Yep. There are other reasons for it, and reasons this Administration wants gas prices high. FWIW not just this admin, GOP admins have their games too, so it's a bipartisan effort to put America last. In Obama's case they want alternative fuels to compete with oil, and since they aren't competitive on their own the only way to make them more competitive is to raise the price of oil. So they restrict supply (offshore drilling, ANWAR, the pipeline) and raise demand (lower MPG cars). Notice that none of those 100 billion dollar green car initiatives ever made any cars?
There is also the environmental thing about engine pollution, though the video clearly debunks it. Here's the deal - Ford and VW produce those engines, but GM and others don't. Put an output restriction on pollutants per mile and those older [read union] plants that make those engines and their companies that don't ditch them are gone. So you put in a pollutant per gallon of gas and ignore the mpg.
Think it's a conspiracy? Nah, that's just politics 101. Same thing was done in the Clean Air act of 1978 re coal emissions. If they put in regs based on tons of coal burned or btus created by a factory then eastern coal, which is much higher in sulfur than western coal, would be hurt badly. People would just burn western coal. So the eastern coal states got it set up where the CAA specified 'best technology' solutions like mandating smokestack scrubbers instead of mandating pollutant limits overall. This prevented the easy economic substitution to western coal and protected eastern coal.
That's how politics really works. Follow the money. this is certainly nothing new or even unusual in federal politics. Laws are constantly written to tinker with or prevent market function to protect the economic interests of certain groups or of the government itself. If the video is accurate, and I do know there are more efficient cars not being sold in the US but I haven't verified the particular details of why, I wouldn't even classify it as unusual.
Never trust a politician's motives and never take any justification at face value. Most of the time that's not the real reason they want something, and there's some subtlety in the proposal that is in someone's economic self interest. When you expand government you don't eliminate the profit motive of the market, you just move it to the political realm.
There was a good reason that VW stopped selling the Bug in the US for many many years. The engine they put in them for the rest of the world was a much higher horse power one that would push the beetle to well over 120 mph. It had almost zero pollution controls on it and VW told the USA they were to going to meet their regs and pulled out of the market. Buddy of mine was stationed in German in the early 70s and he bought one. Said it would run 160 mph. He had to sell it when he left Germany as he could not bring it home
Subaru makes an engine to run on 100% ethanol by turbo charging the engine and boosting the cylinder pressure. Very limited pollution and great horsepower and fuel mileage. We do not see that engine in the USA
Last edited by dan_bgblue; 03-07-2013 at 01:50 PM.
seeya
dan
I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight.
Dan, VW wont' sell the Beetle turbo diesels in the US either. Friend has one from when they sold them, they're great little cars, zoom along. You can get turbo diesel in the Jetta and that's it. Supposedly emissions standards but its in the Jetta, which tells me if it's emissions it's probably some weird ratio or equation at work.
I had a high school friend that had an old VW Rabbit when we graduated from high school in the early '80's. The Rabbit hopped along using a miserly 40+ mpg.
About 5 or 6 years ago we bought an '01 Hyundai Elantra. Using Shell gas it would get 40 mpg. Someone had removed the catalytic converter from the exhaust, which created less back pressure and enabled the little car to get the outstanding mileage. We had another '01 Elantra that got 30 mpg with the same engine, but with the converter.
Some of the stuff that has been done with the claims of air pollution control really creates more pollution by causing more gasoline or diesel to be used.
The limitations placed on diesel engines is not just due to fuel taxes, but also due to union security issues. A good diesel engine will outlast four or five gasoline engines. Instead of 200K to 250K miles for a well maintained gas engine the diesels will run a million miles. The auto industry simply can't have vehicles last that long as it cuts into new car sales.
Mahindra, an Indian based company, tried for several years to gain approval of a small diesel truck and SUV line. They recently gave up on getting regulatory approval. Mahindra is currently leads the world in sales of tractors. Their automobile division is noted for sales of diesel powered vehicles.
Keith we sold a Mahindra tractor a year or so ago, first one I'd ever seen. Didn't know anything about them and found out they dominated the global market. Was news to me.
A lot of car regulations are just barriers to entry. "Tucker A man and his dream" should be shown in classes on political economy. Not a documentary, but 100% accurate in how big business and big government scratch each other's backs, and it's been that way in the car business a very long time.
Of course those things drive up the cost of cars, keeping those who need transportation the most, those in poverty living in poor neighborhoods who need transportation to get to any kind of job, from having transportation.
Originally Posted by KeithKSR
Keith we purchased an Elantra new in 2011 (did not cost that much compared to used). All our other cars, trucks, vans and SUV company or personal were getting on average 14 to 16 MPG. I never sat in the car, never drove the car, all I saw was 47 miles to gallon on sticker. My friend at dealership told me they had 3 coming in, one white, one black and one gray, I said I want the gray one. He told me the first day it didn't rain they would all be gone. I figure with the 100,000 mile warranty and gas savings it would pay for itself as they don't cost that much to start with. Here it is March 2013 and we have over 31,000 miles on it, started with 10 miles. All around driving I would guess we get in high 30s, on the road may be 40 + at times. Hmmmmmm thinking of taking off the catalytic converter. Good car, doesn't ride like our SUV but has plenty of pick up and I set well in it.
Remove the word "car"
When Dad was in the TV business they never had an FCC complaint from an outraged citizen - they were a family oriented station showing reruns of Gidget and Gilligans Island (maybe Mary Ann had a wardrobe malfunction?) but were constantly having to pay lawyers to defend FCC actions filed by competitors over nitpicking technical violations - "your broadcast license says a 700 foot tower and your tower is only 695' tall" kind of things.
Last edited by kritikalcat; 03-09-2013 at 10:03 AM.
No argument from me at all. A huge percentage of regulations can be traced to businesses or unions or whatever group trying to gain economic advantage in some way.
Re Mary Ann, don't I wish. Always was a Mary Ann guy.
People keep asking if I'm back and I haven't really had an answer. But now, yeah, I'm thinkin' I'm back.
Joe public is at the bottom of the list anymore.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks