Posted on 06/06/2019 6:23:39 PM PDT by John W
The biggest barrier to competition is the billions of dollars required to start up a new car company. The last successful new American car company was Chrysler in 1928. That’s not the reason.
I drive a Dodge 2500 pickup (diesel), get about 28 mpg when I drive like a normal person (65 to 75 mph).
When I am going on a hunting or fishing trip I get about 18 to 20 mpg; no I don’t overload the truck, I just want to get there faster.
You have plenty of new car companies building cars in the US. Foreign car makers with assembly plants, parts makers, Tesla, etc. Its no longer the vertically integrated industries of the 1950’s. And there are imports from new producers around the world. Easier regulations mean lower costs of entry for new models from domestic and foreign makers.
Yet one decent sized volcanic eruption for a month spews out more particulate matter and dangerous gasses than the combined output of every vehicle has ever done in the entire history of Mankind. There are hundreds of active volcanoes at all times over the history of the planet just like today. Yet this is what there is a pitched battle over.
This is all about California and I for one, am sick and tired of having to put up with California rules. A lot of people don’t realize it, but the big box stores cater to Cali rules. When Cali outlaws some chemical, it disappears in Texas big box stores at the same time as Cali, just start watching, been going on for years. Cali doesn’t like a toy, tool, chemical, book, you name it, it disappears in big boxes all over the country.
To hell with California.
Which is my original point. If there was profit to be made from exceeding the standard, they would do it. Perhaps I should have added a sarcasm [/s] tag.
The more crap that’s added onto a car(especially as “standard equipment” the higher the profits. This money would be better spent building in some real quality. Of course it’s easier to say it is gov’t. required & hence the extra charge(and profits) than to just build in better quality & have to charge more for it. I would think replacing the added crap with just better quality components would even out the cost & produce approximately the same profits.
I don’t know what they are complaining about. The government is simply lowering the minimals already set. The carmakers can still maintain the higher standards if they feel they can make more money with them. The deregulation is simply offering the manufacturers more flexibility. If they want to get to 52mpg with higher pollution controls on their own, no one will stop them....just no one will force them if they don’t feel they can get there right away.
“I don’t see the problem. Who is stopping them from making cars that EXCEED the standard? If there is more profit in doing that, they should be eager to do so.”
I think this is one of those areas where major corporations are wielding government power to defend their collective interests. In this case they fear entrants into the car manufacturing industry that will build the kinds of cars the public wants but the “majors” no longer make.
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