Big surprise that fat-cappy press, Forbes isn't in favor of imposing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to dictate automakers' fleet-wide gas mileage. This past Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta outlined the government's plan to alter mileage standards for all light trucks sold in the US.
The plan would split the market, requiring the smallest and lightest such vehicles to increase average mileage to 28.4 mpg by 2011, while the largest and heaviest would be pegged at 21.3 mpg. (Those over 8,500 lbs. would be exempt.) Forbes advocates for the ol' supply and demand trick: with gas prices rising, market forces will provide all the incentive automakers need to produce fuel-efficient vehicles, defying critics who say the government's plan doesn't go far enough to conserve fuel. We have to agree with this one, and not because we're free-market fat cats, either. It's just that political solutions always first consider the needs of those who have the most influence on policymakers, and guess who that's not. Yeah, us.
We Don't Need No Stinking CAFE [Forbes]
Related:
Fuel Economy Dot Gov: Bush Administration Proposes Slightly Higher Standards [internal]