I find it fascinating when they take a premix drink like Smirnoff Ice (where the whole idea is that it's vodka!) and remake it from malt to sell in the US - while they sell Smirnoff Ice in Europe that is a vodka cocktail.
"People come down differently on whether they blame the government for enacting the regulations, or the auto industry for its loophole-seeking. I’m less interested in who to blame, and more in the phenomenon itself."
I agree that this is an interesting phenomenon, but I don't think that the question of who's to blame can be left unaddressed. Attempts to evade regulations are inevitable; but the answer to bad regulations is to update them and amend them, not get rid of them. Critics of CAFE standards have no answer for the question of how to encourage fuel efficiency. It's barely a half-step from climate denial.
I'm all in favor of the gas tax if it can be accomplished. But anyone serious about encouraging efficiency is open to CAFE or similar regulations, because the politics of raising the gas tax have been poison for decades. It provides a convenient way for conservatives who want to retain credibility to say "I support fuel economy, just not like this", knowing that they'll never have their bluff called.
I find it fascinating when they take a premix drink like Smirnoff Ice (where the whole idea is that it's vodka!) and remake it from malt to sell in the US - while they sell Smirnoff Ice in Europe that is a vodka cocktail.
"People come down differently on whether they blame the government for enacting the regulations, or the auto industry for its loophole-seeking. I’m less interested in who to blame, and more in the phenomenon itself."
I agree that this is an interesting phenomenon, but I don't think that the question of who's to blame can be left unaddressed. Attempts to evade regulations are inevitable; but the answer to bad regulations is to update them and amend them, not get rid of them. Critics of CAFE standards have no answer for the question of how to encourage fuel efficiency. It's barely a half-step from climate denial.
"Critics of CAFE standards have no answer for the question of how to encourage fuel efficiency." ? Appropriately set gas tax.
I'm all in favor of the gas tax if it can be accomplished. But anyone serious about encouraging efficiency is open to CAFE or similar regulations, because the politics of raising the gas tax have been poison for decades. It provides a convenient way for conservatives who want to retain credibility to say "I support fuel economy, just not like this", knowing that they'll never have their bluff called.