Posted by
Catmman on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 11:04:54 AM
The administration is heralding the new CAFE standards and the resultant money and energy it will save. Of course there is little concern that new CAFE standards will increase the cost of a new car by at least $1,300. This concern is waved away by the logic that yes, there may be some up front extra cost to the consumer, but that money will be saved "over the life of the car" in the fuel which the driver won't have to buy. On the surface, this makes sense. Below the surface however is the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
The "cap and trade" policies this administration will implement will make any supposed "savings" on CAFE so much smoke and mirrors. Cap and trade necessarily increases the cost of energy. Across the board anything having to do with the production, distribution, R&D, etc. for energy will increase. Fuel (gasoline/diesel) costs will necessarily increase as a result. There goes any such supposed savings over the "life of the car" in fuel costs, the very justification being used to sell the CAFE standards to the American people.
Additionally, cap and trade will increase the cost of the new car over the now touted $1,300. Building a car, even new 'smart cars', hybrids, whatever, is a very energy intensive endeavor. Cap and trade will cause the cost of energy used in vehicle production to increase, increasing the cost of the vehicle overall, which will get passed on to the consumer eventually as well. If you break down the increased energy cost over every part which gets produced at other plants before assembly, you can see the whole notion that the government is doing what they are doing to help people "save money" is laughable.