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Posted: May 15, 08 10:41am (psst, don't let anybody from my Group see this...) Every once in a while, I allow myself a rant. Yeah, I know, tota...  I wouldn't let it bother you because it isn't going to happen. What's even more pathetic, though, is the reaction of Terry McAuliffe, who is the head of the Clinton campaign (I think that's his name). When told that not one single economist, of any stripe, endorsed the idea, McAuliffe essentially said (on national TV, yet) that economists didn't know jack and that politicians did. (No wonder we're in the mess we're in) Posted: May 15, 08 11:18am(psst, don't let anybody from my Group see this...) Every once in a while, I allow myself a rant. Yeah, I know, tota... In the late 70's under Jimmy Carter the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, CAFE, standards were put in place requiring corporate fleet averages of 27.5 mpg by 1987. Under Ronald Reagan these standards were immediately rolled back because they would hurt the oil companies. If these requirements had been left in place and maybe increase periodically we would probably not need Mid East oil today. Remind me which President do the Republicans consider great and which do they consider the worst ever? Posted: May 15, 08 11:53amI wouldn't let it bother you because it isn't going to happen. What's even more pathetic, though, is the reaction of ... Scary. That's the kind of "who needs 'experts' - I'm just going to follow my simplistic, naive instincts" thinking that got is into Iraq. There is much about Clinton I like, but this kind of comment is scary. I think leaders (who for the most part are generalists) should do a lot more consulting with all the experts on salary in the US government - especially those who disagree with them! Posted: May 15, 08 11:54amIn the late 70's under Jimmy Carter the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, CAFE, standards were put in place requiring corp... Yep! Posted: May 15, 08 12:00pmIn the late 70's under Jimmy Carter the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, CAFE, standards were put in place requiring corp... Pick, I remember in the 70's and 80's there were diesel engines (Ford Escort and VW Rabbit) that would easily get 40 to 50 mpg. What happened to that technology? Posted: May 15, 08 12:01pm(psst, don't let anybody from my Group see this...) Every once in a while, I allow myself a rant. Yeah, I know, tota... Oh and Brian: A politician pandering? NOOOO! Hardly believable! :-) Posted: May 15, 08 12:20pmIn the late 70's under Jimmy Carter the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, CAFE, standards were put in place requiring corp... Actually, it wasn't to help the oil companies; it was to help the domestic car companies, who were having a great deal of trouble trying to come up with more fuel efficient vehicles. This was due to several factors. First and foremost, General Motors. At the time, GM was so large that they could actually try and downsize their entire line of cars simultaneously, which is what they tried to do. Instead of owrking the technology gradually, trying to filter out the bad from the good, they tried to do it all at once. And, not surprisingly, they did a mediocre job of it. The foreign manufacturers (mostly the Japanese) didn't have the resources to compete on this level so they concentrated on what they did well and made an effort to make the good, better. Which they did, remarkably well. Having successfully built a base, they worked up gradually to larger cars (i.e. mid-size). When the smoke cleared, the consumers were left with a choice of medicore Amercian cars versus excellently made foreign cars. This is not to say that GM and Ford don't make excellent cars. (The jury is still out on Chrysler) They do. The problem is that they put themselves in the position of jhaving to beat the foreign manufacturers at their own game. As for the cars mentioned, the Escort was a mediocre vehicle at best and the Rabbitt not much better. They flat-out didn't sell. | ADVERTISEMENT  |
