Obama's Fuel Fantasy

Forbes ^ | May 19, 2009 | Jerry Flint

[rightwingintelligentsia]

The new fuel economy rules announced by the government are more than a challenge; they could end our era of cheap transportation. If they can be met, and that is questionable without some cheating on the rulemaking, cars will be small and expensive--or larger and very expensive.

The word coming from Washington is that a 35.5 mile average per gallon requirement will be set for vehicles by 2016, meaning something like 43 miles per gallon for cars and 26 miles per gallon for trucks.

Rules are easy to make. Companies like General Motors ( GM - news - people ) and Chrysler, which are only alive because of huge government bailouts, aren't likely to complain. They know they'll be lucky even to be in business in 2016. Foreign companies aren't likely to contradict the administration, either. That's not good politics. But that doesn't make it possible.

Most amusing is the government's estimate that it would cost $1,300 or so per car to accomplish this. It's always wonderful how our government, which paid $7,000 for a coffee thermos and $240 million for a fighter airplane and $3 billion for a new presidential helicopter--money it doesn't have--always figures that private industry can produce miracles for next to no cost.

[Paladin2]

"Rules are easy to make."

That's not what Clinton said; "I've never worked harder in my life....for the American Public".

[Scotswife]

Anyone watch the movies Madagascar and Madagascar 2?

The chief penguin always asks for facts and figures from one of his underlings - and winds up getting numbers completely pulled out of the air.

Then he says “good - show me your math later!”

[Sudetenland]

Systematically dismantling American free enterprise one sector at a time.

[spikeytx86]

There are a few inexpensive alterations that could be done to cars and trucks to improve their Gas mileage fairly significantly, but not to the levels Obama is demanding. I doubt we even have the technology presently to meet these goals.

[RC2]

One thing they don’t talk about. If Americans use less gas, the gas company’s profit level will drop. We will then see $5.00 a gallon gas. As the price goes up, so do the taxes on the sale. You will not save on gas because they will raise the price.

[11th Commandment]

0bama did say that the price increase would be made up in three years by fuel savings.... Oh, isn't that nice, applying household budget principles to macro economics. Four words: Price Elasticity of Demand.

What an idiot we have for a President.

[hoosier hick]

That’s exactly what happened with water in California during drought times. While consumption dropped, bills went up (and up and up...)

hh

[hoosier hick]

Tsk, tsk. You obviously don’t understand how things work. The government just demands it, and it happens....

hh

[ken21]

the chinese are building the largest electric car manufacturing.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Smart Americans will retro-fit their older vehicles or SUVs to natural gas or another source of fuel, and they’ll do it in the black market. What you’re going to see is a lot of Americans thumbing their noses at the new regulations and looking for ways to cheat the system. Ditto for universal healthcare. They can’t arrest us all.

[demsux]

Glad I bought an 02 Z28 Converible last year...more power

[11th Commandment]

I doubt we even have the technology presently to meet these goals.

Correct. Companies are now developing technology for the CAFE passed during the Bush years. Ford has supercharger technology in its Echo boost, the industry is developing better hybrid batteries and diesel continues to improve that even Califorika may accept. These things take time to roll out in an economical and market driven system.

[Recon Dad]

Zero is always doing this kind of sh*t, just like gitmo.

[Wil H]

cars will be small and expensive--or larger and very expensive.

No matter...

Whatever happens to us peons Obama will ride around in his 4 ton stretched, armor plated, limo at OUR expense..

[FastCoyote]

I have a mechanical engineering degree and we were playing with some fuel saving ideas back in 1970. Well, that’s almost forty years ago and it isn’t like we haven’t spent billions on improving the internal combustion engine in the mean time. And guys like me are always looking for a new invention. My gut feel is that 35.5 a gallon is ludicrous for any car that is usable. My old cars just went up in value.

[DannyTN]

DannyTN's energy plan

The bulk of the stimulus should go to finance nuclear plants so that we could convert to hydrogen in the event of another oil price shock. And hydrogen storage tanks, and car conversion kits. And in making both electric and fuel distribution grids more robust and less subject to disruption or terrorist attack.

• The nuke plants would generate returns that would pay for the financing.
• The overhead of the nuke plants could be allocated out to normal electric customers and excess electricity could be sold to hydrogen producers for variable direct cost without overhead. That would further reduce fuel costs.
• The National Hydrogen Association> believes that hydrogen fuel could be delivered to stations for a cost of $1.20 per gasoline gallon equivalent and that's before considering my suggestion to allow hydrogen producers electricity at cheaper variable direct cost rates.
• You could require that all the raw materials for both the nuke plants and the hydrogen tanks come from the U.S. as long as unemployment remains above 5%.
• Build enough for at least a 3 state region, and then implement it. If you can really get the cost down that far and demonstrate it, the free market will finance the rest of the country. But if you can't, you still have an alternative in place that can be quickly implemented if oil prices shoot up again.

It's been suggested that battery technology has advanced to the point that hydrogen as a fuel/storage medium is unneccessary. If that's true, then build recharge stations instead of hydrogen storage tanks. But everything starts with having plenty of cheap electricity and that means nuclear.

[Red6]

“35.5 mile average per gallon requirement “

Why not 35.25? What about 35.226578?

Our national policies are being driven by arbitrary figures and standards that are based on hypothetical or make belief problems. The outcome can not be good.

[freekitty]

Unfortunately they think taxes are the answer to everything.

[truthguy]

This is completely disheartening and so typical of the idiots in the Obama Administration. I wonder if the Obama voters have had enough yet. They are as dumb as a box of rocks but at some time you would think that they would get it. I wonder what will it take.

I'm not surprised at any of this. I expected it. What I cannot get over is the stupidity of the Obama voter. What does he have to do to change the minds of the idiots who voted for him? Is there any hope for these people. Can they be reached? The MSM is already spinning this as a good thing from the news reports I've heard on the radio. They haven't seen the light either. I'm very disheartened. Nothing is more depressing than to be immersed in this level of stupidity.