ugh

Stop it! Just stop it! Why are you pretending to know anything about the auto industry??? This makes me so mad! There are so many other ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and oil imports (anybody know what percentage of greenhouse gas pollution/oil pollution is from cars?? It’s somewhere around 15%).. sure, I understand we can get rid of some waste in the Auto Industry but this is demanding a profound change in an industry that BUILT this country.. I wanted to vote for you Hillary (mostly so Bill would be the first ever “first man”) but this type of proposal just goes to show that you will do anything to piggyback off of any growing sentiment in the public.. Sure it’s by 2030, but just let the f($#*$*ing market decide what it wants! People are already demanding higher fuel economy and lower emissions, why regulate it like this?? Please stop telling me what to do when you can’t even balance a budget (although Bill did it back in the day) and you don’t even have to work for the money! I go to work and I can balance my checkbook, you TAKE money from people and still can’t even spend less than you make! Politics are the most disillusioning entity that I have ever seen and I am dying to see some change from BS like this.

I propose Hillary lose 55 pounds off her butt and thighs before I take anything she has to say remotely seriously.
.
Ron Paul is the only decent candiate running so far anyway.

I will run on a platform of waving my hands above my head and decreeing 75MPG cars. Poof!

Uhh, yeah, that’ll happen. This chick is just plain crazy, and if she is elected, we’ll all be riding bicycles just like in China, but we’ll have higher taxes, and less freedom of choice.

Human-caused global warming is a farce. Mars is warmer too…did man cause that? I guess all of our carbon must have drifted out there somehow. Planets warm and cool all by themselves. When I was in school, there was a fear of a coming ICE AGE, also due to pollution. We even participated in science fairs with that theme. I’m all for less pollution and less detrimental impact on the planet, but c’mon, the impact vehicles have on that is less than .02%. If you want to target vehicles, lets start with government-owned school buses, garbage trucks, transit buses, military vehicles, planes, helicopters, big rigs, etc. Seems to me, those bellow out more pollutants than a fairly new vehicle. Why not spend that $20 billion to buy everyone a newer vehicle? I think that would be a lot more effective. I always laugh at the notion when I see 10 people riding a conventional city bus when I know if they were driving a fairly new vehicle, it would emit about 10% of the pollutants! Politicians need to stay out of this, IMO. Let the market (and supposedly free people) decide. I think if they feel the need to do something, just simply modify the “gas guzzler” tax to steer people away from vehicles they don’t need if they can’t afford it, and put that money into alternate power research for power plants…

seldom bin laid needs to shut the effin hell up.

You guys are laughable. Idiotic even. Humans have caused this problem. How can you discount what millions of cars emit every day? NO? why dont you wrap your lips around your cars tail pipe and tell me multiplying that by a few billion does nothing to the earths atmosphere. What will happen as a direct result is still not known for sure. But rest assured it will not be pleasant. True, politicians are politicians, and you cant trust much that comes out of their mouths, but we need to make some drastic moves fast.

hillary is more of an idiot than her husband, if she thinks this is remotely possiable

Firekyo, there is no problem that humans caused. You are making a mountain out of a molehill. A molehill built by natural meteorological cycles.

What I suggest you do is stop worrying about everything you can’t control and start worrying about yourself, but I really dont care if you take that suggestion or not – just don’t expect me to give a crap about whatever gets your dander floating because I don’t. I just want to live a good and decent and normal life without a lot of intrusion by extremists shouting “the sky is falling” every freakin minute. I’m not here to support you in your psycho endeavors and insecurities.

global warming is not human caused. thats that

Firekyro, I like your point.

Personally, I think global warming is a little bit of a mix of both human causes and natural causes.

dont elect this retard

I hate Hillary and everything she stands for but, politicians don’t pretend to know automotive industry. I am sure that Hillary did not fart that statement out of her own calculations or convictions. It was advised by somebody with PhD in economics and maybe just maybe is calculated advise.
The most powerful economic adviser to Hillary would Rubin who will head the Citibank. I would think anything associated with environment or practical governmental policies might come from him. For general public good it will be better for standard to be 55 mpg then 25 mpg. I’m sure that someone will argue that as well, but nobody is seeking reason here. If with ’80s technology auto industry could come up with 22 mpg 25 years ago in 10 years time frame, something tells me it is possible to come up with 55 in 22 years from now. The whole debate may be academic, if hydrogen (which I am first not to believe in) will be source of energy or electricity especially harvested from wind and solar.
And of course everybody will do me a personal favor by voting republican in 2008

ricardo you are the MAN, i friggin agree.

Hillary is hysterical and hilarious.
Stick with what you know best – lying for Bill and being material for Paul Shanklin.

autonut you too, hell yeah, its either more of the same with hillary, or a change for the first time in 20 years with ANYBODY ELSE.

Firekyro-
Imagine 150 million cows farting.
See?

It already is possible, if you change the ‘G’ to mean gallons of gasoline. With E85, a vehicle getting 20 MPG actually gets 133 miles per gallon of GAS.

Oh, and Al Gore wears pink underwear.

This iced it.
Hillary – no chance in hell.

Bill is OK, but Hillary is a control freak. Just look at video games; we won’t even be able to play Grand Theft Auto anymore if she is elected. Even basic rights like owning a gun would be in jeopardy, I’m afraid. The way she wants everything censored, banned and/or outlawed is WRONG. Don’t vote for her!

Now guys read my horrible writing: whoever we will elect in 2008 will force CAFE standards higher.Iit is easier to target 2030 in 2008 then 2010 or 2012. The congress and presiding president in 2030 are not under any obligation to follow loony tunes of 2008 election campaign. There would be more meaning to set standard for 2010, 2012, 2014 etc and actually make sure that it is followed, then set some pie in the sky number for 2030.
I would love to call Hillary a political whore, but I already used the term on Bill, so it would unfair to all good Christians on this site: you can not have normal Christian family with 2 whores. Blasphemy and homosexuality! However, she does what every other politician will do and repeat: nothing practical. As a country we do need to curtail pollution and natural resources consumption, because we are the biggest consumers of available resources. Continuing doing so we’ll make us look like Michael Moore and the man does look sick.

Only 0.1% of CO2 produced comes from Cars. 85% comes from nature.

It’s about time though, don’t you think so? Even the most efficient gasolene engine is still inefficient by today’s standards in technology. I would love to see OPEC cut their production because they have to, not because they want to raise prices. Force automakers to evolve, because on their own they are just not willing to do it.

55mpg by 2030 seems impossible. 150 million cow farting? That’s not even close unless cow farts particulate that reflects light (in addition to gas). Maybe your fart does that.

This Overzealous Idiot is unfortuantely our next Prez. Unfortunately the trandy masses lap this sh*t up.
I have no idea if Global warming is the threat some are proclaiming it is. Ive heard all arguments and nobody really has the ability to map and compute all the factors that affect such a complex balancing system.
Maybe some of this money being spent on oil war should go toward getting a true answer to this question of global warming. Kind of like the human genome project. This GWarming seems to be driving all kind of political decisions effecting many aspects of our lives.
While I wont stick my head in the sand on the issue like current prez, I am not convinced enough to make every political decison based on it, either.
Last point, nothing we do is going to help if developing countries are not held to the same standard. For instance in the cascde mountains in NW scientists can trace most of polution in the snow to china and India carried in storm systems.

lucklaster – for once I agree with you. That comment about the cows was priceless.

God help us all if that communististic bitch is elected as this nations leader. The only good thing that could come out of her presidency is that the nation would realize that, while liberalism sounds pretty, if you try to run a nation by it you’re going down the crapper.

Theres a car now built in India, motor was designed in France that runs on compressed air and it offers you atleast 80 miles on a charge of compressed air. Filling the tanks with air takes only 15 minutes. This would be great for city use. Top speed is 45mph which is enough for urban use. Best of all zero emmisions.

This is the exact reason why I know you people are absolutly stupid. That’s right Ricard, CTS this is right at you.
How the **** can you tell me that global warming is not ower fault. What the hell is this crap about Mars being warmer than earth? Of course it is dip****, reason- It doesn’t have an atmosphere you ****!
Anyone notice that glaciers are melting fast and faster every day. Gee, Hmmmm I wonder why. Yeah, and their not creating a rise in water levels, no that’s actually going down as well. Why is their no longer real winters in the US that’s right with snow and cold tempuratures. Why is El Nino coming around almost ebery other year ranther than once every 8 years? Why are their more and more endangered species, and even extinct speices of animals every year. I don’t know? But it’s not Global Warming, and We didn’t cause it.
How Stupid can we actually be? We’ll theirs your answer. Or are you rubbing your head, or just ignore the facts that I stated because a politician told you that those FACTS are wrong.

“you can not have normal Christian family with 2 whores. Blasphemy and homosexuality!” – autonut

How dose that statement even remotely relate to 1) CAFE 2) Politician’s empty promises?

Pack you prejudice away before you write. Your post otherwise makes sense, but you just appear to be bitter and discriminatory with that one sentence. Oh I forgot, you are autoNUT! That’ll explain your loony tune nuttiness.

Hey sharpie if you going to quote me, please read what I warned you about in the first sentence! I am a horrible writer, that is why I pontificate on this blog and don’t make a living writing poetry and novels!
Michael Moore is much better then I am with language, but fat **** is on another side of the political spectrum! If you agree with what I write, cut me a slack; you did not have to pay for reading my stupid ****
Guys, scientifically it is highly possible and probable that the extent of warming is a result of human activity. It is not a proven scientific fact. Also, as you know, the climate changes are going in cycles. At some point the Greenland was green. And no knows how big North and Sound Poles were 200 years ago: nobody was there. Having said that we can’t stop cows from farting, but it is quite possible to minimize pollution of internal combustion engine.
Compressed air cars made in India – interesting fairy tale. With roads in India you need a tractor to navigate between craters on the surface, how do you that with compressed air driven car? Is it a project or this things works like most of Indian developed software: story board only. And what powers air compressor: Sacred cow? That will be cold day in hell when India will lead the world in engineering marvels, insofar they copied most of the technology just like China does.

Swerveearly- precisely about china and india and throw in russia too. Why this doesn’t come up in every story about polution proves the political slant every time.
Cyclone- just once? Well back at you, today.
Planet_drive- that’s in readers digest.
Mujician- the whole warming debate is ongoing – who cares what politicians say – including and most of all Algore – but there is too much compelling info from much of history and science from the other side to assume we are going to all die any time soon.
Sharpie- yeah – let’s leave religion out of this.
Sharpie- mine doesn’t, but I see it in others!

Hillary is a complete hypocritical buffoon. She’s the best thing to happen to the republican race – if she’s the best the democrats have got, they’re doomed.

Hillary will be dead before 2050, so its obviously a complete B.S. pr tactic. Just like it takes a village and Hillary care.

When she gives up her government and private jets and 5,000 lb. 10 MPG limos she uses to campaign with, and her mansion in NY, maybe I’ll listen to her plan. She should practice what she preaches.

ZO6ified-
She lives in NY?

It’s all for show. It would have to get through congress and that won’t happen and she knows it. AAA estimates gas will cross $4 per gallon next summer. If gas prices keep climbing like that we’ll all have to drive cars that get 35Mpg anyway just to pay our bills.

–Dave

Exactly Dave. High oil prices will shift the market towards more fuel efficient cars, not a government standard.

I wish they would worry about fixing something that needs fixing, like immigration.

luckluster, didn’t you know she is senator from NY. In order to represent the state you have to reside there (at least nominally). I don’t know if she lives in NY, but Bill likes to smoke cigars here

Fletch-
Hot damn.

autonut-
yeah, I should have said she LIVES in NY?
everyone outside of NY knew that was sham and still is.

Hillary Hates America! Return the favor.

By the way, planet Earth has killed billions of us over the past century — through hurricanes, floods, famine, and fire, and we do nothing. I say it’s time we fight back. Buy a Hummer! No, not the Mrs. Bill Clinton’s husband kind of hummer. Yeah, that kind of Hummer.

Screw you planet… you pussy!

Hmmmm….proposed 55 mpg for the year 2030 in a speech. Sounds like she’s trying to lobby everyone for their votes. Don’t buy into it, wheveter you do; I’m VERY certain this is just another political ploy. She’s using this as a means to acquire votes, nothing more.

dmbpearl…been here lately?

http://www.evilconservatives.com/

PISS OFF CLINTON ! BITCH

What in the name of James T. Kirk is she smoking?

Mrs. Clinton,
What are you driving and what is it giving off?

that sounds a little different than I meant it.

I did not mean what vehicle.

Does she breath and release killer CO2 gas ??

The ultimate goal of all earth-lovers is to kill all humans and save the planet.

Go Captain Planet !!!! Kill the humans !!!!

Mujician-boy is automatically discredited because Mars does indeed have an atmosphere ….

http://www.astronomytoday.com/astronomy/mars.html

… and yes, even without humans or martians driving SUVs on Mars or cows farting, its atmosphere is warming at an alarming rate. Oh yes, and historically (withing the past millenium) the earth’s atmosphere has cycled up and down and up and down and up and down and up…. nothing new except the fearmongers are trying to lay a guilt trip on people about it because it gives them a feeling of importance to know they are making others as miserable as they are.

Like I said, I do not live to placate your insecurities, fearmongers.

mujician the question should be how ****ing blind AND stupid are you, i didnt say **** about global warming you down syndrome redarded ass****er, why dont you learn to read you hillary loving democrat.

When oil hits $150/barrel, then $200/barrel, which is coming by the way, and long before 2030, at the rate the U.S. dollar is falling, the rate of production decline, and the rate of increase of consumption … it’s 6 of one, half dozen of the other … someone will be paying one way or another for better fuel economy.

Regardless, I want lower oxides of nitrogen so I don’t have to look at a cloud of toxic waste draped over every large city.

Lets analyse how far this global warming thing (if it exists) is due to cars.

Animals and Humans both emit three main greenhouse gases: Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Water Vapour. The average human breathes 25 breaths per minute, each with an average volume of 40ml, 5% of which is carbon dioxide, and there is water vapour as well.
There are 6.86 billion people on this earth. That adds up to a lot of C02 released in just one minute. And we’ve excluded animals.

These are very rough calculations, but it amounts to a lot of CO2 released by living organisms alone.
It’s not the fault of cars, Mrs Clinton.

Anyway, the Earth is just going through a little warming and cooling cycle. The Medieval Warm period was just like this. Chill out about this global warming.

Like I said in the last article about this CAFE BS… it only takes one politician to come along between now and 20 years to raise the ante on these CAFE standards. And suddenly that ‘achieveable with consequences’ 35mpg mandate becomes the lesser of two hideous whacked out evils. People get what they vote for.

Mujician – Perhaps the funniest part of your post is your passionate display of complete ignorance on Mars. It’s too funny to even correct you. A bit of advise; work on your grammar. Do you really expect anyone to respect your ‘facts’ on complex matters such as our solar system and climatology when your grammer is so poor? “Ower”? Get that straightened out, then we can help with your re-education.

What I’m seeing here is basically what I think the scientific community sees: that global warming is a fact, but there’s a disagreement as to what’s causing it–mankind and its industrial filth or natural causes.

Science can tell us what compounds and chemicals can render our atmosphere less likely to dissipate the Earth’s heat–i.e., a greenhouse effect. We know that our industry, our pollution puts these compounds in the air. We know these pollutants are not natural and in the years since the industrial revolution (in the U.S.) and in past years abroad, the pollution has exponentially increases.

It is hopelessly naive to think that human pollution has none/will have no effect on global climate change. It is irresponsible to wait for the next great geologic era to see if the Earth is just on a hot swing in the cycle.

But, back to Hillary. We can argue CAFE until we’re blue in the face, as we have not too long ago. But why are we suprised that Hillary, a politician, is saying stuff like this? It’s a political issue–all she has to do is say it. Especially with the clout the now-Nobel Laureate Al Gore has on eco-issues, saying something like this is just the thing Hillary’s camp needs for his support, when she becomes the democratic nominee. That’s right, you heard it from me first, Hillary will be on the ticket, and I say that NOT as a supporter, but just a guy one who can read polling data as well as the next guy.

Without arguing whether human activity besides breathing, contributes to global warming, what is wrong with decreasing ill-effects of internal combustion engine and improving efficiency? Once again I am not proponent of Hillary by any means, but for common good it will not hurt to lower consumption of natural resources in US.
In UK cars are taxed based on mileage and CO2 they generate. Aston, can you enlighten us ignorant yanks how this formula works? I was always confused by it.

Any MILF points hillary had are now gone. In other words, she wants to ban cars.

roteflugel3: If we didn’t have that retarded 22nd amandment, Bill would still be prez, and Osama would be dead.

R-Head: Ron Paul is 72. last thing we need is another Old White Guy.

purdue: funny ****.un on a platform of “Common sense trumps all.” Nah, i don’t want to be prez, trying to come to terms with pissant republicrats who all want to screw the working man. I want to be absolute sovreign dictator.

Free market, with no governent prop-ups for any corporation, especially ADM.
Limited Welfare.
State’s rights on abortion and medical mary jane.
Isolationist foreign policy (but if you attack america or american citizens, I’m nuking that ass!)
Realistic immigration policy: do we want to stop illegal immigration or not? Do we want to pay $3 for a head of lettuce? If so, confiscation and auction — cut off the demand, and the supply dries up quickly.
Deportation of all lobbyists and nanny-state advocates.
I’ll outlaw universal default.
Let’s overhaul schools so they teach kids to do something other than take standardized tests.
Loose interpretation of church/state seperation.
Everyone has the right to own a gun, until she does something to lose that right, but we don’t need M16/M203s for duck hunting

Firekyro: “True, politicians are politicians, and you cant trust much that comes out of their mouths,”

How do you know a politician is lying?
his lips are moving.

autonut: republicans are pessimistic and can’t be trusted. Dems don’t have the working man’s interest at heart, they have getting reelected at heart

Fletch: “High oil prices will shift the market towards more fuel efficient cars, not a government standard.”
Straight Truth. Fuel economy is its own reward.

dmbpearl: that was good stuff at 1204p

Cyclone: I plan to check out evilconservatives.com later.

Has Mrs Clinton thought about cancelling Third World debt? It seems it is more pressing than spending a fortune on more useless legislation to prevent something we don’t know exists.

As for her colleague Mr Gore, his award-winning film contains 25 factual inaccuracies:

http://www.warwickhughes.com/blog/?p=66

jjt,
“republicans are pessimistic and can’t be trusted”.

I trusted democrat Bill Clinton, but he ate THAT pussy and it wasn’t Hillary. Now I can’t trust anyone?

Basically, the government sorts all car into 7 bands (A, B, C, D, E, F, G) depending on how much CO2 they emit. The cars with the lowest emissions are band A (less than 100g/km) up to band G. The cars are taxed a set rate every 12 months, depending on which band they are in. Obviously, band A gets charged nothing, Band B £35 a year and Band G vehicle owners (such as myself), pay £300 per year.

autonut: the only person you can trust is me.

Aston, there is no need to cancel African debt: they have no intentions of paying it off. How can one collect from dictatorships?

jjt, the choices are rather slim

oh jack please never use hilary and milf in the same sentance, i almost puked and went blind just reading it, i have to go bleach my eyes now thanks alot.

Chastising all Republicans makes no more sense than chastising all people with the last name Clinton because 2 of them wound up being criminals. It’s that type of mentality that creates our current situation.

Well, if they don’t intend paying it off, why don’t we cancel it anyway, to make them feel better?

At the rate Hillary and Al Gore are presently expanding in both girth and ego, the earth wont have enough room for both of them by 2050.

Scarface; im willing to go one further, Hillary is as good as prez, unless she between now and the election
admits she is gay
shoots a fellow hunter in the back
screams like Howard Dean at a rally
or utters the words “mission accomplished” (goddamn that was a lot of bodies and moneys ago)

^ she did also say it moron she supported bush at every step of the way, EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

I dont believe she ever said “mission accomplished”. Yes I know she and they all supported the war effort. And I did not say I would vote for or any Dems for that matter. You better cool your jets before I change my name to CTS-V driver.

**** that bitch.

Piablo: At least there’s George Clinton!

CTS: Hillary was MILFy back in ‘92. Power makes up for looks.

thats acutally funny there swervy, i take back the moron comment obviously you are not a moron, its just people already forgot she is also to blame in this war for enabling it.
if my buddy murders somebody and i know about it i am guilty, same for her, even worse she enabled it, while her husband did nothing 8 years earlier.

back in 98 i wouldnt mind gettein caught while she gave me a lewinski, just for tyhe sake of her getting caught with boner breath.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

i like how this turned from “discussion” of the proposed standards to ad hominem attacks on hilary that have no basis in reality. whether or not global climate change (not warming, because it’s not getting warmer everywhere) is caused by humans or caused by nature, you cannot deny that it is happening, and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are rising. A lot of this is due to human factories and human agriculture, like cattle farming, which releases enormous amounts of methane into the atmosphere, amplifying the greenhouse effect. Regardless of whether it’s natural or not, you are NOT going to like it when sea levels rise forty to fifty feet after the northern polar ice cap melts. bangkok and other coastal cities will be swallowed by the ocean. but you probably don’t care, because you don’t live in bangkok. it’s not your problem.

Glenn beck says the Acadia is the best car ever.

Jordan: I live in southern california, and if the sees rise enough, my exurb will be beachside. Who needs Oceanside and Escondido, anyway?

seas

If your government doesn’t act to force fuel efficiency by the automakers, what will most of you be driving when gas prices are $6/gallon? And how quick and substantive would changes be when automakers then need to catch up?

Had incremental increases in CAFE standards been implemented since 1990, what would we find on the road today? It’s funny to see the last 17 years display considerable increases in horsepower but less focus on a similar increase in fuel efficiency. At some point, acceleration, for the majority, is more than sufficient.

Whoever votes for this idiot is, by association, an idiot

Raising the CAFE that far so far in the future, is pointless. Mindless grandstanding to get points on a plan that none of us will ever care happens.

I’m not voting for Hillary anyway. Frankly she rubs me the wrong way. Just hearing her voice pisses me off.

As far as CAFE goes. it should be 55MPG by 2020. We customers should be demanding far better and not settling until we have at least 100 mpg from cars and trucks alike. Really turn the screws ourselves. the Gas-guzzler tax is a sham. Until you slam trucks and SUVs with hefty GGT, it means nothing. to date only cars that the extremely wealthy can afford are effected and they don’t blink much at gas prices. Heck the H2, which gets only marginally better f-econ than a Lamborghini speed boat at full throttle, has no GGT stamped to it at all.

Frankly, We should be demanding better. Every other year we hear about new cars in “testing” that will get 40, 50, 100 MPG or more and all we get to buy are the same old cars with a “10%” improvement in F/econ. BULL$#it !!!

We should be driving full-sized trucks that get 30MPG, Family sedans that get 60MPG. The CORVETTE should be getting around 40-50MPG. We spend more time worrying if the car is compatible with our iPods than our pocket books. Stop feeling helpless and tell them WE don’t want 35mpg fleet economy. We want 35 fleet minimum… nothing gets less than 35mpg. We may not get it next model, but if we lean on them, demand it and threaten to go elsewhere or even sue (This would be a good lawsuit… for once), it WILL happen much faster than if the government pretends to do something about it.

They’re are already talking about $4.00/gal gas by Summer. It could feel like $2.00 if real effort is put into improved F/econ instead of these “feel good” proposals.

The same model the DoD employs to get their next fighter plane, Bomber, APC, Assault rifle, and so on could be used here. Guaranteed incentives to the winning design for more efficient engines, vehicles, and the like to seriously spur forward development and deployment of the desired technology. Even some garage inventor could be the next Henry Ford, the incentives and rewards would be so huge. Think the x-prize for cars.

Ugh! Stupid Hillary.

I do hope Hilary gets the next presidency and kick george bush out the front door ,( i’d take the pleasure of shooting him myself). However this legisation is so stupid. why should she care about 2050 she will be in her grave, long time.

‘Blakkar’, in the sea of ignorance, stupidity and selfishness, you have shone a light of REALITY. Good for you.

Dear cardesigner5….

The Secret Service will visit you soon.

POTUS is still POTUS and words like “shooting” get people in trouble.

oooohhhh aaahhhhh . the internet is all about free speech, unless he is a dictator over that aswell

^WOW thats just brutally ignorant cardesigner5, you are why i hate dems with stupid talk like that, i thought you crazy hippie pot smokers were supposed to hold hands and not be violent, thank god for the christian right.

Blakkar – Why do you think the current lineup of vehicles do not offer what you are asking for? Do you really think people are settling on what is out there or are they happy with what they are getting? You somewhat eluded to the reason cars have the fuel economy they have but I would argue a far different conclusion. Fuel economy is not a priority for most people. Performance, size, public perception are all higher priorities than fuel economy. Fuel economy is also the antithesis of performance and size. When automakers find that their performance models sell better than the lower models which also tend to have better fuel economy, where do you think they are going to spend the R&D dollars?. The existance of this web site is proof enough! We idolize the BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris.
I don’t blame the automakers one bit for the current state. GM could take a moral or ethical stance, however people view this, and only sell fuel efficient vehicles. What’s going to happen is the customer will walk across the street and buy the performance model from the competitor. There are already fuel efficient vehicles out there. And unless it’s a Prius, they aren’t exactly selling like hot cakes. We have this idea that engineers can create just about anything… a car that seats 6, goes 0-60 in 4 seconds, and gets a fuel mileage rating of 50mpg. I have no doubt that it’s possible to create such a vehicle, but engineers also have to operate in a parameter I like to call reality. Who could afford such a vehicle? or would want to afford it? Given today’s current legislation on vehicle design and safety standards, along with environmental mandates such as emmisions, it would be too expensive and nobody would buy it. How many Teslas do you really think are going to sell?
Buying fuel efficient vehicles is really a paradox considering our society’s practices. We build McMansions. We have swimming pools in the back yard. We dine out at restaurants with enormous buffets. We have an entire city, Las Vegas, whose sole existance is for pleasure and indulgence. To single out cars and say we need to demand 55+mpg is a bit hypocritical in spite of everything else. There are many other areas to start being eco-conscious that would have a much higher impact. I would suggest car pooling is a much easier change in lifestyle than down grading to an econo-box. Not only that, but if four people car pool to work, they’ve just increased their gas mileage 4 fold. And hey, it doesn’t cost a dime! But the real problem here, is lifestyle change. And no new technology car is going to change it.
Instead of demanding immediate change and revolution in an industry, we should start looking at the little things that we can actually make a difference with. Demanding the auto industry to make a vehicle that gets 50mpg still perpetuates the idea that everyone deserves their own personal mode of transport and further pushes the disposable attitude. Demanding an industry change around indulgent lifestyles is exactly the attitude that promotes waste.

if u want to stereotype, why don’t u take you’re republican ass and go **** you’re cousin hillbilly’s

D cd5: anybody (including Jeb) would be better than W.
Impulsive: blakkar (If I may presume to speak for him) is not advocating so

cial

ism. He’s saying people should get smart and tell automakers that what they’re producing now is unacceptable.

I’ve discovered that if you try to type a word that starts with the first three letters of what americans call football, and ends with “ism,” it won’t post.

WHY DONT YOU GO **** YOUR PIG QUEEN YOU MUSTARD TOOTHED WANKER, PILES OF **** LIKE YOU NEED TO SHUT THE **** UP ABOUT KILLING OUR PRESIDENT, BOZO OR NOT IT IS NOT UP TO A SCUMMY PIG****ER LIKE YOU TO PASS THAT KIND OF JUDGEMENT. YOU ****ING ASSCRAMMERS ON THAT SIDE OF THE POND HAVE NO BUSINESS TALKING ABOUT OUR PREZ BEING A DICTATOR, WE STILL HAVE MORE FREEDOMS THAN YOU DO.
JACK….EVEN HILLARY? EVEN KERRY? HOW ABOUT KENNEDY?

CTS: yes, even hillary.
OK, maybe not kennedy, but perhaps a disclaimer is in order. The only person with less chance of getting elected that a democrat from Massachusetts is a democrat from San Francisco.

People hate america, but as my viet-vet uncle told me when I was 10 or so, there’s no place better.

‘CTS’, lovin’ it.

‘jjt’, I am a capitalist with a soft heart. ‘Blakkar’ is only providing a different perspective that most of you here don’t understand. I want CAFE so that I don’t live under a toxic stew of smog. And I don’t want to depend on foreigners and make them rich by accepting the status quo. It is your freedom-loving ignorance that has allowed us to stagnate for the last 17 years with no real progress. But it’s that same freedom-loving ignorance that’s the cause of many other issues that NEED to be legislated to correct. I shouldn’t have had to inhale second-hand smoke in hallways, stairwells and elevators of condos because the freedom-loving jackasses were allowed to do as they wished.

Point being, having him state what he has proves that until the ignorant are directed by some external force, nothing will change for the better.

Well, your condo rulers should have addressed the smoking issue. I think government should regulate things people need, but for thing people want, laissez-faire!

I propose prison for the entire Clinton family.

soshialism

hmmm – I tested the “taboo” word first and then the amended form above afterwards. JJT, now we have a functional alternative.

One other thing … hard to believe but Chelsea is halfway bangable:

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/twentieth_century_fox/the_day_after_tomorrow/chelsea_clinton/daypres.jpg

socializm

‘jjt’, no, if you don’t have majority votes, there’s nothing one can do. And I shouldn’t have had to move to avoid it. Thankfully, the laws have changed and all is well. In this case, legislation rules. Those chumps and others like you who accept laissez-faire will come to get it up the rear with CAFE, non-smoking, and the myriad other issues that need to be addressed where freedom-loving jackasses learn to adapt to a higher standard.

oohhh CTS DRIVER you’re a nasty piece of work

How did we get to Chelsea ???

With a disfunctional family like her’s she is going to need a lot of counseling.

CTS driver im not british by the way, i jus live there

WOW, I really offended all of you “REPUBLICAN” **** heads. I for one am not either a tree hugger nor an ass sniffer. As far as the comment twards you CTS, I didn’t know I was directing it right at you. On the other hand I do love to offend all of you wenever I get the chance. O’**** I furgot my grammar again, O what to I do. Can one of you smart gents help me. I’m drownding in a all of this garbage.

Nah, we weren’t offended as much as we were surprised to see such an ignorant tard so passionately proclaiming blatant inaccuracies. As the saying goes…”If people suspect you’re an idiot, it’s best to keep your mouth shut, than open it and confirm their suspicions.”

Amazing how this issue can divide people politically. I was all on board of this saving the earth train until they decided carbon dioxide was “pollution”.

http://www.mendosa.com/politics.html