Auto emissions waivers
One of Obama’s first actions is to restore the auto emissions waivers for several states that requested them under Bush. Bush said no, because mainly they were unenforceable. Those states include:
- California
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Washington
Now, the issue I have would be better reflected with a map I think:
Now, I am going to assume the waiver applies to cars manufactured in those states. It would be kind of difficult to apply it to autos previously manufactured or manufactured outside of those states, which most cars are. Although the laws of demand would dictate the higher standards of the the consumers in California, the laws of the land probably would dictate selling to the lowest possible standard and letting the buyer deal with the states. In other words, it would be a lot cheaper for the average person I’m sure to buy their car on Ebay and go get it than to pay for a car modified just for California. And, as some of those states try to outdo each other pandering to the global warming hysteria, how will automakers deal with the potentially wildly differing requirements of each state?
Now, these state in my opinion could have really gone full radical and done something I would have gotten a real kick out of, banning combustion engines entirely. Now, that WOULD have changed the world. But, they didn’t do that. They are simply dicking around with emissions. Big fat hairy deal. All automakers have to do is knock off another 10 or 20 horsepower and they probably will satiate the enviro-whackos. I don’t see them pursuing this issue any more than they have now that they’ve made their statement. It’s just hard to do. All the automakers have to do is cruise down an interstate at 35 mph and they will get their 43.7 mpg. What no one can do is dictate how the average driver will drive their 43.7 mpg auto once they’ve got it. So, setting some bogus standard that determines what’s efficient or not is meaningless when you’ve got the intangible of human nature.
So, come you guys, do something real. If you don’t like the effects of burning gas, go full radical or just quit whining about it. Dicking around with standards ain’t gonna do squat. Go full radical, ban combustion engines!
