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Mr. Obama Goes to Detroit

Posted by JAZZ SHAW, Assistant Editor in At TMV.
May 18th, 2009 | View Comments

I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t see this one coming. Apparently some of the Powers That Be are getting on board with the POTUS and looking down the line toward the future of the automotive industry in terms of cutting down the carbon emissions and boosting the fuel usage standards. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers provides the details.

Washington, DC – On Tuesday, May 19, automakers will join with President Obama, federal agencies, governors and environmental leaders to announce a commitment to establish a National Program that will reduce carbon emissions and increase fuel economy.

“For seven long years, there has been a debate over whether states or the federal government should regulate autos. President Obama’s announcement ends that old debate by starting a federal rulemaking to set a National Program,” said Dave McCurdy, president and CEO, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “Automakers are committed to working with the President to develop a National Program administered by the federal government.”

I am, by default, generally skeptical of any arrangement which involves more Federal Government regulation of industry, but the intentions here seem to be productive enough. At least on the surface. We’ll have a .pdf of the entire release up for you in the morning.

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Rudi

And anyone who thinks that the Japanese car makes do not make gas guzzling vehlces needs to look at the Toyota home page. Toyota currently makes seven SUV's and two trucks.

And those guzzlers are sold here, not in Europe or Japan. If gas stays around $2.00, soccer moms in Macomb Township will still drive Escalades and Honda Ridgelines to the 7-11.

AustinRoth

As long as the car manufacturers can make the standards via fuel technology innovations, then all is well. Do remember, though, that repeated testing has shown the best fuel-efficient cars get there through weight reduction, which leads to cars that are less safe. That, and getting better and better at creating cars designed to do really well on the prescribed tests, but not so well in the real world.

StockBoySF

SD, some people will want smaller cars and some will want larger cars. I guess Toyota is successful because they have a wide range of cars with a combination of style, features and efficiency standards people like. Not everyone wants a car like a Prius, just like not everyone wants an SUV.

jwest

I applaud any unnecessary regulation that inflates the cost of cars to the point that less people can afford them.

Let’s all work together to keep those damn poor people off of my roads.

Silhouette

Forcing the auto industry to produce smaller more efficient cars will open up the european markets. Seems to me that having a GNP that really kicks butt again might be the bitter pill that BigOil's pocket industry needs to swallow. They created the conditions they now find themselves in. They whine on the one hand about affecting so much of the american economy [their rationale for bailout money]. And on the other hand they want to refuse to produce the type of cars we can trade en masse on a world market to bolster their own bank accounts. The only missing pieze in this baffling puzzle is the gravy-train they had going from BigOil to keep producing gas guzzlers.

I notice the prices at the pumps are going up again just in time for vacation communting... I'm sure the speculators have "good solid reasons" beyond bilking the public for the increases...[speaking of another industry that needs regulating...]

superdestroyer

The goals are to meet the standard by 2016. Does anyone really believe that there will still be a domestic automobile ndustry by 2016? And anyone who thinks that the Japanese car makes do not make gas guzzling vehlces needs to look at the Toyota home page. Toyota currently makes seven SUV's and two trucks.

StockBoySF

Yes, I know... it is more regulation by the federal government, but having one national standard for automakers may be one time when we can do with more federal regulation. Otherwise the automakers could be subjected to conflicting standards set by each state. The auto companies have had years to try their model.... and we see that they continue to not only make cars that many Americans don't want, but cars with poor emissions and mpg standards.

A bit off topic... but not really since we're talking about the failing auto industry having to be taken over.... It's sort of like the GOP.... The GOP is convinced that if they are conservative enough and go back to core values, while kicking everyone else out of their party with even a whiff of independent thought, that they can regain their power. The more the GOP (like the automakers) sticks to outdated models and tells people that what they are selling (the GOP sells a philosophy, the automakers sells cars) is what those people really want (despite the fact that people have other choices and are flocking to what they REALLY want), then the GOP will continue to lose support. It's up to the GOP to set their direction.... And they have no one else to blame if they fail.

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