We reported over the weekend that Biden wants new regulations on showers, pools, air conditioning units, light bulbs, and heaters.
Add cars to that list.
The Biden regulators have announced fuel efficiency requirements of 49 MPG by 2026. New cars are ALREADY more fuel efficient than ever before and the Trump rules had the requirement rising to 32 MPG over four years. Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg – who hates any car with a combustible engine – assures us this will save motorists money. But if it’s such a great deal, Pete, why do you have to mandate it?
Worse, because the higher fuel standards can raise the price of a new car by $1,000 to $3,000, families keep their older gas guzzlers on the road longer with these new rules. Congrats the White House: your new pollution standards may actually mean higher, not lower tailpipe emissions.
The main way auto companies comply with strict fuel standards is by making cars lighter. Get mom and the kids out of a minivan and into a tiny pinto. But our friends at the Competitive Enterprise Institute note that lighter cars are more dangerous and lead to more fatalities. The Biden folks are willing to spill more blood on the highways in order to save gas. What humanitarians!
The new draconian fuel standards are not only higher than what Obama requested, but even HIGHER than what NTHSA and the EPA recommended. And under the rules, auto companies that fail to meet the standards can buy emission credits for tens of millions of dollars from other auto companies – like Tesla.
The goal here is obvious: make fuel standards so unachievable that everyone has to buy an electric car or ride one of Pete’s electric buses.