Featured Would there have even been a Prius?

Good grief, Trump and co. are so short-sighted, narrow-minded, etc., to spare much less kind words.

 

I am (perhaps a bit foolishly) hopeful that this whole "fuel efficiency" standard debate will go the way of the dodo as more and more car buyers choose BEVs (or PHEVs) over ICE vehicles.

 

Does anyone actually think that global automotive companies will just suddenly make less efficient transport just to appease Trump, and an administration with probably a short lived and short-sighted life span? Would it not be less expensive to produce the most efficient systems for all production lines in multiple countries and just leave it at that?

 

This topic could EASILY be in 'hybrid news' if if we play nice. For instance ....... what do we got now. Maybe easy over 10% of people driving some form of plug-in or very efficient battery hybrid?
* People that could afford the extra cost & are trend setters?
* People labeled tree huggers? Environmental anti CO2 types?
*Techno Geeks?
* People w/ free electricity gaming the system?
* etc
Lots of reasons we chose what we drive.
This is not a 'us' against 'them' scenario. Meaning both sides of the aisle thought forcing 100% electric by legislation was overkill.
Eight Democrats vote to ax Biden’s EV rule
There is a place for gassers, even diesel. It wouldn't be hard, if we each had to write an essay, about the benefits of fossil fuels. It's what got us out of caves, & it's what makes things cheaper. It's what makes the USA or other countries more competitive.
As for the manufacturing industry, all the R&D to get where we are (efficiency-wise) is already done, so logic says they will continue to use it, not go about stripping it down to the point where there's oily blow-by spewing right onto the street Ah-lah 1950s
.

 

No one was forcing 100% electric. There were plenty of incentives pushing them, but no laws for 100% BEV. The CARB mandate had phrasing to allow delaying the increase of percent plug in.

"Asia-Pacific is the largest car market in the world, accounting for over 40% of global sales in 2022. China is the largest car market in the region, followed by Japan and India.

Europe is the second largest car market in the world, accounting for over 20% of global sales in 2022. Germany, France, and the United Kingdom are the largest car markets in the region.

North America is the third largest car market in the world, accounting for over 15% of global sales in 2022. The United States is the largest car market in the region, followed by Canada and Mexico."
Worldwide Car Sales by Region & Key Markets (All Years) | GCBC

For global car companies, the US market is no longer as important as people like to think it is. Efficiency and emissions are an important factor in Asia and Europe. Camry sales in India were 90% hybrid years before Toyota made the model hybrid only in Japan. For there(maybe Canada) the companies will continue improving efficiency and moving to hybrids and plug ins. For the US, they'll just put older engine models into cars to increase profits.

 

Trump may exit soon enough, but the sentiment that got him elected maybe not so much.

 

oil embargos
long lines at gas stations
rationing

Yeah, let's get back to those good times.

 

I'm pretty sure this is going to happen - we do the same to foreign versions of our exports. No air bags, minimal pollution control devices. Simple spring n shock arrangements to minimize cost which kills ride quality. People who could afford a REAL car would simply buy foreign, because the US models sucks. It was the Japanese cars that forced US auto makers to step-up their game. Affordable, reliable cars that Detroit used to make fun of. We'll simply start falling behind everyone else in the world. Remember the Yugo, Tata, and Lada - cheap don't get you recognized on the world stage but for a fleeting moment..IMHO

yup; MAGA; but to be fair, most of that happened during the Carter administration - trying to fix the pickle Nixion-Ford administration placed us in. That's when we realized how much influence oil producing countries had over us. Then came the Reagan administration after 4 years of hardships under Carter. I see history repeating itself. IMHO

 

The late show had hilarious coverage of this announcement about how we're heading back to the 1970's with dad rolling up the windows to smoke a cigarette in the old station wagon:

 

Before opponents jump on this, I must note that the CA and WA phase-outs of traditional gasser light vehicle registrations starting with model year 2035 (if the new Administration hasn't already killed it), do not require 100% BEVs. PHEVs of sufficient all-EV range also qualify. My 2024 RAV4 PHEV comes close, the new 2026 version already meets it.

The 2026 Prius PHEV also comes close already, needing only a 14% EV range boost.

I also understood that this state's 2035 requirement was predicated on first meeting other targets that were unlikely to be met on schedule, even without the current Administration's course change.

 

I forgot about indoor smoking; took it for granted. I do recall hating that when visiting foreign countries.

 

The devil is ALWAYS in the DETAILS that never gets reported, because it's not news unless they sensationalized it and forget to report the WHOLE story - it wouldn't be shocking enough and too even-handed...... Are these 'real' reporters that's has a journalism degree and took ethics classes or just a blogger that claims to be a journalist? Again; the devil is in the details.......

 

Round #1 happened while Nixon was still in office. Carter got Round #2.

You ignore (or deny) the giant elephant in the room.

And we moved out of caves long long long before fossil fuel use became significant. While a few cultures used a bit of coal in ancient times, wood was the overwhelming dominant fuel until the Industrial Revolution.

 

As for the OPs question; I think there would still be a Prius. Toyota was working on the Mirai Hydrogen car and knew is would be prohibitively expensive, so they needed something in-between for third world impoverished countries.

Just my two cents...

 

When our state banned indoor smoking in early 2000's all of a sudden there were so many more places I could go out to at night and not come home smelling like an ash tray.