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US To Require That New Cars Get 42 MPG By 2016
Hugh Pickens writes "New cars and trucks will have to get 30 percent better mileage starting in 2016 under an Obama administration move to curb emissions tied to smog and global warming. While the 30 percent increase would be an average for both cars and light trucks, the percentage increase in cars would be much greater, rising from the current 27.5 mpg standard to 42 mpg. Environmentalists praised the move. Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, called it 'one of the most significant efforts undertaken by any president, ever, to end our addiction to oil and seriously slash our global warming emissions.' Obama's plan also would effectively end litigation between states and automakers that had opposed state-specific rules, arguing that having to meet several state standards would be much more expensive for them than just one federal rule. The Detroit News reported that automakers were on board with the new rule and had worked with the administration on creating a timeline for the transition." There's a case to be made that raising the CAFE won't save oil or reduce greenhouse gases.
You are QUITE mistaken. The government is STILL pawns of the banks and big business. It's just that the government is acting as executioner of the lowest bidders. So some get the axe while others get bailouts special deals.
And as for the mileage expectations?! Good god. That is far from unrealistic. All they are suggesting is that we get cars like they already use in Japan and Europe! Sure... fewer morbidly obese people on the road. Either get a medical excuse or start eating better damnit!!! I KNOW how hard it is to lose weight. It's fucking HARD. It has taken me nearly a year after gaining a size to lose it again and I am still not quite there but I can now wear many of the clothes that I outgrew last year. It's HARD. It takes work and determination. I could have done it much faster but I don't haven't done the work or maintained the determination that I could... but still. Lose the frikken weight you Jabba-the-hutt wannabes! It took me at least 6 months to outgrow my normal pants size. How long did it take you to go from a 32" to a 48" waist? Why didn't you stop when you got to 33"???? Are you stupid? (Wow... I really went off-topic didn't I?)
Anyway... we get smaller cars... better start losing weight America!
I actually am, although the minority is not that tiny when you consider the climate and type of occupation that that whole rural part of the US gets to deal with every day.
Many people own trucks or SUVs who do not have a real need to own them. But that is not a sufficient reason to punish those of us who do have a legitimate need by making our lives more expensive.