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In the age-old debate of whether government regulations help or hinder economic growth, here's one example where more rules have helped create American jobs.
President Obama ushered in stringent new fuel economy standards last year. Federal legislation mandates that the corporate average fuel economy standard rise to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Automakers are scrambling to update their vehicles with fuel-saving technology.
The ripple effect was felt in Laurens County, S.C., last week, when automotive supplier ZF announced expansion plans for a transmission factory that opened only last month. The assembly plant produces the world's first 9-speed transmission, which ZF says improves fuel economy by 16 percent over a more conventional 6-speed model...
Ah, not really drinking the Kool-Aid here. By forcing dramatic changes in FE standards, long before reliable technology exists to support them, you force the auto industry to come up with expensive band-aids to try to comply. Complex, untested technologies, that hurt reliability and add greatly to the cost of new vehicles.
This in turn makes the new vehicles less desirable for drivers, and the older ones moreso. We're already there in several areas. Take diesel pickups. The EPA forced new emmissions requirements on diesels, costing performance and significantly negatively impacting fuel economy. I know several people that bought newer rigs and regret it, and others that refuse to part with their early-2000 era rigs.
Step back a little further. Anyone remember the 70s? The government mandated emmissions targets that the technology didn't exist for. We had 2 decades of crap vehicles with band-aid vacuum operated and first gen electronics that weren't reliable, but were expensive and got terrible fuel economy. Now, 30-40 years later, we have electronics, fuel injection and other technologies that allow us to meet those targets.
But heck, Obama will be long gone by 2025 when those artifical mandates hit, the resulting s-storm won't hit him. So it's all good, he gets to pander to the weak-minded and claim he "did something". Which is all that really matters to a second rate politician and con-man.
me thinks you rank obama too highly. overall though i agree with what you wrote. the government should just tell the automakers what the standard is, and when they have to start meeting that standard. instead the government tells what the standard is, when they have to meet it, and what they have to do to meet the standard. and that is a recipe for rubbish add ons that dont work as advertized.
In the age-old debate of whether government regulations help or hinder economic growth, here's one example where more rules have helped create American jobs.
President Obama ushered in stringent new fuel economy standards last year. Federal legislation mandates that the corporate average fuel economy standard rise to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Automakers are scrambling to update their vehicles with fuel-saving technology.
The ripple effect was felt in Laurens County, S.C., last week, when automotive supplier ZF announced expansion plans for a transmission factory that opened only last month. The assembly plant produces the world's first 9-speed transmission, which ZF says improves fuel economy by 16 percent over a more conventional 6-speed model...
a liberal program eliminates 10 jobs and creates 5 jobs.
Liberal headlines 15 JOBS CREATED!
ugh.
undfortunately it is not confined to liberals or conservatives. its just economic idiots:
"We understand what it means to build new products," Gov. Nikki Haley said during an appearance at the ZF announcement. "When a company invests in South Carolina, we wrap our arms around it and do what we can to make sure they're successful."
When the technology is as reliable and has the same performance as gas then I'll give it a look. I also factor in long term expenses like maintenance.
Nobody is asking you to buy one. For the record the technology is extremely reliable and the only performance that is lacking right now is long range travel which is addressed with hybrids.
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