The Price of better Fuel Economy – No
The expense for a car manufacturer to make a design change is enormous. Research and development costs, engineering costs and retooling plant facilities are all a part of bringing the change from the drawing board to real life practice. The cost is easily in the millions. Who pays for that? The consumer pays for it. It is tacked on to the yearly increase in new car costs.
There are some areas where the government should require car manufacturers to implement better car standards. Safety and emission control are the primary two but for the government to demand better fuel standards is not one of these areas. The government should devote resources in the field of finding and creating better alternative fuel sources. Grants or loans for solar power or wind power turbines or hydrogen or electric cells should be their concern.
Putting the onus on the car manufacturer for better fuel economy only drives up costs to the consumer and does little to nothing to reduce fuel costs at the pump and let's face it, that is where we all end up. Consumer demand, measured by dollars spent in the new car market, will determine what the car manufacturer needs to do to stay competitive in the automotive industry. The governments role in business should be more of a watchdog role that protects the consumer from shoddy, illegal and unsafe business practices. That is when the government needs to step in and make demands necessary for the consumers welfare.
Demanding better fuel economy from the manufacturer is a band aid on a bullet wound. The big three, as we call them, know they are in financial trouble. For too long they have ignored the fuel crisis issue and chose instead to dazzle us with new gadgets and technologies designed to make the driving experience more pleasurable and interactive, rather than more affordable. Now, with their financial backs against the wall, they need to step up and address the real concerns of the driving public. Those companies that can provide better and cleaner fuel economy without sacrificing comfort and performance and at affordable costs to the consumer will survive and flourish. Those that can't will perish. We don't need the government to determine which ones will and won't,
Legislating better fuel economy for the sake of a few more miles per gallon will only serve to cost the public more in the long run. With our present economy in shambles and thousands of automotive jobs at stake forcing the automotive industry to incur more manufacturing costs only worsens the problems we are facing. American car inventories are stock piling at rates we have not seen in decades. Layoffs and the closure of smaller industries that depend on contract renewals with the auto industry grow daily. The trickle down effect of these loses will soon turn a small stream into a river and, if not checked by sound fiscal policies by our government and the auto industry, a raging torrent will follow. The resiliency of the marketplace will force the auto industry to make the changes it needs to make in order to survive. Laissez-faire, hands off, has always been the backbone of American business. It should continue to be so.
