May 20th, 2009
Car makers now LIKE higher emission standards?
So let’s follow the money. The car-makers of the world are all hurting from Toyota to Chrysler. Sales are awful. The new emissions standards in the U.S. will be the toughest this country’s ever seen. The new regs come with some pleasant promises for car makers: more government cash. And the car makers to re-allocate all those millions of dollars they felt compelled to spend lobbying and lawsuiting against the eco-socliast-faxcist governments in California and New York who wants to curtail auto emissions.
For non-bankrupt American automaker (Ford), the tighter emissions and promise of more government subsidies seeme to be positive stock news…May being its best month so far in 2009.
Check out the summary of the 900-plus page draft of the global warming bill, named formally by its parents “The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.” Everythingin D.C. since 9-11 needs to be about security. Just like the freeway building in the 1950s and 60s was all about defense against that dreaded Soviet invasion.
“Section 124, Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Manufacturing: Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to provide financial assistance for retooling existing factories for the manufacture of electric vehicles. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to provide financial assistance to help auto manufacturers purchase batteries for first production vehicles.”
I’ve seen estimates of as much as fifty billion dollars going to auto compoanies to get them in line with the stringent fuel efficiency standards. And now even auto makers seemto have turned on their erstwhile allies at ExChevShellBP: I’m hearing auto talking heads talking about funding the continuied government bailouts by RAISING GAS TAXES in America. How times have changed. And the auto makers are expecting large government largesse to car buyers, big kick-backs for those of us buying electric or fuel-efficient cars.
So we Americans will get more efficient cars. We will curtail the amount of greenhouse gases our vehicles pour into the air. They now account for almost one-fifth of all our GHGs in America. We may even get a little more mass transit for city folk. We will NOT get any of this cheaply, nor painlessly. And the days of cafrefree, unlimited highway miles for many drivers may be coming to an end. The huge 10 MPG RVs may be parked next to the covered wagon and ox-cart at the local transport museum.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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