This week there was some economic news: Consumer Sentiment numbers as reported by the University of Michigan dropped sharply, to levels far below what “the experts” anticipated (coincidentally, the Bloomberg version of the story points out a similar drop in President Bush’s approval rating); and retail sales are weak, dragged down by lousy car sales numbers. About the only bright spot on the car sales front is that hybrids are hot, hot, hot. Consumers are caught between light trucks whose values have collapsed and new cars that only sell because of silly incentives. It is no secret why both these things are true, but let me give you the expert take: “Toyota Motor Corp.’s president said he’s ‘worried’ that fuel prices, which surged to records after Hurricane Katrina disrupted supplies in the U.S., may curb worldwide demand for new autos.” It is no coincidence that Toyota offers hybrid cars and trucks.
If the American auto industry really wants to keep selling cars, they are going to have to stop offering the crazy CRAZY crazy deal of the week, and start offering vehicles that people are willing to buy at full price. And unless gas prices fall below $2/gallon (ha, yeah right) that means they need to be both safe and fuel efficient.
They tell you that the popularity of the SUV is evidence that people want these land yachts. If that is so, then drop the incentives! They tell you that bigger vehicles are safer vehicles. The truth is that safe vehicles exist at all size levels; it is a function of good design, not pure mass. Size = safety is one of those over-generalizations, like “All old people like prunes.”
The technology exists to make fuel efficient cars. Thirty years ago, there were efficient cars. They might not have been pretty, and they might not have been peppy, but they were affordable; now we have 30 years of technological advances that can and should be used to make them better. Here’s one fellow whose gadget makes cars both more efficient and less polluting. Somebody, find me a downside to this!
In closing, Senator seeks Wealthy Corpse. Object, poster child for estate tax cuts. Also, CNN takes time to say “if you need a non-standard mortgage to afford that house, maybe you should reconsider.” And finally, two former Governors — one Democrat, one Republican — say our health care system is broken.