Fiat Chrysler CAFE Standings
Here's an interesting read on FCA CAFE standings. Link
Forum Discussion
Assuming we accept that the govt has a right and a role to mandate efficency standards (not that I neccessarily agree with that):
They've done it this way for decades and all it's done is make the econo-box a "poor persons" car. As a result, no one really wants to buy them and manufactures really don't want to sell them or put effort into making them high quality cars.
Recently (totally unrelated to cafe standards), we have seen what market driven processes can do when gas prices jumped from the old $1.20/gallon to the $3-4/gallon. People demanded efficency and it came in nice packages.
The fair and more effective solution to companies and consumers is to apply penalties and rewards to the individual consumer. It makes no sense to let Ford or Toyota have a major advantage in selling smog inducing trucks just because they have a line of efficent cars to offset the penalties.
Instead set a target efficency for cars and light trucks at the individual consumer level (you pay for it either way but at least this is transparent).
- If you don't meet or beat that average, there is an efficency tax you pay. Maybe $500 for each mpg over the target.
- At the end of the year, they total up the amount taken in and cars that beat the average get a percentage of the efficency tax rebated based on the amount that they beat the goal by.
This creates a capitalist incentive for people to demand fuel efficent vehicles because they save on taxes or get a rebate. Because people are demanding fuel effienct vehicles, manufacturers will produce them at a profit and they can outfit them to be more than econoboxes.
Now back to the debate of if the govt should even be involved in the discussion.
They've done it this way for decades and all it's done is make the econo-box a "poor persons" car. As a result, no one really wants to buy them and manufactures really don't want to sell them or put effort into making them high quality cars.
Recently (totally unrelated to cafe standards), we have seen what market driven processes can do when gas prices jumped from the old $1.20/gallon to the $3-4/gallon. People demanded efficency and it came in nice packages.
The fair and more effective solution to companies and consumers is to apply penalties and rewards to the individual consumer. It makes no sense to let Ford or Toyota have a major advantage in selling smog inducing trucks just because they have a line of efficent cars to offset the penalties.
Instead set a target efficency for cars and light trucks at the individual consumer level (you pay for it either way but at least this is transparent).
- If you don't meet or beat that average, there is an efficency tax you pay. Maybe $500 for each mpg over the target.
- At the end of the year, they total up the amount taken in and cars that beat the average get a percentage of the efficency tax rebated based on the amount that they beat the goal by.
This creates a capitalist incentive for people to demand fuel efficent vehicles because they save on taxes or get a rebate. Because people are demanding fuel effienct vehicles, manufacturers will produce them at a profit and they can outfit them to be more than econoboxes.
Now back to the debate of if the govt should even be involved in the discussion.
