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 Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:46 am
Since this was brought up, I think it would make a good topic. I want to here your thoughts on this, good and bad. Try to answer some of the question people have been saying about CAFE. -Will CAFE cause American automakers to decline and cause a ressecion in the USDM market? -Does CAFE address the problem of oil dependence, or does it cover it? -Is CAFE economically feasible? -Will CAFE hurt performance-oriented automobiles? Here are some links: CAFE wikiNHTSA overview site
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:27 pm
Well here on the news if the slightest thing causes people to loose jobs it's all over the news. People couldn't care less if an important figure was killed. I do beleive that this will have an affect on Job oportunities so i'm gonna hear this over and over and over again. They won't however blame CAFE they will blame Ford, GM, Dodge, Crystler, ect... So i guess my point is that this is gonna get real annoying real fast. With all that aside This is really gonna affect American automobile Companies a lot. Especially because America likes to have horible gas miledge and loves SUVs, generaly speaking. Now on the other hand American Companies should've already tested with fuel saving ideas, and in that case they will be fine. Unfortunatly it wouldn't surprise me if they haven't even thought about it.
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:13 pm
I just read a small article in a Motortrend mag and am now a CAFE expert (not really but I can act like one).
-Will CAFE cause American automakers to decline and cause a ressecion in the USDM market?
Decline, yes, recession, no.
-Does CAFE address the problem of oil dependence, or does it cover it?
If there is a recession, no, because people will still be driving gas guzzlers, just not new ones. If there is no recession, people will be buying new fuel efficient cars, of which there will be a glut, and fuel demand will drop slightly, but again no. There will be almost no change. The number of drivers is still increasing.
-Is CAFE economically feasible?
It is if automakers can sell enough 50mpg cars to continue to make 20mpg cars.
-Will CAFE hurt performance-oriented automobiles?
Definitely, but hey, we still have sport bikes, and we can always make cars lighter.
One more thing to note, the new CAFE standard (which will be enacted in 2020) only applies to vehicles that are produced in higher quantities than 10,000. Muscle cars will stay, they will just be more expensive, and hard to come by. ):
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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 8:54 am
I don't think it'll work. In fact, I think having cars that are more fuel-efficient will just encourage people to drive more. Rising fuel costs are doing the job CAFE is trying to do, and it seems to be working.
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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:09 pm
Good point, and it holds truth, but I do think it is time for a leap in fuel economy, and automakers know they won't sell many cars if they are not better then previous models, so the only option for them is new technology. The cars will either be very cheap like a VW Beetle or original Honda Civic, or expensive with all the amenties and sporting some new engine, or lightening technology like soy body panels or something.
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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:32 pm
I have said in the past that American Automotive engineers are lazy and i beleive that full heartedly and i think that this bill might force them to start thinking a little more as well as make them work a little harder. Aerodynamics, lighter vehicles, and sadly to say limiting performance. However what is stoping people from changing around the performance in there own garage? I do beleive that American companies can do a lot beter than they are right now. What is stoping them from being able to create a more fuel efficient car? That is if Detroit doesn't die out. I doubt that this bill will be the death of these automotive companies it's How much Detroit has gone into disrepair. The city can't seem to afford the police so crime is al over the place and the roads are getting bad because the city can't pay to mantain them. and the stupid mayor spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on himself and his family. For luxery company cars, spa trips to California, gifts for his wife, and can't forget his mistress at work. can't wait to get out of here.
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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:23 am
I read a very good editorial by Pat Bedard (Of Car and Driver) about why the new CAFE standards were a terrible idea and weren't going to work. I was going to bring up some points but I can't remember any of them. I'll have to go look.
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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:23 pm
PATRICK BEDARD CAFE articleis this the one you where talking about. Good article he does make some valid points but a lot of them are based on the prediction that gas prices are going to go down. I mean what if they don't then the government must step in. Now don't get me wrong i'm not siding with the CAFE bill i'm just saying that I think that the government could find an inteligent way of solving this... I just used "government" and "intelligent" in the same sentence, we're doomed! I like the comment at the end about trucks are gonna have tires all the way to the headlights like BMWs and Crystler 300s.
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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 8:04 pm
He thinks price will go down because of decreasing demand caused solely by the production of more efficient vehicles. He fails to realize demand will not decrease for many reasons. 1) It was rising at a constant rate, 2) Supply is exhausting, 3) new regulation doesn't magically change the world.
Price can only go up.
I really don't want the government to step in unless it's to regulate oil companies or implement new power sources and make them affordable. The big G needs to be doing less, not more.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:18 pm
He does seem to imply that he thinks gas prices may drop in the future, but that wasn't the point of the article at all. His point was that automakers and consumers respond to rising gas prices one their own, and that government interference in this makes things complicated and often yields unintended results (I thought the SUV was a good example)
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:07 pm
Have you guys seen the Toyota A-BAT concept? I saw it at the autoshow not the most good looking truck but the design was based off of aerodynamics reducing amount of gas needed to power it. it's an interesting idea and i think it's a good step foreward for trucks and SUVs. I think that the design coulda been a bit better though. 
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:24 pm
Aerodynamics are a pretty huge factor. I heard the number is something like 40% of your cars power goes strictly to overcoming drag alone. That number would be for a vehicle with very average aerodynamics. Depending on the vehicle it probably ranges from 20-50%, and then again only at moderate to high speeds. Trucks and other large vehicles would benefit a great deal.
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:25 am
Aerodynamics wouldn't be such a factor if everyone didn't feel the need to drive so fast all the time. biggrin
Really, I think improving driving habits can go a long way to improving fuel consumptions, but no one's going to do that.
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:00 pm
Masticatius Aerodynamics wouldn't be such a factor if everyone didn't feel the need to drive so fast all the time. biggrin Really, I think improving driving habits can go a long way to improving fuel consumptions, but no one's going to do that. slowing down that's a good one i will never slow down I would rather buy a more aerodynamic car than slow down. Ever since the automobile was invented and even before it was invented people wanted to go faster. I do however coast to a stop and i never slam the gas when the light turns green. Aerodynamics and making cars lighter are cheap easy ways to add to the gas miledge. A lot of people here don't really care to much about gas prices a lot of people have trucks that get gallons to the mile. I know someone that has a Jeep that gets 8 mpg.
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