MANDATES: Both the state and national governments have recently set new regulations on fuel efficiency for the auto industry, and while some are reasonable, others seem to be up for repeal.
By Isabel De La Garza, Senior Writer
Vehicle regulations have been imposed by both the state and national governments for decades. Most of them are for our safety (such as seatbelts, airbags and bumpers) and others (such as emission standards) help the environment. Recently, the Obama administration has passed the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandate, which requires that cars have an average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Many car companies are supportive of the mandate and are trying to figure out new ways to meet the quota, but some consumers are not so happy about it.
The mandate gives automakers incentive to make more fuel-efficient cars, especially electric and hybrid vehicles. However, as consumers shy away from the latter due to delayed savings and low resale value, automakers have been opting to make more efficient gas automobiles instead. These new regulations will raise car prices, and thus have drawn some opposition from consumers and car enthusiasts. The price gain is projected to be offset by the amounts of saving incurred by the added efficiency of the vehicle. CAFE is a bit strict, but the effects on the environment and the savings on gas will most likely make up for it.
California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) recently passed a more unsavory auto-mandate. CARB’s zero-emission vehicle mandate requires that all car companies that sell more than 20,000 cars yearly in the state of California must sell electric and or hybrid vehicles, and that 1.4 million of them be sold by 2025. This will raise the amount of hybrid and electric car sales from less than one percent to 15.4 in 13 years.
While the intention to reduce negative effects on the environment is good, this mandate is simply too strict. Most consumers shy away from electric and hybrid vehicles because it takes years, sometimes more than a decade, to recoup the extra cost of a hybrid or electric vehicle over a comparable gas model.
This slow payoff leads most consumers to not want anything to do with hybrid and electric vehicles, thus depreciating their resale value. This push for more “zero-emission” vehicles, which is not being spurred by the market, will be troublesome for many car dealers. The need for new technology will make cars more expensive and less available to consumers, who in turn will not buy vehicles. As the dealers lose more and more money, the legislation will likely be repealed rather than enforced.
Many of the automakers, such as General Motors and Chrysler, only accepted the mandate because they agreed not to oppose new automotive regulations in order to receive federally assisted restructuring. According to hybridcars.com, Ford has already voiced concerns about the mandate over the marketability of zero-emission vehicles, even though it has a number of qualified vehicles in production or in planning.
Although gas prices are skyrocketing in California, CARB’s new regulations are simply too much. The consumers don’t want them and neither do the car companies. Additionally, many of the problems they seek to alleviate will be taken care of by CAFE and are therefore superfluous. The new regulations just aren’t necessary.