Fuel efficiency is patriotic, or so Washington believes

Image by Paul-W via Flickr Like fireworks exploding in the night sky, the news spread on Independence Day that the federal government may soon require auto manufacturers to meet 56.2 miles per gallon fleet-wide by 2025. While it may have taken (admittedly) too long for most car makers to hop onto the fuel-efficiency-is-cool bandwagon (it took 18 years to legislate higher mpg requirements), the Obama administration and EPA seem to have a voracious appetite for saving gas and eliminating GHG’s (greenhouse gas emissions). The administration will likely propose its official recommendations in the fall, which means that the near-60 number could stay or go. Until then, I can’t help but wonder if Washington would have consumers dine at the Patriotic “CAFE” that serves nothing but plug-in hybrids and electric cars with sides of cramped legs and boredom.In his recent article, Philip Klein over at the Washington Examiner, provided an inside-the-beltway perspective on the matter:

It’s pretty clear where this is going. The Obama administration wants to raise fuel economy standards to satisfy the environmental lobby heading into an election year so he’s imposing new regulations, but to get the automakers to swallow the changes, he’ll have to offer them various subsidies. In the end, consumers will be punished with less choice and lighter/more dangerous cars, while taxpayers will help to pay the bills.