Increasing CAFE is the wrong approach, sure we'll get higher milage cars and trucks. Those cars and trucks will cost more as the developement cost is passed on to the consumer but it will do little to really change consumer behaviour.

What really should be done is a tax on fuel that is introduced and ramped up over 5-10 years. Look what happend after Katrina, SUV sales slowed and fuel efficent car sales picked up. All it took was a few months of higher fuel costs. What if it was made known that fuel prices will increase and it is permanent. Consumers demand would shift to more efficent vehicles and the auto companies will respond. Consumers will also probably drive less, move closer to work places, use more public transit. Such a thing could result in major social change over time as we become less car-centric.

I also prefer a carbon tax to a higher CAFE, but in the current US political climate, the carbon tax is harder to get than CAFE, so lets take what we have and get the rest later.

From a purely business point of view, it's also bad for US carmakers that they can't sell their cars around the world because they don't meet fuel efficiency standards. Even china has higher standards than the USA..

And I don't believe that higher fuel efficiency will generate costs passed down to the consumer any more than anything else the carmakers do. Some of their biggest expenses are advertising..

They just need to tune engines a bit more for fuel efficiency rather than power, or downsize a bit. Add stop/start, variable valve, etc.. All stuff that even some economy cars have.

CAFE has to close the loophole for trucks needing lower mileage standards. This exception spawned the SUV boom. From now on, if you want a truck you have to pay a tax, unless you present a commerical license.

But what about my rights? Everyone wants to take away my right to buy the vehicle I want and then vilify me for driving my H2. I'm an American damn it! And that still means something today, doesn't it? I work hard for my money, and now a bunch of treehugging Greenpeace lovers are trying to tell me that just because I don't drive a rice burner (which should be considered treason in this time of war) I should have to pay extra, not just for gas, but also a truck and a carbon tax? Maybe in Socialist France, but not in my country! Damn tax and spend liberals at it again. Just can't keep their hands out of my pockets. Let the the free market sort things out. Government should not be involved in this at all because corporate America has things well under control, don't they? Look at our gas prices, they might suck, but they are nothing compared to what Europe is paying. That's because we have arrangements with our friends and allies the Canadians to pick up any slack in our oil supply.

And another thing. If I get in an accident with another car on the highway, I want to ensure that if anyone dies it isn't me. If the other person doesn't have the common sense to drive an SUV instead of a Prius, then they deserve whatever happens to them in an accident.

Before you start flaming me, I was just playing Devil's Advocate and bringing up some arguments you may read on some other forums. I drive a Prius. I'm for carbon taxes, and I think SUVs should be very heavily taxed, especially the ones who drive like they own the road.

Ok I don't know where "it's also bad for US carmakers that they can't sell their cars around the world because they don't meet fuel efficiency standards" came from. Ford and GM sell cars all over the world. Total lack of understanding of the world auto industry from the Anonymous poster.

Rob is correct on closing the truck loophole.

Progressive Penguin LOL I kinda figured where you were going.

Higher CAFE will save fuel and reduce carbon but do little to change peoples behaviour.

I love cars and I hate what CAFE increases will do, when CAFE was brought in we ended up with guttless crappy cars. Fuel taxes will force the masses into more fuel efficent cars but still allow car makers to build some higher horsepower models for those of us who will pay for it. CAFE removes choices and puts the burden on the car makers. Even Toyota was in Washington along with other car makers fighting against CAFE increases. This is bad for all automakers, a fuel tax phased in overtime puts more of the burden on the consumer, the automakers will still pay because they will have to engineer higher mpg cars and that isn't cheap.

Progressive Penguin? I'm gonna go ahead and assume you're either 12 years old or, as the British say, "taking the piss" ....

As for me, I drive an H1. Frankly I think small cars should be banned. They are simply not safe. I also like to smell of my own exhaust.

Okay, I'll give you a precision: I meant that they can't sell most of their North-American models in the rest of the world, and these certain cost quite a bit of money to create and market. It would certainly be a beneficial thing if they could sell them elsewhere, something that most of their competitors do.

Higher CAFE does nothing to change peoples behavior.

After sleeping on it and rereading the letter from the web link I have come up with the big problem with this proposal. It does nothing to reduce fuel usage for several more years and will take years to make any significant dent in fuel usage.

For this Car = Car or light truck.

I base this on:

IN 2004 there were 243,023,485 cars registered
16-17 million new cars sold
60.6% of vehicles were older than seven years in 2001.
In 2005 the overall median age for automobiles was 8.9 years

So how long before cars meeting these higher CAFE standards will be the norm. Probably 10 years after their introduction.With the speed of congress and the 2018 date of the 35MPG CAFE do you want to wait 20+ years to have significant change in America's motor fuel usage. I'm not. We need social change and a progressively increasing fuel tax phased in over 10 years starting this year or the next will bring down fuel usage, cause consumers to demand more fuel efficent cars and cause people to rethink how and how much they drive. And hey it's still a free country, you can still drive what you want but you'll have to be prepaired to pay for it at the pump.

I'll say it again higher CAFE does nothing to change peoples behavior.

CAFE is just one tool, it can't do everything itself. But if you look at CAFE increases and the average fuel economy of cars in the US since the 70s, you'll see that it does have an impact.

And people are driving more than ever. I guess my point is lost.

CAFE burdens the automakers and yes the cost will pass on to consumers but it's a one time cost. Safety regs and features have driven up the cost (and weight) of autos so people just see it as more inflation in the price of cars. Many people only worry about the payment when buying a car and don't pay attention to what it cost. Higher cost fuel on the other hand is really noticed by people, during the months after Katrina and last summer it was national news. SUV sales were impacted, people began buying more hybrids and smaller cars. Then fuel got cheaper and in Feb Toyota ended up putting incentives on the Prius. So think what would happen if fuel went up and stayed up...