At the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) meeting last weekend, GM CEO Rick Wagoner asked car dealers to lobby their state and local governments to not regulate tailpipe emissions. The NADA is going to take the legislative battle over CAFE fuel requirements seriously, something that NADA chairwoman Annette Sykora said at the same conference.
Sykora said that flexibility in the CAFE regulations are going to be a priority for her organization and that - stop us if you've heard this before - CAFE can't restrict the consumer's freedom of choice. According to Automotive News, Sykora said, "The consumer will decide what works and what doesn't. It's that simple. You can't wave a government wand and make consumers buy a particular type of vehicle. This is not Europe."
Yawn.
While Sykora's statement that "We don't want the jalopy effect, where car owners keep their older, less fuel-efficient vehicles much longer" is a valid one, using the Europe boogeyman is tired and not very helpful. That sort of talk might work in Texas, where Sykora is a Ford dealer, but it doesn't have a place in an educated debate about making cars cleaner. You know, I could swear it was just last year that the previous NADA chair said that fuel-efficient vehicles are the way to built market share. Anyway, you can read Sykora's speech here (PDF).
[Source: David Sedgwick / Automotive News]
Sykora said that flexibility in the CAFE regulations are going to be a priority for her organization and that - stop us if you've heard this before - CAFE can't restrict the consumer's freedom of choice. According to Automotive News, Sykora said, "The consumer will decide what works and what doesn't. It's that simple. You can't wave a government wand and make consumers buy a particular type of vehicle. This is not Europe."
Yawn.
While Sykora's statement that "We don't want the jalopy effect, where car owners keep their older, less fuel-efficient vehicles much longer" is a valid one, using the Europe boogeyman is tired and not very helpful. That sort of talk might work in Texas, where Sykora is a Ford dealer, but it doesn't have a place in an educated debate about making cars cleaner. You know, I could swear it was just last year that the previous NADA chair said that fuel-efficient vehicles are the way to built market share. Anyway, you can read Sykora's speech here (PDF).
[Source: David Sedgwick / Automotive News]
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