Make America Guzzle Again!?

[acparker]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Trust me, you don't wanna see anything comparable to it. And it's already happening.

I am well aware of how things have been deteriorating in Latin America. I have in-laws in Ecuador. Venezuela is a tragedy that looks to get much, much worse before it gets better.

Regarding CARB. I read many years ago that CARB was responsible for keeping hybrids out of the US market for quite some time because they were insisting that any electric vehicle be zero emissions. That is logic only a bureaucrat could truly appreciate.

Crash worthiness standards in the US make micro cars less efficient than larger siblings. I find that the Focus/Elantra/Corolla size is about optimum, though the Altima gets equal or better MPG. Anything smaller needs so much reinforcement that it requires a larger engine to get it around safely (satisfactorily).

There are laws in place that allow Neighborhood Electric Vehicles on roads marked 35 MPH or lower and restrict speeds to 25 MPH. Some states and local governments extend those laws to include medium speed vehicles (like golf carts and four-wheelers) as well. Some states have raised permitted speeds to as high as 45 MPH.

With some effort, most cities and metropolitan areas should be able to map out routes that would allow widespread use of such vehicles on secondary and tertiary roads. Similar to planning bike routes and zones.

[ThermionicScott]

Originally Posted by acparker

...an already struggling economy...

By what measure is our economy "struggling"? The stock market is at record highs, unemployment is at record lows...

[Daschicken]

Originally Posted by acparker

Results based emissions testing would eliminate the tampering rule. It shouldn't matter how you get there, as long as what comes out is within specs.

I know that exhaust modifications are okay (at least on motorcycles) as long as they do not increase the noise, I would assume that emissions would be the same way.


As for ethanol..We should grow it with sugarcane or switchgrass, not F'ing CORN. **** CORN!

Oil subsidies should be gone, that way we get closer to true cost pricing. I mean, we are already paying it anyway via taxes, why not? Maybe people would start to realize that driving their big SUVs around for shopping and daily commutes isn't the best idea if financial independence is desired.

I would be okay if Trump were to back emissions regulations down enough to bring back lean burn in gas engines, but anything more than that would be too much. It is easy to know if the car in front of you is missing a catalytic converter just by how it smells.

Also, the EPA needs to be revised, so I'm okay with that too. As long as there is SOMETHING to replace it.

[oil pan 4]

I think bringing back 47 or 48 state legal lean burn cars is a long stretch. It would be nice but I don't see it happening.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by ThermionicScott

By what measure is our economy "struggling"? The stock market is at record highs, unemployment is at record lows...

We have had a form of stagflation going on since 2001.

Expanding employment comes because of lower overall pay per unit.

Aka we (the 98%) work more but earn less compared to inflation.

Job growth comes at the cost of less per unit pay, so the working class pot isn't growing.

I expect this trend to continue unless we shore up oversupply

[Fat Charlie]

The Dow has doubled since 2000. And it takes $140 in 2017 dollars to match $100 in 2000 dollars. The record high is managing to keep ahead of inflation, whee!

[ThermionicScott]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

We have had a form of stagflation going on since 2001.

Expanding employment comes because of lower overall pay per unit.

Aka we (the 98%) work more but earn less compared to inflation.

Job growth comes at the cost of less per unit pay, so the working class pot isn't growing.

I expect this trend to continue unless we shore up oversupply

Inflation has been below target for years. I won't disagree that the ratio of CEO pay versus employee pay hasn't been getting more ridiculous, and that many are underemployed, but to say that our economy as a whole is "struggling" is sensationalism. The Great Depression was struggling. The 2009 Recession was struggling. You're not going to see a truly "struggling" economy until Trump's trade war jacks up the cost of imports by 20% while said underemployed people don't end up getting any help after all.

Not to mention once automation replaces most of our jobs in the next few years. Everybody's ready for retirement, right?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by acparker

Not to worry. If the US goes down, the world will go down with it.

You know, that doesn't really make me feel a whole lot better.

Crash worthiness standards in the US make micro cars less efficient than larger siblings.

So instead of changing fuel economy or emissions standards, change the stupid effing crash standards. Especially the ones that are more about protecting sheet metal than passengers.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

You know, that doesn't really make me feel a whole lot better.



So instead of changing fuel economy or emissions standards, change the stupid effing crash standards. Especially the ones that are more about protecting sheet metal than passengers.

Or ban gray market laws allowing any us citizen to import any used car they want from any first world country .

They say there is no demand, why not find out?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by ThermionicScott

II won't disagree that the ratio of CEO pay versus employee pay hasn't been getting more ridiculous, and that many are underemployed...

But is the problem that many are unemployed, or that they're underskilled? Sure, there are a lot of factory-floor type jobs that haven't been automated (yet!) only because Chinese have been cheaper than robots. But you just have to look at the demand for skilled people coming here on H1-b visas, the employment prospects for the small fraction of Americans willing to put in the work needed for a STEM degree, or indeed, the demand in many skilled trades to realize where the root of the problem lies.