We've Seen This Higher Fuel Mileage Movie Before

Now that Obama has put all republican car dealers out of business and owns GM and Chrysler, it can push through any laws it wants to. I'll never buy a union-built vehicle again.

The monster we call "The Law of Unintended Consequences" just roared a hearty laugh and galloped out my new car showroom towards Washington D.C. Seems like everytime we just about have him chained up, someone in D.C. feeds him, he gets strength and he breaks loose again. This time however, it will be OK. Since we taxpayers are now owners of Chrysler and will soon be GM's owners, let him rip. When community organizers can run car companies, maybe soon it will be the turn of car guys to run the government. Who knows?

Actually, it wouldn't be that tough. Change the transmission gear ratios a bit, and switch to diesel would more than do it. That's too easy tho. No money in it either.

FWIW, a slight note of caution when talking about any of the figures the DOT puts out... with some digging the actual underpinnings are fragmented, were never finished, and are cited for conclusions they cannot fully support. Been there... Also FWIW, RE: your 3rd question, bearing in mind that you can't alter reality by wishing... Forget hybrids, 'least near term,& leave a question mark for total environmental impact. Like ethanol, this tech's a loser from technical & actual impact perspectives, but without ton's of lobbyist funding. [Do you use 1 pen for printing & 1 for writing - why not? 2X motors = 4X prob.] To ask why not tomorrow, is to ask why Chry. & GM? The overall question however is what are you & other drivers willing to do without? Nice interiors? Enough power for big hills & passing? Towing capability? H/Duty A/C? Power everything? Auto trans? Cramped rear seating? The list goes on... And that stuff is the reason we don't average 35 mpg today.

The only way these CAFE standard can be met is weight loss,without sacrificing safety. Carbon Fiber Molded bodies now used in auto-racing are the key. They can be mass-produced,along with strong structural sturts made of the same carbon fiber mesh material.It's cost effeicient,and the state-of-the-art technology can be readily applicated. Currently,their are proto-types being tested as I write. Thanks,Brian(:

The UAW cronies bought democrat votes and the obamacrook politicians were more than happy to send their buds billions in taxpayer money to be wasted in an eventual bankruptcy. I will never buy an American union made car again. But that's an easy statement since I haven't bought one in 30 years anyway.

I think it's GREAT the Democrats and the Unions now own the US automakers. They can no longer claim "corporate greed" for their problems. When they point their finger across the table, they'll be pointing to their buddies. Can you say implosion! Great drama! But what a shame.

The reason that the gas mileage sucks so bad is these morons in DC that keep tacking on these rediculous safety specs that keep making cars heavier and heavier. My 1985 VW weighs in at a whopping 2100lb. A new one (equipped as close to the same as you can get) weights a stupid 3200lb. And don't even get me started about someone's beloved Civics....they used to weigh 1800lbs (and get over 50mpg for the HF models) and now are well over 3000....maybe Dumbama needs to look at that before completely killing the auto industry (not just American, but all cars sold in the US). I completely agree with the diesel comment too, but like you said...that's too easy and the gov't will never go for such a logical solution with all these idiot liberals in office.

1. Congress can easily pass tough legislation due to the single party control and... 2. Total control of Detroit now being achieved by the ObaMessiah, leaving middle class Americans with no voice in Gov't other the UAW (remember, the ones associated with organized crime, who now want to be able to intimidate you until you sign a card, and have that be your ONLY vote in choosing your work environment?). 3. Government Motors will need to make a 40mpg car before they can enact the standard. These standards will lead to an even more humorous pricing structure where Prius type cars cost $10k and "guzzlers" like a standard V6 Accord will cost $50k. Want to have a family? Better pony up $90k for that basic Odyssey. Maybe only $70k for the basic Kia Sedona. Even with $4 gas, "vintage" 2012 SUV's will be worth more than present sticker price in 2016 since 1 SUV will be worth 25 econoboxes for the new CAFE. I was keeping track of the Ford reliability figures, and they were getting to the acceptable point where I might have looked. But now, United Auto Welfare will have to stick with taking more tax dollars to get their income from me.

Gas costs are really ONLY a burden on those who drive to work and back each day. Most other drivers don't put in enough miles for gas costs to matter much.

You hit the nail on the head with the call on Prius, etc. I guess the pres. wants to show who is the boss. What no one seems to mention is that when (not if) this comes to fruition we are going to be taking a huge hit on federal gasoline taxes as well as state taxes. Using less gasoline dictates higher taxes automatically. I don't think anyone will see gasoline prices at the pump at less than $3.50 per gal.; probably over $4.00. Good luck on this one folks. Be prepared for smaller, lighter, less safe auto's. This is a no win for the consumer. But, we'll stop at the pump less often ........ WOW!

Here's what the world looks like from inside a Ford dealership. The UAW guys working for Ford came to an early agreement with management because since 2006 Ford had been trying to get their ducks lined up. They are UAW, but now in the same category as the GM & Chrysler guys. Next, vehicle quality is up and we see this in the drop off we have had the last several years in factory-paid warranty work. Next, we have a healthy fear of government & UAW owned Chrysler and GM. We fear the government will tilt the playing field towards Chrysler and GM since the two main stakeholders there are the government and the UAW bosses. They can do this through making inexpensive financing available to their companies and their surviving dealers while Ford will still have to go to the markets to continue financing. We will have to fight hard to remain independent and the best way we can do this is to provide a product that customers want and here at the dealership level, provide customers with the support for that product better than our government owned competitors can. We are in Texas so for us this is like the Alamo. We are part of the last free US auto maker and we want to keep it that way.

Can't wait to see all the exceptions that will be made to these standards if the UAW are give control of the US auto companies. It will go like this um big "O" we can't sell enough pea shooters that get 50 mpg in order to meet the new average. It seems our customers actually need to transport kids, dogs, and supplies....and to make things even worse we can't blame the management...we are the management and you told us what cars to build. So we will get these great headlines in huge print about the fantastic new mpg figures achieved and then they will have ****** and then notes in small mice type saying the MPG figure exclude SUV, Minivan, and all full sized cars.

Brian, Just for fun; let's graph the increase in CAFE standards vs. the decline in the US auto industry. Gas costs, up or down are not the real cost of these standards. The real cost is the decline in US dominance in this most important and strategic industry (along with the decline of all related manufacturing). Full disclosure: I work in the auto industry but, 20 years ago I went back to school to learn Japanese because the current state of the industry was almost a foregone conclusion once the Detroit 3 were forced by CAFE to make small, unprofitable vehicles. The President has put the final nail in their coffin.