DaimlerChrysler gets record $30M CAFE fine

A nice little socialist scheme that appears to tax the rich. When I refer to the rich I mean the customers who are buying great big gas sucking pigs of cars rather than the companies supplying them. One would hope the manufacturers are counting the fines toward the cost of manufacturing these fuel hogs.

 

so did daimler take this as a financial hit when they sold chrysler? or is the new semi-standalone chrysler paying this? because last i heard, they're not in a position to be paying nasty fines like that.

 

Not surprising, tThere are no fines to Toyota / Honda / Nissan.

 

Exactly, Daimler Chrysler no longer exists

I imagine Daimler & Chryslers new parent co will be suing each other to see who will pay

 

Nah. The Feds will give them a pass on the $30 mil. After all, there is a good precedent for bailing out Chrysler.

 

Mercedes and BMW just figure the fine into the price of the cars. As you can see teh currect CAFE rules have been a major deterent to Mercedes and BMW doing business selling "gas-guzzlers".

 

This is probably why MB has built the Smart cars & the A class

 

I think you are confusing the CAFE program with the Gas Guzzler Tax.

The CAFE program is supposed to encourage the auto manufacturers to limit the fuel consumption of all of their cars by imposing fines on companies that do not meet the standards for Corporate Average Fuel Economy.

The "nice little socialist scheme that appears to tax the rich" is the Gas Guzzler Tax, which taxes only those individual cars which guzzle too much gas. Although the amount of the tax is displayed on the window sticker on new "fuel hogs", it is normally paid by the manufacturer or importer, leaving them free to pass it on to "the customers who are buying great big gas sucking pigs of cars" or not.

PS BTW YMWSV

 

I heard MB has been watching BMW's success selling Minis and MB will launch a revised A class in the USA soon