Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- A proposal to boost auto sales by offering government-funded discounts to consumers who trade in old cars for new, more efficient models got a boost Wednesday from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But the proposal, which also is supported by Detroit auto makers and the United Auto Workers, is coming under fire from some foreign auto makers critical of a provision limiting the vouchers to vehicles built in North America. That limitation would exclude some of the most fuel-efficient cars and trucks sold in the U.S., including the Prius from Toyota Motor Corp. A bill introduced Tuesday by Rep....

Perhaps spurred by the controversy surrounding Beijing’s smoggy skies during the ongoing 2008 Olympic Games, PRC officials are set to put the economic clamps on the purchase of large displacement engines – in theory the worst automotive polluters. Using a sales tax system that works on a percentage basis, the government will actually make buying small engined vehicles cheaper – in this case those with displacements smaller than or equal to 1.0-liter – by reducing the tax on them from three to one percent. Meanwhile engines that displace more than 4.0-liters will face a huge duty of 40 percent,...