By Frank Williams
August 17, 2007 -
The Detroit News carries news of a "made-for-TV" rally of Ford and Chrysler autoworkers in Chicago yesterday. The event, "put together by a public relations firm," protested proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) legislation. The rent-a-mob consisted primarily of 200 workers bussed in from nearby assembly plants. They put on a good show, too. At one point, a Ford Expedition rolled up and disgorged a scoutmaster. three Boy Scouts and a Girl Scout "to demonstrate ways Americans need larger vehicles" (The mind boggles). One Chrysler worker described her [ostensible] reason for attending the rally: "People should be able to drive what they want." A lot of Americans agree with her, which is why the Camry outsells the Sebring by a very wide margin.
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POWERED
August 17th, 2007 at 9:20 am
At one point, a Ford Expedition rolled up and disgorged a scoutmaster. three Boy Scouts and a Girl Scout
LOL! Unless all of these people weighed 300+ lbs, I don’t think the Camry would have had any trouble carrying them!
August 17th, 2007 at 9:53 am
I want to drive a Monster Truck that is shaped like a penis, but the government won’t let me! DAMN THIS COMMUNIST REGIME!
August 17th, 2007 at 9:59 am
cgraham:
I want to drive a Monster Truck that is shaped like a penis, but the government won’t let me! DAMN THIS COMMUNIST REGIME!
As far as I know, the government has taken no steps to outlaw the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile.
August 17th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Imagine how well the big 2.8 could do if the U.S. Gov’t provided a grandfather rule to allow them to simply re-manufacture the cars of the 1960’s. No expensive and unnecessary smog controls, no expensive crash testing. Obviously it’s the government’s fault that they can’t make money selling modern vehicles…
August 17th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Re-manufacturing cars from the ‘60 is already being done, and I think it’s just awesome. Why not mate the best looking cars of all time with a modern powertrain and climate control? http://www.yearone.com/
August 17th, 2007 at 10:34 am
They wouldn’t be permitted to manufacture a modern powertrain and climate control with a grandfather clause. You’d get what you would have gotten back in the 60’s.
August 17th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
“A lot of Americans agree with her, which is why the Camry outsells the Sebring by a very wide margin.”
Good one!
August 18th, 2007 at 3:00 am
It’s funny because as much as I think CAFE is a terrible program (creates a lot of economic dead-weight loss, and is a bit unfair to auto companies that have good reputation for larger vehicles - because it is weighted), I would wager that U.S. companies right now are actually doing better than they otherwise would have been if CAFE didn’t exist. If GM didn’t have to meet CAFE, they wouldn’t have ANY cars over 30 mpg. CAFE has forced the domestics to invest in cars when, really, they might have left that market by the wayside and been in even more trouble.
Ultimately, it’s all political gaming, and stupid gaming at that. CAFE should go. Gas tax should come. Then we’ll see if yokel from Mississippi wants his HEMI; then we’ll see if domestics can actually really adapt to changing demand.
August 18th, 2007 at 3:33 am
SteveK, but at a horribly, horribly astronomical cost.
August 18th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Detroit insiders are protesting the very laws that would have possibly saved them if they were enacted years ago. The problem isnt the big SUV’s, it’s the fuel economy. I’d go buy a full size SUV today if they got the same economy as a midsize sedan.