Here's How Trump Can Make American Cars Great Again

Investor's Business Daily ^ | 2/24/2017 | Staff

[IBD editorial writer]

Regulation: If President Trump wants to help autoworkers and car buyers, he doesn't need to attack imports. All he needs to do is junk the government's misguided 40-year campaign to force consumers into smaller cars.

For those who don't know, the federal government first imposed the "Corporate Average Fuel Economy" standard in 1975, in response to the government-caused energy crisis. The standard requires automakers to meet annual fuel economy targets based on the fleet of cars they sell in a year, or pay stiff penalties.

By the time the standards started to bite in the early 1980s — which forced a radical downsizing of the domestic fleet of cars — President Reagan had deregulated the oil industry, thus ending the energy crisis. And now, with fracking, the country is awash in domestic oil supplies.

But the CAFE standards persisted, and President Obama hiked them in 2009 and again in 2011. If left in place, cars will have to get an average 54.5 mpg starting in 2025 — less than eight years from now.

This was a thinly disguised effort by the Obama administration to force electric cars onto the market, since not a single conventional vehicle comes close to that mileage standard today.

The little Honda Fit, for example, manages just 36 mpg. Even hybrids struggle to hit the 50-mpg mark.

[Recompennation]

Emission standard review by a now fair administration would also be refreshing. Ruined fuel Economy just for tailpipe numbers is not the correct approach. The huggers have run these regimes long enough.

[nonsporting]

Drain the COLA. And toss the can.

[babble-on]

You think people started buying smaller cars because of the CAFE standards?

[outpostinmass2]

Do they have a choice now?

[MichaelCorleone]

Small cars are for the Euroweenies.

Americans like ‘em big, powerful, and made of more than a thin piece of aluminum.

[Drew68]

But the CAFE standards persisted, and President Obama hiked them in 2009 and again in 2011. If left in place, cars will have to get an average 54.5 mpg starting in 2025 — less than eight years from now

THANK YOU!!!

It's about time we started talking about this.

This CAFE crap is forcing cars with garbage motors that nobody wants down our throats. Case in point, I'm in the market for a new Tacoma and just learned that Toyota replaced their 4 liter V6 with a smaller, more fuel-efficient 3.7 liter and people are already complaining about performance.

I want the V6 for power. Toyota still offers the 4-banger to consumers who want fuel savings but it's not enough to satisfy CAFE targets.

Scrap this CAFE garbage now and make automotive engines great again!!!

[samtheman]

But what about the polar bears?

/s

[meyer]

There are motorcycles that don’t get 54.5 mpg. That is an unrealistic goal for any type of practical vehicle.

[fruser1]

There are more than cafe standards in play.

Cars today are much more expensive in relation to average income due to safety regulations.

One glaring example is airbags which are mandatory. There now a captive market for airbags, meaning there is no price pressure from those choosing not to buy them.

And it’s not just the first purchase. In fact, if an airbag deploys, insurance companies will consider the car totaled for some models.

I can see demanding a car have brakes. Airbags should be by choice.

If I were a kid again, just starting out financially, I would get a car w/o airbags because it’d save me money. Without that choice, my ability to acquire a car could’ve been delayed and not having a car would be quite difficult and narrow my choices in life dramatically.

It’s no surprise to see more and more kids today passing on cars, since they are now so relatively unaffordable for them, and only due to such pricey regulations.

[SandRat]

... and, this all started with Pres. (D) Jimmie Carter.

[ealgeone]

There's a video of Milton Friedman debating Phil Donahue in the late 70s on the CAFE standards and other aspects of the auto industry.

The Dr blows Phil's mind up.

Message: let the market decide.

[rickmichaels]

With a few exceptions here and there, American cars of the late 70’s and early 80’s were complete pieces of shit.

[ETL]

Check out this thread I posted back in Sept 2016...

Classic American Muscle Cars & Customs (several 100 photos)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3473292/posts
______________________________________

Here's a few examples...

[Born to Conserve]

If you want a car a normal sized man can fit in comfortably, you have to pay extra — otherwise everyone would buy them, and the fleet mileage would go down. This is why pickup trucks got so popular. The vehicle market is so distorted by these regulations, no one knows what the market actually wants, and no one knows what could be produced and at what price. They need to “reset” the market. Cancel the 90% of the regulations. Let the market find the products and prices.

I look forward to the day I can once again put my arm out the drivers window while I drive, instead of out the back left window.

[Taxman]

And, while they are at it, end the REALLY STUPID AND COUNTERPRODUCTIVE ethanol mandate!

[BitWielder1]

I've been told that cars are much more complicated than they have to be, a lot of the mysterious stuff under the hood exist because of federal mandates, accumulated over decades.
Maybe reducing and consolidating a lot of those rules can make cars cheaper, and maybe more effective and reliable.

[HombreSecreto]

Cue Homer Simpson drool pic...

[FrankR]

I’d like to see some cars with style again, not these cookie-cutter, look-alike rice burners.

At one time you could ID the make and model by just the grill and the headlights...nowadays, if the removed the name plates, you can’t tell on from another.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

American cars become more poorly made all the time.

Don’t think I’ll ever buy one again.