Government regulations around fuel efficiency per size of vehicle as well as crash test safety as well as materials.
People universally seem to dislike the size increase in vehicles, but this was due largely to magical requirements for fuel efficiency standards. The obvious result was putting smaller engines in larger cars and adding a turbo.
On the complexity side of things, cramming the safety gear into the car while also getting maximal efficiency and keeping costs low meant some rather terrible design choices from a repairability perspective.
All that said, I do love the safety requirements. I got hit by a Ford F150 in a Miata and walked away perfectly fine.
Agreed on the safety. I can't tell how safe a car is by looking at it, so I'm all for government minimums in that area.
I'm not convinced CAFE is the way to go for fuel efficiency. The obvious thing to do is put some kind of levy on the expected total emissions of the vehicle over its lifetime, regardless of size, which would encourage people to buy cars no larger than their needs dictate. The current system seems inefficient.
Government regulations around fuel efficiency per size of vehicle as well as crash test safety as well as materials.
People universally seem to dislike the size increase in vehicles, but this was due largely to magical requirements for fuel efficiency standards. The obvious result was putting smaller engines in larger cars and adding a turbo.
On the complexity side of things, cramming the safety gear into the car while also getting maximal efficiency and keeping costs low meant some rather terrible design choices from a repairability perspective.
All that said, I do love the safety requirements. I got hit by a Ford F150 in a Miata and walked away perfectly fine.
Agreed on the safety. I can't tell how safe a car is by looking at it, so I'm all for government minimums in that area.
I'm not convinced CAFE is the way to go for fuel efficiency. The obvious thing to do is put some kind of levy on the expected total emissions of the vehicle over its lifetime, regardless of size, which would encourage people to buy cars no larger than their needs dictate. The current system seems inefficient.
Heh, they just love blaming regulation. But I don't see anything about that in the article?