Let’s talk about gas tax first. There is talk about a person being taxed by the distance he drives verses being taxed at the gas pump. Beautiful theory, however, those driving hybrid-type vehicles will not be taxed nearly as great as those driving regular engine vehicles. The concern in this to me is- the tax collected is/should be a shared responsibility….example where some of the Tax $ goes to: road repair. Furthering the thought more, the example I’m thinking about is with the Nissan Leaf. If this new ‘tax’ rule is passed…those driving a Leaf won’t help in funding road repair. Fair? Nope! Yet, they drive on it and cause damage just like other vehicles.
I think the concept is interesting…however the details need to be tweaked considerably more.
MPG average: Ford has stated that they will average (in fleet) 35.5 mpg for fuel efficiency by 2012. The fun news? Many vehicles are now 30+! Almost there.
Fed Govt has mandated that the fleetwide average has been set at 34.1 by 2016. Check that off your list- Ford- come 2012. We see the finish line…yet we are going beyond!
Want the hair to stand up on the back of you neck? Start paying attention to the ‘brilliance’ from the Govt right now in regards to MPG Industry Averages. The Gov who ‘knows all’ without having worked in our industry. Catching my drift?
‘The center's study, released Tuesday, predicted it will cost between $3,744 and $9,790 per vehicle to develop and produce cars that meet a range of between 47 and 62 mpg — a span being considered by federal regulators — by 2025.’(From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110615/AUTO01/106150378/Study--Fuel-rules-to-hike-car-costs#ixzz1PNCkcLeK)
Know what this means for America?
This title to a News feed this week says it all:
Study: Fuel rules to hike car costs
Fed standards may swell prices by $10K, cut 260K jobs by '25
(From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110615/AUTO01/106150378/Study--Fuel-rules-to-hike-car-costs#ixzz1PNGEMbDX)
Oh….the long term burden this will cause on YOU, Dealerships, and Automakers.
My fear/ predication if the cost of vehicles goes drastically up as it’s being predicted (due to the EVEN MORE regulations the Fed Gov is placing on manufactures) …. Even though you will be saving a bit more at the fuel pump… you’ll be paying for it upfront because of what it costs to produce such standards. So, really, it’s not as brilliant of a saving plan as they are selling.
Another news article title: Automakers Can’t Bear Extreme Fuel Mandates
(http://www.detnews.com/article/20110616/OPINION01/106160333/1008/opinion01/Editorial--Automakers-can%E2%80%99t-bear-extreme-fuel-mandates)
Read the whole article if you have a moment. It really explains in simple terms the real threat this could have on America….that the Govt is forgetting to mention as they try to sell this idea.
Recap:
‘Adding that much unrecoverable cost to a vehicle could very well ruin the auto industry. It certainly will make it much smaller.’
‘And the threat presented by what CAR (Center of Automotive Research) calls "extreme mandates" will mainly be to middle-class Americans, who could lose the freedom to drive a car.’
‘At the least, many families will be priced out of the new car market, and will have to turn to used vehicles or hold onto their cars much longer.’
‘Households that now have two cars in the driveway may have to give up one, or perhaps both.’ ‘America has seen what happens to the national economy when the automakers collapse.’
And my favorite sentence in that article:
‘Regulators can't continue to pull ever-higher fuel economy numbers out of a hat and demand that automakers meet them, without regard to cost or the impact on jobs.’
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