Quote:
Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Maybe you've already posted on this, and I missed it, but does this mean you support the exemption of so-called light trucks from CAFE? Because people who drive Hummers are only hurting themselves, and to make them more fuel efficient would provide the incentive to drive them longer distances?
Granted, I read the Chron so I'm at a disadvantage, but the CV out here is that CAFE has been a disaster because fuel economies have increased, but the percentage of drivers choosing those cars is offset by the growth (both in sales and in size) of CAFE-exempted cars.
|
I would repeal all of CAFE. I would instead increase taxes on gasoline.
CAFE creates distortions, and has done little to decrease gasoline consumption. What matters is the amount, not the rate. A partial exemption from CAFE for light trucks used as passenger cars simply introduces more distortions (likewise with differential safety rules--why are pickups so popular?) But there's a reason for exempting light trucks--they're bigger vehicles and therefore less capable of getting "good" gas mileage. The complaints have come only since people realized "hey, I can get a super-large truck for less that a merely large truck, since the former is exempt from CAFE, and therefore doesn't have to cross-subsidize the production of tin cans."
CAFE was a failure long before people shifted to exempt cars. That's just exacerbated the problem. It started withpickups in the early 90s, but it's not like you saw suburbans driving down lombard more that a few years ago.
