A CAFE Rant from someone who hasn't heard of the Prius

That's a right-wing rant in a right-wing paper. They don't care about facts.. only about scaring people out of voting against Bush.

 

Interesting...
There's threads aplenty on this site about the american automakers missing the hybrid boat. Suppose the above becomes true (Kerry, high MPG). Like in the 70s, the american car makers have nothing to offer the public, but the Japanese do (prius, civic etc). Sales of Japanese cars soar, American makers crumble. Japanese automakers hire workers to meet demand, Americans are laid off. Nice way to keep jobs in America.

 

If this article does have any merit, it'll just be one more example of how the great Kerry is just oh so in touch with the American People. :roll:

 

How about this...

Bush stays in office. Dollar continues to devalue against foreign currencies. Gas prices continue to climb, and the Bush administration does nothing, because everyone there has close ties to the oil and energy industries, and what's the point of being president if you can't make all your friends rich at the expense of the American people. American consumers seek out high mpg cars on their own (which they already are, as evidenced by the overwhelming popularity of the Prius).

Like in the 70s, the american car makers have nothing to offer the public, but the Japanese do (prius, civic etc). Sales of Japanese cars soar, American makers crumble. Japanese automakers hire workers to meet demand, Americans are laid off. Nice way to keep jobs in America.

Far-fetched? Well, watch that nice "Clean Fuel" tax deduction for the Prius disappear over the next two years. Bush adds all sorts of tax breaks, but makes sure he gets rid of the one that will take away profits for the oil companies. Can't encourage cars with good mpg, or his $200m re-election war chest might vanish...

Go back and read what you said again. You're basically arguing that a requirement for high MPG is bad for the US, because American cars are inferior to Japanese cars. That doesn't strike me as a good enough reason to continue wasting oil unnecessarily.

 

Welcome to the global village. The majority of Japanese-maker cars sold in the US are built in the US. The majority of US-maker cars sold in the US have significant content of foreign-made components.

What do you suppose will happen to the price of gas the day that one billion Indians and Chinese go to fill their tanks?

 

bahahaha! We'd all be driving american hybrids today if it weren't for Bush reversing the hybrid funding when he got into office. Instead, he focused gov't funding for studying fuel cells - an area that's currently able to keep the oil companies still in control, how convienent! :roll:

-m.

 

Richard hit the nail on the head......we will ultimately pay for the coming-of-age of China and India, and this is just a fact of life. We cannot deny these people the right to improve their lot. What is frightening is that the world oil supply and distribution system is not capable of handling the added demands of the Chinese and Indians. Our task, if we are to manage this change in the world oil demand, is to RAPIDLY embrace energy technologies that reduce our dependence on oil. Continuing to do things as we have always done them will become so expensive that our overall quality of life will decline. America has a real advantage in that we have some of the most productive land on the planet. Bio-fuels must come into play soon if we are to remain strong and free. These are constantly renewable and ecologically friendly ( if correct farming/harvesting practices are used). Wind-generated electricity is another great rising technology, though it is not usable in all parts of the country.
These technologies can not remain the darlings of the 'eco-nut' group, but have to be embraced by the general population if they are to succeed. Bush and his buddies will not bring these into play since there is no profit for his oil-dependent friends. My fear is that they will poison public opinion with negative ads aimed at Sen. Kerry, and set these technologies back.

 

Hey, I do stuff about it.. I bought a Prius!

On a related topic, I wonder how much al-Qaida gets, in the end, for each gallon of gas sold in the US.

Not to start an eco-argument, but I personally chose to buy my electricity from a nuclear power source, rather than from the standard source. I decided that the risk that my energy money would eventually be used to buy and detonate a nuclear bomb was higher than the risk that the nuclear plant would have a meltdown or generate too much waste. (I don't think this was true 15 years ago, but I think it's true now).

As soon as any other alternative energy source becomes available to me, I'll switch to that even if it's more expensive. I'm considering building a house with solar panels, plus outside electricity only to cover high demand... Even if it costs more in cash, I think the ultimate cost is less.

 

But is, rather amazingly, honest about his plans and opinions, instead of modifying them because they run against popular opinion.

(If not wanting requirements for higher MPG cars really is popular opinion.)

 

Regardless of ones feelings about nuclear power one way or another, take a look at this. It's a photo-tour of the town of Chernobyl someone took. One of the most strangely disturbing things I've ever seen on the Internet.

At the very least, it makes me want to make sure that any further investments in nuclear fissions have the costs for realistic safety, long-term storage of nuclear waste, and long-term retirement of the plant is kept in mind. (And discussion of whether "realistic" is really realistic.)

 

Well, then you also need to look at the photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, since those cities were destroyed with atomic bombs that were pretty damned small compared to what you can fit into a suitcase today.

The BEST solution is, hopefully, where this whole hybrid thing is taking us. Good battery technology and hydrogen fuel cells. The more "consumer" these applications become, the faster we'll get improvements (along the lines of improvements in computer chips once there was a market for them). And eventually we'll have a solid alternate energy source.

I don't think nuclear power is a good thing in its current state. Too risky, and there's no desire to solve long-term issues within that industry. But when I ask myself what worries me most about the world right now, it's that the oil-rich countries, or loosely allied terrorist groups, might decide that it'll only take a few bombs to wipe out the Evil West, and that it's worth throwing a few trillion dollars at that problem.

I'd love to see an energy company sell "clean" energy at a higher rate. I'm surprised nobody's tried that yet.. I'd buy it.

 

After a few paragraphs, I just put the whole thing down to "lazy $%#@ who didn't do his research". :guns:

 

Oh, I got so peeved at that article I just had to refute it, point by point.

But is anyone familiar with where he might have gotten this figure:
"It has been estimated that about 2,000 people are killed every year as a result of the CAFE-induced "downsizing" of the typical passenger cars -- which lost about 1,000 lbs. on average between the 1970s and the 1990s."

 

Which utility lets you do that? I've asked my local providers about it and they think I'm either joking or nuts.

 

About two weeks ago, the "democratic underground" discovered my website. Since then, it has been hit on repeatedly by them. They are using the real-world data & comments I provided to make a REALISTIC solution a reality.

The increase in CAFE is proposed for 2015. That gives even those unable to adopt the technology right away an opportunity to catch up.

The old fear of tiny, slow, unsafe cars just for the sake of meeting a MPG requirement is just a memory, that won't be repeated. People know better now.

Prius is helping to show that a technological answer really is both possible & practical, something which wasn't in the past.

 

Right now SUVs and trucks are exempt from CAFE regulations. Oh and guys....the CAFE score is an AVERAGE score. FORD can keep making the Excursion for example as long as they introduce a hybrid as well. If the Ford version of the Prius gets 60 mpg, than they can keep the excursion that gets only 14 mpg (numbers are just made up. I have no idea the mpg of an excursion).

 

That certainly doesn't match up with the article I read on Cars.com about airbags. Generally talks about how much safer cars are now than in the 70s.

One could argue that the safety is because of better engineering, use of seat belts and airbags, and that it would be even better with extra mass; but I greatly doubt it's that much safer. Take a look at some of the lousy ratings at the crash ratings site for huge, heavy V8 trucks and SUVs.

By the way, Cybele -- your new Avatar seems to be following me as I move around the office...