June 29, 2007
FERDINAND PARTON, I PRESUME?:
Energy plan avoids mileage changes (DAVID IVANOVICH, 6/29/07, Houston Chronicle)
House Democrats rolled out an energy package Thursday that aims to promote greater conservation and use of alternative energy sources but which steers clear of raising fuel mileage requirements for cars and trucks.
Democrats could have just kept the GOP in the majority if they wanted an energy bill that kowtows to Detroit. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 29, 2007 6:42 PM
One word explanation: Dingell.
Posted by: ghostcat at June 29, 2007 7:32 PMSo that's it. We like cars because "Detroit" has manipulated us. Sounds like that defrocked professor, Michael Belesiles, telling us that we like guns because of Sam Colt's marketing schemes.
Face it. Cars are sexual, in a Freudian sense. As expressions of Wille zu Macht, cars transport people more than physically. Is this a spiritual danger? Sure it is.
If one would fight the car culture, a fool's errand, I suggest, one may do well to understand its power. Avoid the trivial Marxist commonplace that we favor these things because we are manipulated by the capitalists.
Posted by: Lou Gots at June 29, 2007 11:17 PMIt's because cars are like sex that the ride ought to last longer.
Posted by: oj at June 29, 2007 11:55 PMCAFE is administered as an average across each automaker's fleet. European automakers tend to sell only larger, luxury cars in the US market (though they sell smaller ones at home), and never make the CAFE regulations-- instead they pay a fine, which is unaffected by a mere CAFE raise in the target. Japanese makers in the US sell a lot of smaller cars, and generally are not in danger. US automakers tend to toe the line, and are affected most by target changes.
I've never understood, thus, why legislators don't propose upping the violation fines, which would hurt the European marques, rather than raising the limits, which hurts the US automakers.
Posted by: John Thacker at June 30, 2007 10:25 AMOne synonym for "Dingell": UAW.
Follow the fear, follow the money.
Posted by: ghostcat at June 30, 2007 4:06 PM