Quote:
Originally Posted by ksa8907
I was thinking about this topic on my hour+ long commute. Is it actually a bad thing to axe the cafe requirement?
Forcing consumers to drive more efficient vehicles maybe isn'tthe best way to go about it. When gas prices force consumers into alternative vehicles than what they want, automakers will build what the consumer wants that also is more efficient. Free market?
I mean, isn't that why the Prius was wildly successful and is now losing ground to competition?
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It took a lot of tax incentives in various markets and an entire generation of Toyota selling them at a loss to make the Prius as well accepted as it is now.
We could have started the EV "revolution" earlier if GM had bit the bullet in the same way, but they would have had to lose even MORE money to get there.
Most every government in the world shapes consumer demand through tax regulations, penalties and incentives revolving around engine size, vehicle size and weight and fuel economy.
Right now, the American fleet is mostly American... you can't sell American trucks and SUVs outside the country. They just don't fit market conditions anywhere else. While you have the odd regulations-created classes like India's sub-4 meter sedan class or Japan's Kei cars... those aren't successful outside their home countries either.