CAFE, revisited

[EricGo]

And I mostly agree with you, Tim.

Except we will not NEED military in the middle east, when the country is energy self-reliant. Arab terrorism directed at the US is simply a result of meddling in countries it should get the h3ll out of.

[Godiva]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tnthub @ Jun 23 2007, 02:04 PM) [snapback]466926[/snapback]</div>

it took me almost seven months to receive permission from the NHTSA to remove my airbags. I can't begin to number the people I had to go though, forms I had to submit, and written explanations I had to provide and I am simply an individual... I can't imagine the amount of effort to get everyone there to work together on something... I bet they take an hour to figure out what to order for lunch...
[/b]

Why would you have the airbags removed? And will the next owner of the car be informed there are no airbags? I imagine the expense of putting them back in is prohibitive. And not having them anymore is going to severely impact the resale value. Then there's the just plain safety issue. I specifically bought the Prius because it had all of the airbags. Why did you remove them?

[tripp]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TimBikes @ Jun 24 2007, 02:57 AM) [snapback]467184[/snapback]</div>

Personally, I like "feebates" and a gas tax. I am a conservative non-tax and spend kind of guy, but I have to favor a gas tax because I'm also anti-subsidy and believe that all costs for an activity should be borne out by users, to the extent practical / possible.
[/b]

Here here. We should be paying the real cost of petrol so that people understand the situation and don't have a warped sense of the economics of oil.

[Swanny1172]

When CAFE standards were enacted in the 1970's following the OPEC embargo, they actually led to increased fuel consumption. While CAFE did create more fuel-efficient cars, it also increased the public’s incentive to drive because of the cheaper fuel costs. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Americans are driving twice as many miles as they did than in the 70’s. History will repeat itself.

[zenMachine]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ Jul 17 2007, 10:23 PM) [snapback]480687[/snapback]</div>

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Americans are driving twice as many miles as they did than in the 70’s.
[/b]

But is it because of CAFE standards or because of something else? I think the ever expanding and sprawling suburbs also have to take some blame.

[Swanny1172]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zenMachine @ Jul 18 2007, 12:09 AM) [snapback]480703[/snapback]</div>

But is it because of CAFE standards or because of something else? I think the ever expanding and sprawling suburbs also have to take some blame.
[/b]

Suburban sprawl is definitely a factor. However, the suburbs grew as a result of cheap gas. As one of the professors in an urban planning class that I took in grad school used to say, if we really wanted to redevelop the cities, then all we would need to do is raise the price of gas to $5.00/gallon. Of course, this was 10 years ago, so the price would be higher now, but the dynamic remains the same.

[tripp]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Swanny1172 @ Jul 17 2007, 10:31 PM) [snapback]480714[/snapback]</div>

Suburban sprawl is definitely a factor. However, the suburbs grew as a result of cheap gas. As one of the professors in an urban planning class that I took in grad school used to say, if we really wanted to redevelop the cities, then all we would need to do is raise the price of gas to $5.00/gallon. Of course, this was 10 years ago, so the price would be higher now, but the dynamic remains the same.
[/b]

It seems to me that gas was going to be cheap regardless of our demand back then. Gas was really cheap prior to 1973 and FE was terrible. Supply outstripped demand by loads back then. Geopolitics was the limiting factor. CAFE sort of put us on the right track, but the Europeans and Japanese got it right by taxing petrol at a high rate instead of playing the CAFE game. American's are tax averse to a fault, however, and so CAFE was the only realistic way for us to tackle the problem.