Patriotism and the argument for 35.5 mpg cars 'CAFE' legislation

May 21, 5:45 PMExotic Car ExaminerKae Davis

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Wounded Warrior Project Ferrari Challenge Car and Oracle's Warriors in Transition at M.O.B. 

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Research Findings and Editorial Articles

• Auto Review Examiner John Matras article "President Obama's 35.5 mpg CAFE and the law of unintended consequences"
• Jalopnik's "Obama Kills Fun Cars, unveils 35.5 MPG fuel economy plan by 2016"
• Exotic Car Examiner's "Ferrari factory gives green light to environmentally friendly production by adding solar power to Maranello factory"

As a person who is involved with a sector of the auto industry where most owners don't even ask what the gas mileage will be like when they purchase a vehicle (European Import Exotic Car and Luxury Classics), I am fully behind recreational driving of motorsports machines. No matter how much I love the sounds and performance of the past, though, it does not mean that I am not on an eternal quest for better, stronger, faster, and green eco-friendly technology. That's why an article written by Auto Reviewer John Matras got me thinking -- and writing about the controversy. [And I haven't even mentioned the gas guzzler tax bill yet (because that one is saved for another Exotic Car Examiner story).]

CAFE BILL WITHOUT THE CREAM

President Barak Obama has announced in no uncertain terms that automobile manufacturers in America will be required to comply with a green technology mandate that insists vehicles not only reduce emissions but improve gas mileage. The 35.5 MPG rubric that Obama has suggested has muscle car lovers and SUV or private truck drivers in a panic. Add to the information that these types of vehicles will not continue to be produced that Obama has openly shared that auto costs will rise by a minimum of $1300 on average and you can see why the media is easily able to launch frightened and cash strapped Americans into an automotive inspired trendy level of "car fashion" panic.

Search the net and you will find countless auto forum writers and bloggers journaling about how the standard is so unreachable that the CAFE drive is sure to cause further collapse in the American auto industry. The dialogs read like a classroom of schoolchildren who are upset to know that the PASS/FAIL rubric set at a low bar of 70% is being transformed to a scale of A, B, C, D, Environmentally Friendly, and F (with F indicating a failing grade for an automobile not meeting the CAFE measurement standards and needing to be held back to repeat a year in the public school system). 

"A" IS FOR ACTUALIZING 

Okay, so I am just another one of those auto columnists and we all know each has his or her own opinions like we all have... well, autos. I'm here to lend one small voice of dissenting reason and personal insight to the auto news discussion by making a different kind of conjecture and proposal based on insider knowledge and an alternative presumptions. It is my overwhelmingly powerful belief (bordering absolutely provable and fact check knowledge) that the 35.5 MPG is absolutely already in reach without compromising the quality or comfort in daily drivers. We personally know the several of the men who own patents on the simple and cost effective technology that will make it possible -- and their 25 year + agreement not to build they were paid by the American auto maker giants is nearing expiration in the coming year(s). Off the record word from these parties in that the new car technology being discussed for mass production will not only reduce emissions levels beyond  the requirements of even government mandates but will bring mileage into the 50-80 MPG range well before 2020.

Here's how the reality formula can work (in all actuality): if American auto manufacturers use the new [ironically old] technology wisely and the oil barons re-invest their stock monies into clean earth companies (which they now have been given ample time and common sense warning to do), then the transportation industry can and will improve. It's a fair, logical, and balanced equation that resembles the GIGO computer analogy (of garbage in, garbage out). Car makers have to direct factory workers to implement new directives. They have to authorize the use of the un-used technology. If they do, then the input for and from American auto workers will produce good results, and the output of product to the American consumer economy will be force fed a product that is healthy.

"B" IS FOR MARCHING TO THE BEAT OF A DIFFERENT BUYER'S DRUM (NOT FOR BARAK)

If the cars modify their engines before they remove the creature comforts we've all grown accustomed to having in our personal vehicles, then the meal ticket money maker eco-trend cars won't have a problem being palatable to a consumer audience indulging. Actually, we've all gotten used to the idea that spring mix alternatives in a green salad are yummy; the same shift of taste perspective that can can happen with the foods we're eating can happen to our tastes when car buying. 

I believe the acceptance of hybrid alternatives and vehicles than run on power sources other than the standard gasoline or crude oil petroleum products of the past will be very much like the pop culture salad-phenomenon of the 1990s and early 2000s --and I think that is what has the old meat eating guard scared to death and acting accordingly to the news of Obama's policy. Just like companies who won't let go of old print journal advertising are the dinosaurs going under during the paradigm shift in communication and marketing, so too will perish those who can't let go of earlier car concepts and stock market [car crash] investment habits.

Will the process be painful for Americans who fight (rather than flow with) the system? Yes. However, one can't truly credit Obama for bringing on the change single-handedly with a straight face any more than one can say Al Gore invented the Internet and not start laughing. All Mr. President has done these first 100 days in office is capitalize on what really to most intelligent folks should have been the obvious; we, as a culture, have progressed our every day technology through the use of computers to the point that it is time to let the inventions of the 19th century Industrial Revolution and early 20th century transportation have a rest and come to pass. He's talking about the pink elephant in the room that we all see, feel, and smell but don't discuss -- only this week he's really just taking aim and pointing a blaming finger at the owners and manufacturers still using a pink Cadillac as their daily driver. 

Somehow, somewhere, I just know there is going to be an ad made with a picture of an Indian crying that will be an image burned into the subconscious mind and cultural programming of our elementary school children.

Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path so others may follow.
-- Jim Kissel

EDITORIAL OPINION: BECAUSE EVERYONE EXAMINING THE WORLD OF AUTO NEWS HAS GOT 'EM

So here's my openly exposed registered independent openly political and environmentally sound take on the CAFE legislation proposed by the famous Democrat Obama.

While it's fun to pull gas guzzling machines out of the garage for a car show, pleasure drive, or fun weekend at the track, the concept should really be kept as an 80/20 split. If 80% of the population were to drive greener cars (or if those who have older models drove them only for pleasure 20% of the time), we'd find ourselves with a much better environmental and pragmatic balance to the world's auto equation.

The reason I am setting aside my normal chipper commentary and factoid offers of trivia details and images is in response to an article written here at the Examiner by Auto Review Writer John Matras. From a reader, academic scholar, and writer's standpoint, I really have to recommend the article first and foremost [thanks for making us all think more in depth about the CAFE issue, John. Well done.] As an editor, I would love to have a writer like John under my wing because his columns are always well written, have excellent literary illustrations, and come from an authoritative viewpoint sure to elicit comments when the articles go live online or the publication printing is done.

"C" IS FOR CONTROVERSIAL DEBATES

In his editorial, John Matras, whose impressive bio reads, "For almost thirty years, award-winning author John Matras has written about cars... He’s been in all the major car magazines, on the web and written five books, and he’s even been translated into Estonian..." openly lays out an argument against the new CAFE legislation endorsed by President Obama.

He opens his Auto Review Examiner column today [May 21, 2009] with a very provocative statement. He says, "Someone should teach President Obama the Law of What Happens Next because his announced plan to raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) to 35.5 percent by 2016 is fraught with unintended consequences." To the moon, Alice, to the moon... [Gotta love it].

The phrase surely grabs attention and immediately I was ready to read the whole article while privately visualizing it surrounded by "POW" right in the kisser classic-style Batman illustrations around all the verbiage. I don't mean that negatively at all; the dramatic and unapologetic viewpoint John presents is exactly the kind of straightforward "here is where I stand" controversial article I love to read for the secret pleasure of the thought processes in me they inevitably stir up. [Had to read it.]

The discussion and debates about the president's announcement have  incited all sorts of response from the general public, but the auto industry representatives themselves are almost breathing a sigh of relief. You see, the past 30 years they have been waiting in secret, knowing change was coming but never having been given the marching orders to do anything at all different than they had been doing. Up until now, the biggest manufacturing and production controversies to stir up chat related to coffee cup holders -- and whether or not drivers should be able to drink and drive while their cup holders would allow them to safely set down their coffee. Granted, cel phone use has been a hot topic of debate as drivers talking on the phones irritate others on the road.

The result of that debate we are just starting to see, with bluetooth technology allowing hands free talking in the newly manufactured or retro-fitted machines. Big news items for the auto makers, right? No. These quibbles over coffee and chatting may have distracted the public and the corporate auto industry officials from the real change coming, but they were simply the last ditch efforts of the purveyors of oil and old auto tech to stop the public from demanding products that were green, and to pacify purchasers by lulling them into a comfort zone that made commuting a privatized yet nearly monopolized industry McWorld dream. [Compelled to write about it.]

THE AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY TOP LEVEL RESPONSE

The president of the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers had this to say in response to Obama's announcement this week:

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 rule making to set a National Program. What’s significant about the announcement is it launches a new beginning, an era of cooperation. The President has succeeded in bringing three regulatory bodies, 15 states, a dozen automakers and many environmental groups to the table. We’re all agreeing to work together on a National Program.

John's article points out a less positive sentiment than the policy makers and industry leaders themselves are presenting. He does an excellent job of presenting the past 30 years of history as it relates to the development of Cafe legislation, which (fairly notoriously) has caused a significant amount of the collapse of our American infrastructure as it relates to the auto industry.

I suppose I have a lot more faith that this won't end up as tragically as predicted by old school and seasoned veteran auto writers like John because I am confident in the technology we have had parked as a spectator on the sidelines of pre-turn of the century auto sales, service, and marketing mile track races. Thanks in part to Obama's announcement, I know these life changing technological advances in engines will finally able to hit the 21st century streets.

Experts don't have all the answers because it is impossible to know the full scope of details in all the questions. I am certainly not "more educated" about the ins, outs, and fact statistics of the auto industry than other transportation journalists, nor do I have a memory for polotical and advisory names and dates in legislation changes and policy. I'm just the girl who has been lucky enough to meet and greet and hang out with some fairly influential people who steer the course of American industry and politics when they relax during their down time. I know how they like their coffee, what kind of watch they wear, and what their favorite driving shoes they like to wear when they head out to burn some gasoline while playing in traffic. We talk about cars, and life, AND daily business, and most of all family. If that makes me an insider with insight into the big wheel minds behind international technology and American business dealings, then I guess the alternate story I have to tell from behind the scenes is of a tale that is both capitalist in nature and earth conscious happy.

WHY CHANGE HAS COME (AND IT'S NOT SIMPLY BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ELECTED OBAMA)

If nothing had changed in the status quo politically and the former powers that be were not placed into the "has been" category due to senior status of aging [keeping in mind that many auto ego superpowers of the last half of the 20th century are now deceased or approaching their 80s], I might be more worried and would tend to agree wholeheartedly with John's analysis. However, though his arguments are all popularly accepted views in the car media, are logically sound and well presented, and reach a logical conclusion, it's the premises I think people sitting at home reading auto news ought to consider.

Have faith in American ingenuity, dispel the auto workers clamoring and fearful union predictions, and trust that if we stay the course of the pursuit of happiness it will include finding new ways to re-establish our economy in ways that are healthy and balanced for everybody (without feeling the communist need to punish or remove well earned status from those members of our nation willing to work hard, earn their money, and take the lead). With luck, growing up in a tough time of recession will help our country form more Ayn Rand-esque male Hank Reardon's and female Dagney Taggert's leading the country to embrace and idealize the notion of functionally advanced life-enhancing green technology.

Obama didn't make change happen. Time did, so it's awfully hard for this writer to praise or blame him for change entirely.

GINGERLY OFFERING A MORE OPTIMISTIC CONCLUSION (BECAUSE WE LIVE IN AN ERA THAT IT IS NOT WEIRD TO TAKE GINGER AS AN HERBAL FOOD SUPPLEMENT TO PREVENT MOTION SICKNESS ANYMORE)

Bottom line, the major players have changed or are changing in the auto and oil industry, and an entirely new hand of cards has been distributed to the round table players from the dealers at the White House. Restrictions and limitations on suppressed patented technology  are about to be lifted, with many agreements expiring between 2010 and 2015.

Now that we live in a very different political climate, and John Q. Public and Joe the Plumber all have computers in their homes, recycling bins in their garages, and don't cringe at the words "fat free", "low cholesterol", or "heart healthy". They don't think you have to be a crazed liberal tree hugging hippy if a person chooses not to litter on public streets -- or pick up trash and tosses it into a nearby bin whenever they see it. You can be a person who supports our troops and opposes war without people automatically presuming that you are loony. And by the Grace of God (which you are allowed to believe in without running off to church or embracing organized religion), you can actually care about keeping more money in your wallet by having your method of personal transportation handle better and be faster while getting better fuel economy. It's okay to hope that next new model year car you buy will produce less, cleaner, or no air or ground pollution emissions so you grandkids and great grandkids will be able to step outside their doors to play in fresh air without immediately igniting if they forget their sunblock because the ozone layer has melted, and without thinking someplace like Kansas will offer beach front property to these future generations due to the damages we have caused between cows and cars that results in epic proportions of global warming.

I can tell people in 2009 to drink ginger tea or take a ginger herbal supplement to prevent car sickness on a road rally or motion sickness on a track and it is common knowledge; not even doctors will dispute me saying this is an alternative to the OTC pill "Dramamine" -- and I don't need to be a medical professional to tell you to ask your doctor before taking any herbal medicine to be sure it won't counteract or produce unwanted side effects with your current prescriptions. We are an educated society more comfortable with alternative ways of thinking; and even though I was born to older parents who grew up in a WWII post-depression economy, most of my friends had parents who really were hippies. So, even though they [the children of the children of the 60s] might tend to vote Republican "trust fund conscious" on fiscal issues, they are not afraid to pick up a jimbee, to visualize world peace (or whirled peas), or to support progressive civil rights and environmental legislation. Why? Because they are not afraid anymore of mommy and daddy; they (baby boomer, disco era, and Gen X generations) tend to disregard the hype that reefer madness will be the end of everybody. The Gen X and Gen Y kids are starting to laugh at the dirty hippie label stigmata previously assigned to anyone who stood up for a non-traditional belief. What's more, to earn that sort of stereotypical moniker now, in the 21st century,  has actually become the celebrity status stuff that makes most people's names news worthy.

D'ANALYSIS

John's article expresses a clear and well thought out opinion based on a broad knowledge base and accurate historical analysis. To those ends I can't dispute his research findings or the basic platform of his argument. However, that does not mean that I have to fully agree with his conclusion or assessment, as I don't think there has been room left in the debate platform to allow for variances in what I'll call "gray area elements"--as in Grecian formula, not ethically in question.

Because the auto leaders who were in charge in the 1970s and 1980s were predominantly over 50 years old even then, as a historian or industry analyst I just don't think we are dealing with the same personnel components that we (as a nation) were back working with or against back then. The new leaders turning 40, 50, and 60 years old now are the children of a much different generation -- and I have more faith in these men and women than I ever did in the old profiteering predominantly male establishment. [Though, I admit that I really do admire self made money or families who inherit and build rather than dwindle their fortunes.]

I have a different level of confidence in the results of the CAFE law manufacturing compliance changes to come than Jon because I am watching not from the sidelines. I am listening everyday to the policy makers and moneymakers from behind the scenes. The classic six "who-what-when-where-why-and-how's" happening right now in business and politics are all about the establishment of next generation professional partnerships and future working relationships. Pro-actively, businessmen are looking to capitalize on how to release the patents both to and for new plant or old refurbished plant production and manufacturing, and the "how to market" national PR and international campaigns to buy new greener products are already actively happening.

To me, this isn't the end of an era in American business and capitalist pursuits; it's letting the hands of the next generation come untied when it comes to working, producing, creating, and returning to a potential state of being great again. I see green technology (and even new progress in medical technology development) setting our American ideals free.

The golden era ideal of living the American Dream has always included the image of having your own house, white picket fence to define your space and your status, big green lawn, and to be able to afford to give your kids the opportunity to go to college and study something productive, meaningful, and interesting. I see making the culturally based economic shift to mass producing green technology gadgets as fiscally powerful as when we had humans inventing the steam engine, factory production line equipment, the light bulb, the auto, the telephone, the tv, and all the lifestyle changing improvements introduced over the course of the last 150 years compounded ad infinitum. I see the economic potential for this new national goal to be more powerful than the military industrial complex movements were that gave our grandparents the nickname "greatest generation". It's even bigger than the rise of the commercial airline travel industry. It may very well end up be more wealth producing than the highway and interstate expansion programs themselves were during the last half of the last century.

"F" IS FOR FORGETDABOUTIT (THESE WISE GUYS AND DOLLS ARE MAKING REAL THINGS HAPPEN IN INDUSTRY -- AND WE THE PEOPLE AREN'T REALLY AFFECTING LEGISLATION ANYWAYS EXCEPT BY USING OUR BUYING POWER AS LEVERAGE)

Oddly enough, most of the discussions, debates, and plan of action agreements and determinations will probably not be made in the Senate or House of Representatives congressional meetings this year, or in any year to come in the near future. They will be made quietly between established men and newly powerful women over dinner, drinks, or while meeting between meetings for a cup of coffee. Real people behind the economy and industry will decide the next 50 to 100 years course of American and global trend setting action.

Yes, I'm saying my prayers and wishing fellow workers in the the auto world my good thoughts in the meantime, and I do expect turbulence generated by media these next 15 years, but my guess is that by 2025 the world is new and we live an entirely different way each day in America in a way that doesn't even question whether or not to use green technology. That's where what transportation industry journalists and writers will come into play -- documenting the history of the automobile and 21st century pop culture as historians to preserve the memory for academic research by future generations. And that's why right now, I am happy to offer this one small bit of advice to the people pulling the strings behind our legislation and transportation industry.

Dear Industry,

When you are making the decisions now, remember the phrase "Choose wisely". If you reach for sole ownership of the holy grail rather than seeking for all to prosper from a place of higher values, it will be you that will perish in to obsolescence and bankruptcy status. The world is ready to move on into the future in fast, but comfortable cars produced with a greater guarantee that future generations will still be able to enjoy the planet while we ourselves will still financially be able to own and enjoy them.

Respectfully,

Your adoring automobile enthusiast public

• Green Car Congress on Scorpion exotic car
• "Tom duPont believes that, despite the luxury marketplaces' tradition of resisting environmental change, the technological advancements and social implications that go along with environmentally friendly vehicles are creating a "social consciousness" and greening of the exotic car market." Click HERE to read what the duPont Registry says about the green trends in exotic and luxury automotive products
  
• "A celebrity favorite, the Tesla Roadster marries serious performance with environmental responsibility.  With a chassis based on the Lotus Elise, the Tesla Roadster is undeniably attention-grabbing.  And it’s green too.  The car, which goes from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds, gets the equivalent of 120 miles per gallon." Click HERE to read more about the Tesla Roadster from the guys at Elite Auto Rental
• The duPont Registry added the category "Green" to it's list of "Best of" cars for the 2009 year:   
  
  • 2009 Car of the Year: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport
  • Best New Performance Sedan: Bentley Flying Spur Speed
  • Best New Performance Coupe: Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series
  • Best New Convertible: Ferrari California
  • Best New Exotic: Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4
  • Best Exotic Concept: Saleen S5S Raptor
  • Best Bang for the Buck: Corvette ZR1
  • Best New Luxury Coupe: Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe
  • Best Performing Green Exotic: Koenigsegg CCXR
  • Best Green Car Innovation: Ronn Motors Scorpion
  • Best Green Exotic: Tesla Roadster
• Top 50 worst cars list in Time Magazine includes functionally obsolescent electric EV1 model
• Ferari going green by developing supercar that is a hybrid by Fox News
• Ferrari seeks to increase fuel mileage by up to 40% by 2016 by Eco Geek
• "Ferrari revealed that it has been forced to face an inconvenient truth, which is that the Italian exotics made in Maranello are no longer immune from environmental concerns. The Prancing Horse revealed today at a press event kicking off its 60th Anniversary celebration in Maranello, Italy, that future Ferraris would be both "leaner and greener" according to Car Magazine, which was on hand. To showcase its intentions, Ferrari unveiled the FXX Millechili Concept. The FXX Millechili looks like a truncated Enzo with much shorter front and rear overhangs, while the car's crowning stat is a curb weight of 1,000 kilograms, or about 2,207 lbs. It measures over ten inches shorter than the Enzo, 93.7 inches compared to the Enzo's length of 104.3 inches." Click HERE to read more from AutoBlog.com
• Peak Oil: Life After the Oil Crash for friend and Classic Autos Examiner Jim Cherry (thanks for recommending)
• CEO Women drive Pink Ferrari from a Green Factory that makes the Red Ferrari California

Can't you just smell the fresh[er] air, the eco-friendly green money to be made, and see automotive history in the making?

Have a Great Memorial Day Weekend

and

Travel Safe

Everybody!

Music Legend Jimi Hendrix performs controversial songs

"Stone Free" and "Star Spangled Banner"

for an American-made 4th of July National Holiday Celebration

Live in Atlanta (1970) Historical Archive Footage

Food for Thought from LifeAftertheOilCrash.net

In the US, the average piece of food is transported almost 1,500 miles before it gets to your plate. Source In Canada, the average piece of food is transported 5,000 miles from where it is produced to where it is consumed. Source