Okay, everyone buy a Chevy Volt even though it costs twice what a comparable gas powered car costs and has half the expecteed life cycle. Do it to help President Obama reduce the amount of gas we import.
Or we could change the laws. Yeah, we have a shot (this is sarcasm). In Mexico they have a Hyundai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Atos that gets 44 MPG and costs less than $6000. In India they have a car that looks like a Smart Car and costs under $3000 and get 66 MPG. Do you think we could get either car here? If so, you are deluded. If you want to get 40 MPG in the United States you need to spend over $40,000.
Why? Because of the DEP. We have laws that do not look at how much pollutants are produced by a motor vehicle (that would make sense) but rather what percentage of the entire exhaust is pollutant. That means we need larger motor sizes to run all the emmisssions controls in order to put out, overall, more pollutants than a smaller engine, but a lesser percentage of the total exhaust.
Why? Because it is complicated and they got away with it. Is Congress going to change anything? Our Congress?
So, no, we will not get a cheaper car, only a more expensive car. Is that good for the environment? Good for the economy? Neither, but it is the law.
Copyright 2012 Kent Johnson
