I never expected it to pass anyway.

But we will be getting higher standards:

 

wow..

 

I had a feeling 35mpg across the board wouldn't stick. It is probably one of those things were you negotiate high and then have it lowered to what you really want.

While 35mpg for trucks seemed excessive, 35mpg for cars by 2022 wouldn't be a big deal. Civic already gets 30/40 and even the Ford escape hybrid is around 35mpg. I suspect that by 2022 only high performance cars will get less than 30mpg

 

It would be nice if Bush would pull out his rarely used veto pen and reject any increase in CAFE whatsoever. In fact, it would awesome if some politicians would grow a spine and publicly admit that if the public thinks they want more fuel efficient vehicles, the public should put up or shut up and actually buy them.

That, of course, would drive up fleet average fuel economy, all without the "help" of a bogus gov't regulation.

 

Raising CAFE is good for politicians. It makes them look like they are helping the public while fighting the big greedy oil and car companies. The real solution is adding a fuel tax, but that would be political suicide.

 

How does adding a fuel tax help? I understand it would definatly increase demand for duel effcient vehicals, but those who can't afford new vehicals or need vehicals that consume more fuel would take a beating.

I would be in support of a considerable raise in gas guzzler taxes on new vehical sales.

 

Adding a fuel tax means that it will become more economical to buy a new fuel efficent vehicle vs keeping your old clunker.

 

That would guarantee a very short or non-existant political career.

Yep.



Those who can't afford new vehicles don't buy new vehicles anyway.

How a gas tax would help is it would immediately begin reducing our oil consumption, and it would be spread out equally. Each person would have the ability to purchase a new (or used if they can't buy new) more fuel efficient car.

CAFE is flawed because it will be years before it goes into full effect, and many, many, many years before older cars are weeded out in favor of more fuel efficient models.

For instance, if there was a .75-$1.00 tax on fuel, by next year, there would be an immediate decrease in consumption. If we phased in CAFE, it wouldn't significantly impact new cars till the middle of next decade (8 years into the future), and it would be a decade or more before the number of cars under the new standard would be sufficient enough to make a real difference in how much oil we use (assuming prices don't change).

 

Oil went from 40-70 dollars a barrel with in a very short time frame.
We still use just as much because we have no choice. Any idiot that thinks another tax is a good thing, please exit the country.

I have to drive to work no matter what gas costs and so do you. I wouldn't use less, because I couldn't use less.
I would however start using the 600 gallons of farm gas and diesel I have a lot more thats not taxed.

 

At $70 oil is still relatively dirt cheap energy.

You don't have to drive a 400HP car to work, and I don't have to drive a pickup that gets 15/18. I also drive about 300mi. a week even though I live 7.5mi. from my work, there is room to cut miles.

Higher prices increase demand for more fuel efficient vehicles. Go look at the BMWs Europe gets and then what we get. It makes people more conscious about how much fuel they are using while at the same time not limiting your choice of vehicle like CAFE would. Bottom line if you can afford a 500HP truck and want to drive cross country you still can if gas is $3 a gallon or $10 a gallon.

We as a nation need to get our consumption under control, we import too much which creates huge trade deficits and leave us susceptible to high price fluctuations.

 

I know I have cut back on driving, haven't had much of a choice with the price of gasoline....

 

I drive 100 miles a day to work. I don't drive my camaro.
In fact according to my last inspection I drove it only 6000 miles in the last 2 years. Thats even lower if you average it over the last year where I barely put 1000 miles on it.

Now tell me where the hell I can cut back on gas. Screw all you people who think I should pay more because I have to go to work.
Maybe I should sit at home on my *** and collect unemployment while you work your butt off to pay for me being lazy.

Big government that trys to cater to the lowest common denominator NEVER does anything benificial in the end. Damn liberals and neo-cons with your bloated bureaucracies.

 

Small bit of advice. NEVER EVER vote to raise your taxes on anything.

 

Spare us the assinine and complete BS of this "conservative vs liberal" retoric that those who have nothing else to say reach for whenever something goes in a way you have no other explanation for.

Fuel prices go up and line the pockets of a company or corperation makes record profits, you guys sit there like a damn bump on a log and don't say a damn thing... yet when someone mentions taking that money and actually doing some good, all of a sudden you start hearing this same old, tired, and played out "Liberal" this and "Liberal That" BS.


We're paying more for fuel for 2 reasons.

1. The value of the US dollar has dropped like a ton of bricks because we're selling out to China (BTW: Last time I checked, this was mostly done under a administration and congress under the same party... and it wasn't "conservative").

2. Oil companies are using just about any pretext to raise prices and keep them there.

This continued so-called Liberal vs Conservative BS has got to stop sometime. While we still have people here who still see things as right vs left, the entire US is being sold out by people who see nothing but green and their own self intrest. If I wanted to rob you blind, I'd divert your attention and steal your money. Guess what's really happening bud.

Better wake up to the real world and what's really going on around you before one day you realize that China controls US foreign policy, US economic decisions, and [b]your[b] life & well being because you were too busy bashing other Americans using rhetoric that hasn't had any grounding in reality since the 1980s.

Divide and Conquer is a very successful strategy, and has worked well throughout history in taking over countries far better than any military campaign ever has.

Your money is lining someone else's pockets. It's your choice if you want it to be the government where at least you get some benefit, or some company that will be glad to take it, and send you back out calling everyone else names.

Anyone who has an idea to help things out, reduce our dependence on oil, and keeps us from sending MORE MONEY TO COUNTRIES THAT JUST AS SOON SEE THE US FALL that doesn't include taxes, we're all ears.

On the other hand, if the solution is simply to sit around and continue to pump OUR money into Iran, Vensuela, and other countries that to a large degree hate the US, then whine all you want about "freedoms" that in reality you're pissing away to other contries and people that just want you dough, then perhaps you should reevaluate who is actually doing something to help the US and who isn't.

 

A person who lives 50 miles away from work shouldn't need to ask how to reduce their consumption of gas, should they?

In all seriousness, you have every right to live wherever you want, but that freedom privilege comes at a greater expense to you. Speaking of privileges, cheap gas was a privilege....never a right....

So while I fully agree with your opinions of "big government" (I tend to lean right myself) I don't really feel this is a political issue. Cutting back on fuel is good for the overall health and safety of this country.