The Morning Rant: CAFE Is Neutered, But Not Dead Yet!

The pathetic and impossible manipulations of the automobile market perpetrated by a series of ignorant administrations came to a head with the drooling imbecile figurehead named Joe Biden. Mandating an impossible 50 miles/gallon for 2031 was wishcasting on a grand scale. It is impossible to achieve without destroying the market for large automobiles and shifting America to tiny econo-boxes with ridiculous technology designed without attention to what consumers actually want.

But...that's what they want! The idea of sacrificing another American industry on the altar of ClimateChange^TM was (and is) the Democrat Party's wet dream! Imagine all of the people who would sign up for government assistance! All the new programs to retrain workers for the new green economy!

Thankfully, the current administration realized that CAFE was just another tool to destroy our economy, and gutted the future standard.

Heartland Institute Experts Applaud Trump's New, Realistic Automobile Efficiency Standards

President Trump’s decision to rescind the Biden administration’s deadly, costly, EV diktat is long-overdue. Government shouldn’t be in the business of deciding what types of cars and trucks people drive, nor be telling automakers, in the face of consumer demand as indicated through sales, that fuel economy is what they should care about the most. A fetishistic fear of climate change should not dictate American transportation policies. Thank you, President Trump, for putting average American drivers first.

Just not enough! They have allowed an increase from the current 30 miles/gallon to 35 miles/gallon by 2031. Instead of allowing consumer demand to drive technological improvement, the government did what all governments everywhere throughout history have done...tell us what to do. So the car companies will build shitty little cars that get good mileage so their average fuel economy will satisfy the government edict. That's not how markets work!

Anyone who has ever driven a modern car understands how ridiculous some of the solutions have been. That maddening auto-shut-off that kills the engine at seemingly random times when the car is stopped? Does anybody like that? Does anyone believe that adding thousands of additional starting cycles to a starter and engine is a good idea? Or the disappearance of spare tires because their weight cuts into fuel economy? What about the millions of people who get stranded and have to spend time and money for a tow to a tire shop instead of spending 15 minutes to change the tire themselves?

All of these "innovations" have opportunity costs that are borne by the consumer, but are not calculated into the decision. The auto companies are fixated on meeting CAFE, not improving the total cost of owning and operating an automobile. And that is government's fault!

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter]. If you folks who are on X/Twitter would follow us it would be much appreciated!

posted by CBD at 11:00 AM

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