Forced To Eat Nothing But Saurkraut And Snails
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 06.26.07
Wall Street Journal points out something is about to change in American lifestyle. Specifically, the several hours per day each US citizens spends driving is about to be Europeanized. Want a vision of what your next new car or truck will look like? Go there.
"Whether by presidential order or congressional mandate, car makers in the foreseeable future will likely have to build fleets that average about 35 miles per gallon. But what kinds of cars and trucks will gasoline-guzzling Americans drive to achieve that average? The answer would seem to lie in Europe, where fuel prices are roughly double U.S. levels amid heavy taxation and more than half of the vehicles bought have diesel-powered engines..."
"In a recent Consumer Reports survey, 70% [of US citizens surveyed] said they plan to seek a more fuel-efficient vehicle, but only about half said they would sacrifice size or performance in that quest"
The apparent conflict over how to mitigate climate change and reduce reliance on foreign oil boils down to resolving what a consensus of scientists say is technically cost effective to do now, versus what car makers feel will be most profitable. "The National Academy of Sciences says technology exists to improve fuel economy without sacrificing safety but notes that high costs could motivate car makers to downsize vehicles to meet higher fuel mileage targets."
It helps to remember that every car maker has far more manufacturing capacity than national markets demand, and that the balance sheets will be better for stockholders if sales are concentrated on the most profitable models. Because the profit per unit is much greater on big models, makers will resist anything that steers consumers more toward the less profitable smaller, more resource efficient vehicles. This is the basis for resisting CAFE in in any form. It has little to do with technology feasibility.
In addition to profit, fashion is a fairly important factor in pre-climate catastrophe, lifestyle flipping America. Americans are mostly "wheel potatoes" who dwell inside vehicles that prevent anyone from seeing them from the neck down. Vehicles are the expression of fashion, a driver's clothes are the new underwear and underwear is an obscure fantasy sold by catalog. As a result, by horsepower, status is conveyed in the same way that a dress suit once did.
American, get ready to dress up European-like and reduce the acceleration. Via:: Wall Street Journal Image credit: Common Snail, English Country Garden
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Will the Next New Deal be Transit-Based? Three Plans to Rescue the Economy and the Earth with Public Transportation
- Fashion Foraging: Turn Umbrellas Into Eco-Chic Apparel
- A Street Car To Desire: Imagine Trolleys With Hypercapacitors And Overhead Fans?
- Make Cars Green: Too Little Too Late?
It's too bad we can't skip that step and, instead spend the time and energy on leaping beyond what Europe has now, and into an even more sustainable system. I'm not sure exactly what that would be, but it would seem that a truly systematic, big-picture approach would be the way to go, integrating sustainable solutions for all areas of our lives, rather than the piecemeal, band-aid approach that we've been doing. It would be fantastic if we could make a committment to researching and developing a realistic and practical way to create a sustainable social model or three and make it reality.
I mean, why bother spending years developing and marketing and selling a whole new fleet of cars to the public, when private cars aren't likely to be a sustainable transportation solution, in the first place?
I would love to have the options available in America for cars that Europe has. It's quite difficult to find a good diesel lately, even though the situation is improving. America needs a mass market change before we really even have a choice in the matter.
Scott Johnson,
Several manufacturers have tried but were stopped before they started by unintended consequences of over-reaching or poorly considered environmental legislation. Once case in particular a manufacturer had brought over some European diesels just a few years ago for American drivers to test drive. They were to be taken on a tour of the US to gauge consumer reception, but soon afterward, new regulations were announced that would have made them obsolete before they were ready for sale.
European emission restrictions on diesels are less strict, and they've had ultra-low sulphur fuel for much longer which makes them burn cleaner. Most of the diesels over there burn too dirty to be sold here where contemporary regulations have required lower emissions but with dirtier fuel. Now we have ultra-low sulphur fuel, which helps reduce SOx, but the restrictions continue to tighten on NOx. The technology required to meet the standards continues to push cost further up and efficiency down.
The moral of the story is that not all environmental legislation is good. Sometimes a little less is a lot better.