Free Republic

Obama's plan to put everyone in high-mileage vehicles by 2016 is much like any utopian dream. The goals are noble -- saving the planet, reducing fuel consumption, yada, yada, yada... BUT, as with most liberal fantasies, it is the unintended consequences that come back to haunt us. In this case, it is the safety issue. This CBS video report from the Insurance Institute should sound a warning to everyone.

The odds that the federal government will ever get its hooks out of Chrysler or General Motors are slim to none, regardless what President Obama says. Why? In one word, Amtrak. There are reasons why Chrysler and General Motors are failing, and they have nothing to do with hard luck. Both companies are top-heavy, paying more for union labor (and retirees) than their competitors and, since the 1970s, have turned out cars that consumers want in dwindling numbers. The Big Three (that includes Ford) have higher costs and have gotten an image as lower quality than some foreign competitors. Toyota...

WASHINGTON — Consumers who buy minicars to economize on fuel are making a big tradeoff when it comes to safety in collisions, according to an insurance group that slammed three minimodels into midsize ones in tests. In a report prepared for release on Tuesday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said that crash dummies in all three models tested — the Honda Fit, the Toyota Yaris and the Smart Fortwo — fared poorly in the collisions. By contrast, the midsize models into which they crashed fared well or acceptably. Both the minicars and midsize cars were traveling 40 miles per...

Micro cars can give motorists top-notch fuel efficiency ..., but the insurance industry says they don't fare too well in collisions with larger vehicles. In crash tests released Tuesday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that drivers of 2009 versions of the Smart "fortwo," Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris could face significant leg and head injuries in severe front-end crashes with larger, mid-size vehicles. "There are good reasons people buy mini cars. They're more affordable, and they use less gas. But the safety trade-offs are clear from our new tests," said Adrian Lund, the institute's president. Automakers who manufacture...

Business Financial News reported Japanese dealers have cut the number of GM dealerships that handle GM cars. The question is what took them so long - GM cars have never been popular in Japan. The reason is simple - they don't fit! The streets are too narrow, and American cars are too fat. Yanase & Co. has about 26 dealerships of their 160 total that try to sell GM cars. The exact number that they will cut has not been determined. GM, for its part, says it will stop selling Opel models in Japan - I think it's because those...

DETROIT - The Dodge Neon, Ford Focus and Volkswagen's New Beetle are among the small cars that got the lowest safety rating in new side-impact crash tests performed by an independent, nonprofit organization. Eleven of the 13 cars tested earned a "poor," the lowest of four ratings, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said. The Chevrolet Cobalt and the Toyota Corolla earned the second-highest rating of "acceptable," but only when they were tested with their optional side air bags. They earned "poor" ratings without the air bags. Other vehicles that earned a "poor" rating were the Hyundai Elantra, Kia Spectra,...