No, of course not. The VW itself doesn’t weigh 6,000#. Towing a trailer that is heavier than the towing vehicle is probably something that most drivers shouldn’t do unless they take the effort to become familiar with trailer brake systems.
That said, the CAFE standards are fleet averages. If more people drive high mileage cars, and dispense with driving SUV’s that they don’t need, then lower-mileage SUV’s and pickups will still be allowed.
Most people who own SUV’s are wasting fuel on a truck-type driveline because what they really want is good visibility, cargo room and a little more crash survivability. They don’t want (nor do they know how to use) a 4WD drivetrain, which is what contributes much to the SUV’s fuel inefficiency. Likewise, most SUV owners will never tow anything. Detroit needs to come up with a vehicle that delivers the aspects of the SUV that the typical customer wants, and removes the aspects of the SUV that the typical SUV customer never uses.
Ford’s hybrid SUV driveline gets the mileage up near 30 MPG. Get a small turbodiesel into that vehicle, and you’re up to 35 MPG without breaking a sweat.
Well, I have to have 4x4 just to get around in winter and I tow a boat.
Stupid lil toy cars wouldn’t work for me or anyone I know.