| 7.7.11 @ 2:16PM
You can't use today's knowledge and technology to proclaim this can't be done. The manufacturers will weigh in on this proposed rulemaking and will help put some perspective on how realistic it may be.
Tom| 7.7.11 @ 3:49PM
Yeah, GM and Chrysler (and Ford via Energy Dept. & Federal Reserve "loans") -- being on the government teat -- are really going to be brutally frank to their government sugar-daddy.
Oh, and did you know that the Obamacare debate is going to be covered live on C-Span, and that all bills will be posted at least five days in advance of voting?
Bob Grant| 7.7.11 @ 4:08PM
I don't anticipate the laws of physics changing anytime soon.
Drunken Sailor| 7.7.11 @ 5:26PM
"You can't use today's knowledge and technology to proclaim this can't be done."
But they can use today's knowledge and technology and proclaim that it can be done by that time? And just what powers that crystal ball of theirs, fairy dust or unicorn farts?
Butch | 7.7.11 @ 6:04PM
Quite a childlike faith in those they presume to regulate, eh, Sailor? Time for a scotch. I'll buy you a JD when we all get together.
Drunken Sailor| 7.8.11 @ 12:18PM
Second round is on me.
von| 7.8.11 @ 7:40PM
i'm afraid scotch is bad for your liver, since government pays your health care, no scotch for you.
ChuckL| 7.7.11 @ 5:59PM
it seems to me that during the introduction promotions for the Ford Fusion Hybrid that one of the drivers of the Ford NASCAR drivers and two other expert drivers filled the gas tank of a Fusion Hybrid on Friday evening and drove around Washington DC until the car stopped. It had averaged over 80 MPG. This is not a valid comparison, however, as they averaged only about 20 MPH and the time was picked to result in the minimum traffic. Still over 1400 miles on a single tank of fuel is remarkable, for a stock unmodified car of any make or size.
Albert| 7.7.11 @ 7:43PM
So what happens when millions of American drivers refuse to BUY a new "56 mpg" car, assuming it can even be manufactured? What happens when we keep our old cars, maintaining them, repairing them, upgrading them? Is President Bozo going to command us to buy new cars? Will the government force us to buy "56 mpg" cars? They already think they can force us to buy government health insurance, as "authorized" by the "Interstate Commerce Clause" of the Constitution. It is no great leap in logic to project that they will force us to buy government automobiles.
The American People are to be blamed for what is happening in this country. The President of the United States is a complete idiot and this was clearly evident BEFORE the 2008 election. But they elected this idiot anyway. And many will vote to elect this idiot AGAIN, despite all that has been learned about him since then. The American People are the authors of their own demise. Unfortunately, those of us who know better will suffer along with the fools who elected President Bozo.
Bob Grant| 7.7.11 @ 9:21PM
What scares me about him being re elected would be his interpretation as it being a mandate to accelerate the transforming of the nation.
There will be no law he's beneath. If congress won't go along with his plans, a simple executive order will set things right.
What? You say that's unconstitutional? By whom? Kagan? Sotomeyor?, Ultra-liberal Ginsberg replacement?, Breyer?, Ultra-liberal Kennedy replacement?, Ultra-liberal Scalia replacement?
The price the country will pay if he is re elected would be catastrophic.
C.K. Amos| 7.7.11 @ 9:00PM
If we or responsible representatives of ours -- I know: oxymoronic, mostly -- sit on our rear ends and allow this to happen, allow these Marxist anti-American anti-capitalists to continue their one-finger-salute to us, then we deserve the consequences.
Personally, it increasingly appears we who love our country and Constitution, and who believe socialism/Marxism is failure, should consider if it is in our country's best interest to allow Obama and his thugocracy to complete their first--and only--term in office.
Obama and his thugs, though, count on most people adhering to the rule of law and the social contract.
RawPowered | 7.7.11 @ 9:07PM
This article is based on the supposition that everyone will be buying new cars to conform to the latest standards rather than keeping their cars for a while, and keeping them in good condition.
My newest car is a 2000 Toyota Tundra with a honkin' big V8. Then there are two Benz's, an 86, 300TD Diesel and an 84, 500 SEC. All are maintained flawlessly, are absolutely dependable. Best of all, were paid off long ago. Every one of them does the major functions of today's most advanced cars ...go forward, go backward, go right and go left. They are comfortable and I assume they are safe because in all the years I have owned them, I have not allowed them to get into an accident (premeditated stupidity).
The same approach can be taken with many consumer items...get a good item and take care of it. What this article is based on is neurotic buying behavior and then casting around for a demon to blame. Don't play the game and the demon loses power.
mdbrock| 7.7.11 @ 10:31PM
what will you do when they arrive to tow off your gas guzzler in the name of national security?
Bob K.| 7.7.11 @ 9:08PM
When all our cars and trucks and trains are converted to natural gas all these problems will be solved. Except for air travel!
Helium is the answer there!
mdbrock| 7.7.11 @ 10:33PM
there isnt an infinite supply of helium. you may be thinking of hydrogen. but you have to come up with a power supply to hydrolyze water, theres no free lunch.
mdbrock| 7.7.11 @ 10:30PM
interesting that the man in the street hasnt caught on to this yet. because when i mention this issue, people just yawn and glaze over their eyes, then resume talking about the latest murder trial.
POST American| 7.7.11 @ 10:48PM
---Agenda 21 IS the agenda. It now hides itself
behind the terms 'Smart Future' --just like EUGENICS
hides itself behind terms like 'Bio-ethics'.
NOT UNTIL we're willing to put aside our
entire Tavistock Institute/CFR foundation
engineered 'culture' ----including the FAKE
political spectrum ---will we overcome the
constipation, paralysis, blindness and utter
bankruptcy.
Those of you who can't face this because
you've been, in some sense, 'on board' with
this hideous agenda have to put away your
idols -----and face eternity ---once and for all
----FOR REAL.
Burberry bags| 7.8.11 @ 4:17AM
Give yourself enough lead time to make as much money as possible off your promise and when your goal isn’t reached blame it on lack of commitment by the voters so no one asks what specifically caused the failure.
wholesale bags
weddingdress | 7.8.11 @ 4:36AM
what will you do when they arrive to tow off your gas guzzler in the name of national security?
Von| 7.8.11 @ 6:10AM
I will by a storage unit, a big muscle car from the 60's or 70's, and a tanker to store gas, then drive where ever I want. Who could catch me. You can take my car when you pry it from my cold dead hands, and there's millions like me. They are hopelessly outnumbered. I will NEVER ride mass transit. EVER.
JeffT| 7.8.11 @ 1:31PM
Get used to vehicle names like Columbia, Schwinn and Raleigh. Bikes for everyone! Go comrades.
David| 7.8.11 @ 3:44PM
Mr. Peters
You state, "The rest of us will be driving tuna can-sized Obama Cars."
Isn't the figure of speech "sardine can?"
Richard Baker| 7.8.11 @ 5:21PM
Peter:
"Obama will be long gone before any of this will come to pass." True, but the idiots who believe this nonsense will still be out there. What is more at play these days than Physics and Engineering is Political Science.
Vote Loud| 7.8.11 @ 7:34PM
The only vehicle that needs downsizing is Obama's lemo.
In 2012 we must have:
An increase of conservatives in the house.
A conservative filibuster proof Senate.
A conservative in the White House...
The message MUST be CLEAR!
The good and reasonable Democrats will then kick the radicals and Marxist leaders out of their party.
Once again we will have a healthy two party system for another 25 years.
The Clintidote| 7.8.11 @ 11:43PM
As has been stated by at least one other, Odinga is a dick.
Therefore, revile, ignore and ignore the idiot while waiting for him to be tossed onto the ashheap of history. It's time to ignore the parasites and get on with the business of being America.
In other words, F'em. F'em all.
AutoEnthusiast | 7.9.11 @ 3:31PM
I'm going to begin by saying that CAFE is a complete crock. Paraphrasing former GM executive and auto guru Bob Lutz, CAFE is equivalent to fighting obesity by outlawing large clothing. But--I must do a little fact checking. As Mr. Peters implies in his article, NOT EVERY vehicle under CAFE will have to meet whatever MPG mandate is law at the time. CAFE stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy. What this means is that an automakers entire vehicle lineup COMBINED must average whatever the law states. CAFE is also based off of an automakers yearly sells. Trucks, SUVs, and CUVs could still be sold but the sells generated by these less efficient vehicles would have to be offset by more fuel efficient vehicles such compacts, hybrids, and EVs. As an example, GM could still sell its line of Silverados, Tahoes, Suburbans, and Express Vans but they would have to sell even more Malibus, Cruzes, and Volts to raise their average fuel economy of their fleet.
Flit Andersen| 7.11.11 @ 3:38PM
To meet that average GM will have to come up with a car that gets 1,000 mph. They'll call it an "Obama" and it will run on unicorn piss.
AutoEnthusiast| 7.13.11 @ 4:24PM
I don't see the correlation between Miles Per Hour and CAFE but whatever you say...Flit.
jgo| 7.11.11 @ 12:57PM
Car manufacturers and gov't have been going contrary to what customers want. We want a nice, big (capacious), heavy, safe car that gets 80 miles per gallon. Instead, they keep trying to push us into poorly finished, tiny, light, flimsy cars that get only 35 mpg.
POST American| 7.12.11 @ 1:32AM
BTW ---can we shake our Rockefeller dumb down meds, and keep our eyes off the GPS long enough
to notice those MASSIVE steel freeway fences
they're putting up everywhere?
They tell us that it's to handle highway noise
in residential areas ---but they're ALL OVER the damned place.
'Prison City' predictive soft programming?
YOU DECIDE
Jay| 7.12.11 @ 11:20AM
I think his proposal has a good intention of forcing auto makers to innovate more to improve fuel economy, but I agree that they'll probably just end up screwing us over in the end. Still, there are a lot of innovations being made that improve fuel economy and it isn't impossible to get more efficiency from the engine, drivetrain, and even the brakes (such as regenerative braking).
clicketeer | 2.1.13 @ 1:14AM
Small size car??? I don't think it would be the right idea. When you drive a really small car on highways, it might be a very good idea regarding energy effcieincy but drivability and safety. A small car could get very huge damage to driver and passengers when it has been hit.