Carmakers' Blowback on CA CO2 MPG Regs Nothing But a Gentle Breeze

Now that President Barack Obama has decided to let California raise America’s fleet-wide fuel economy regs to something like a 42mpg average, the automakers are howling with righteous idignation. Not. How could they? Not only would that be impolite to the incoming adminstration, environmentalists, the Democratic party and mother Earth, but GM and Chrysler are now more-or-less owned by the same federal government that just told CA to go for it. The New York Times dusted off ye olde “greedy American automakers are dragging their heels over higher mpg vehicles” template, but really, their heart just isn’t in it. But you’ve gotta give the Gray Lady credit for digging up a least one hysterical Neanderthal. Yes, it’s our old pal David E. Cole, whose Center for Automotive Research (CAR, geddit?) created the widely-quoted and entirely specious study that justified the Motown bailout buffet in the first place (if they go down, 42b workers will hit the soup lines). You can guess what David said, but it’s still fun to read. And wait ’til you don’t hear what Detroit doesn’t say…

“The California regulations, if enacted today, “would basically kill the industry,” the GM scion told the NYT. “It would have a devastating effect on everybody, and not just the domestics.”

Trump that! Again, kudos to scribe Nick Bunkley for doing just that. But first he forwards the argument on the automakers’ behalf—a lazy non-attribution if ever there wasn’t one—that they believe the CA regs would force them to dump the lion’s share of their fleet (such as “once popular pickups”) and build cars like… you know it’s coming… the Toyota Prius. Anyway, the quote:

“I want clean air and clean water just like the next guy,” said Erich Merkle, an independent automotive analyst in Grand Rapids, Mich. “But in the real world, there would be consumer outrage with the fact that they’re limited to maybe two vehicles and there’s nothing there that would meet their family’s needs.”

Two vehicles? What is this? Communist Russia? Getting there. Meanwhile, The People’s Car Company (GM), who would normally be screaming bloody murder at the CA regs, made a token attempt at fighting The Governator’s new fiat (no caps).

“G.M., the only Detroit automaker to issue its own response Monday, said it was ‘working aggressively on the products and the advance technologies that match the nation’s and consumers’ priorities to save energy and reduce emissions.’ But the company also emphasized the need for ‘a comprehensive policy discussion that takes into account the development pace of new technologies, alternative fuels and market and economic factors.'”

And to end our little trip to The Brave New World of “In America, the globe warms you,” we turn to the pathetic—I mean, prophetic—Mr. Cole, who agrees with Ken Elias’ thesis that Uncle Sugar will make it right.

“Mr. Cole, the Center for Automotive research chairman, said he believed Congress would ensure Detroit would be able to live with any new standards.”

Cha-ching!