Another upside to this is the possibility of using strongerheavier materials for the body of the car......safer for all of us. I remember back about 20 years ago, my cousin drove an Excursion and I remarked how nice it was and I wished we had one. She said she was going to trade it in on a smaller car as she would feel guilty if she ran into someone and they were injured because her car was so heavy. Yep, you guessed it....she’s a moonbat!
It’s not just the cars that are affected by the insane energy standards. Years ago a GE Engineer explained to me why appliances SUCK these days. Energy standards.
In the old days, manufacturers overbuilt moving parts to accommodate wear and tear. They used metal parts and were pretty heavy. The heavier parts use more energy and bigger motors to drive components. To save energy, they switch to plastics and teflon parts. They switch from chains and bands to belts. The lighter parts should save money right? Wrong. The parts are cheaper but then you have to add technology to account for friction because the parts are also more susceptible to temperature changes and heat, especially friction. Then the controls and “smart” features to achieve the energy standards....
His point was the standards made simple machines more complicated and reduced the quality while making them more expensive. Then at the end of the day, you have to dry clothes twice and don’t save energy anyway. Then he started in on the toilets and having to flush twice all in an effort to save water (that this country has plenty of). It was an enlightening conversation from a guy that engineered appliances.