Guest Post by Eric Peters
Ralph Nader’s outfit, Public Citizen, is attempting to shame Ford and VW for not embracing the catastrophic 54.5 MPG CAFE standard imposed by Barack Obama’s EPA and for not bear-hugging the idea that carbon dioxide – an inert gas that has never before been categorized as a “pollutant” – ought to be regulated as if it were.
The Naderite group – whose claims to represent the public are never questioned – accused the industry of “colluding” with the Trump administration – which was at least elected – to dial back or even toss the standards. (Bully; it’s about time someone in the business grew a pair.)
It demands that Ford and VW – for starters – “disassociate themselves” from the American Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the industry lobbying group which has been working hard to restore a degree of engineering and economic sanity by explaining to the public – and to lawmakers – that requiring new cars to average 54.5 MPG is effectively a requirements to retire every currently-in-production car except the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid, which is the only current car that meets the 54.5 MPG standard.
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And also explaining to the public that the carbon dioxide produced as a result of burning gasoline and diesel in automobile engines plays no role at all in the formation of smog and does not in any way cause health problems in human beings; and that characterizing this inert gas as a “pollutant” is scientifically illiterate and deliberately dishonest.
Carbon dioxide stands accused by government witch doctors of “playing a role” in “climate change,” those two assertions soups of ominous sounding but vague and highly speculative generalities backed more by neurosis and political agendas than science.
What’s not vague or speculative is the fact that the only way to reduce the C02 produced by an internal combustion engine is by doing less internal combusting. Ideally – from the Public Citizen point-of-view – none at all.
C02, not being a pollutant, can’t be chemically scrubbed and making an IC engine run “cleaner” has no effect on how much C02 is produced. Thus, this business about characterizing C02 as a “pollutant” is really a back-door way to ban internal combustion – and force electric cars down the public’s throat.
Ironically, electric cars produce C02, too. Just not at the tailpipe. They produce their C02 at the smokestack. At the utility plants that make the electricity that makes electric cars go. Almost all of them combust coal or oil or natural gas – all of which produces C02 as a byproduct.
Public Citizen never tells the public this – and won’t, until the time comes for them to go after electric generating – and they begin to “demand” that people use less electricity.
Wait and see.
The effrontery – and dishonesty – is titanic.
“The automakers and the Trump administration are conspiring to undo clean car standards that will save consumers thousands of dollars on each vehicle they purchase,” Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, said in a statement. “That the Trump administration is willing to drain billions of dollars from consumers’ collective pockets is yet more evidence of the complete corporate takeover of our government. Consumers will not stand by quietly -we’re going to hold the auto makers accountable, starting with Ford and Volkswagen.”
Oy vey!
This guy Weissman is either an imbecile who understands nothing about mechanical things, much less economic things – or he is an outright liar, like his godfather Ralph.
“Save consumers thousands of dollars on each vehicle they purchase”?
Italics added.
Really?
Who does he think he is kidding? The cost to “consumers” (loathsome word; it evokes images of digestive tracts) is in the thousands of dollars per car range already . . . to meet the existing 35.5 MPG mandatory CAFE minimum. Or does Bob imagine that “fuel saving technologies” such as direct injection, turbochargers, aluminum bodies and transmissions with as many gears as a kid’s 10-speed bike (literally) that have come into widespread use during the past three or so years to cope with the 35.5 MPG mandate came at no cost to “consumers”?
How about the “cost to consumers” of vanishing V6 engines? Check and see how many 2018 model family cars still even offer one. I’ll save you some time; virtually none do. Three years ago, almost all of them did.
How about the cost of the disappearance of vehicles that the public very much wants but which people like Bob presume to deny it by rendering such vehicles economically impossible to produce?
Why do you suppose almost no car company is still making large sedans with V8 engines for the mass market – that is, for the public – any longer? There is only reason – CAFE, which extincted these vehicles as mass market vehicles by making them too expensive to produce except as small volume, big-price luxury cars (e.g., BMWs, Mercedes-Benzes, Audis and so on). In other words, for rich folks only.
How about that “cost to consumers,” Bob?
“That the Trump administration is willing to drain billions of dollars from consumers’ collective pockets . . .” he warbles.
No, Bob. It’s you who has his hands in “consumers” pockets. Your fuel economy fetish costs money. Other people’s money. Not your money, you filthy animal.
And then, the threats:
“Consumers will not stand by quietly – we’re going to hold the auto makers accountable, starting with Ford and Volkswagen.”
Well Bob, “consumers” aren’t standing by quietly. They are using their dollars to buy the kinds of vehicles that meet their needs and wants, which are really none of your business.
But – alas – it’s not just Bob.
There is also Margie.
Margie Alt. She – if she is a she – is the executive director of something called Environment America, another self-appointed “public citizen” group that somehow gets treated by the media as legitimate.
Margie is on Ford’s back – demanding that it ” . . .put its foot on the accelerator to build and sell 100 percent zero polluting cars by the end of the next decade.” In other words, Ford must build nothing other than electric cars – even though (forgive Margie her ignorance, assuming she is merely that) their emissions are merely elsewhere.
VW, meanwhile, is being singled out for sonderbehandlung (special treatment) that is, for special punishment, to make sure it learned its lesson for “cheating” Uncle’s emissions tests and daring to build and sell cars that “consumers” – as opposed to Uncle and the Naderites – desired.
Another frau – this one named Lauren Lantry from the Sierra Club – says VW “should do more” to make up for the sordid crime it committed by end-running Uncle.
That is, VW should reconfigure its model lineup and engineering to placate public citizens, the actual public be damned.
Like so many other things which characterize Terminal Stage America, this business all about the opposite of the face value terms. It is not about saving “consumers” money. It is about making cars cost more. About limiting their choices.
Just as “diversity” means White straight men need not apply. As “security” means living in a state of perpetual dread of the organs of security. As “patriot” means unquestioning subject.
As “public citizen” actually means a tiny body of professional busybodies who know better than the actual public – and are determined to cram it down their throats.
Ah . . . what about the nocuous MONOoxide and nitrogen oxides?
It’s all so easy to figure out. What ever the govt wants you to do; just do the opposite.
The wants an needs of the individual be damned. It would be nice if the laws of physics could be totally ignored, but alas, the internal combustion engine cannot do that. Perpetual motion machines have never worked, gravity and friction always prevail. The closest thing to perpetual motion we have are scorned environmentalists. They never quit and they never solve anything, their motions are about dispensing guilt on a larger and larger scale.
The billion dollar fines against VW is just the continuation of Germany’s war reparations.
Most of these people who head up and fund these groups are leftists / socialist / communist who have to lie or go through the courts to achieve their goals which is sabotaging American business.
If the government wants to disincent burning oil/gasoline (a big IF), they should just raise the gas tax and let people figure out their own best way to conserve – or not conserve, as they see fit. CAFE standards exist because politicians want to modify behavior without raising the gas tax – which pisses people off. CAFE standards are stupid, susceptible to being gamed and should be abolished.
When I found out that VW had been gaming the emission tests on their diesel engines, my opinion of the company went up, considerably.