Toyota
took time off from making Prius
hybrids recently to criticize an
energy bill passed by the Senate
that boosts mile-per-gallon targets
for new cars.
The Japanese automaker isn’t
the only one griping about the
Senate bill. The Cato Institute, a
libertarian think tank, called it
the “dumbest legislation of the
year (so far).” The bill would force
automakers to boost the average
fuel economy of new cars, SUVs,
and light trucks sold in the U.S.
to 35 mpg by 2020. It is currently
27.5 mpg for cars and 22.2 mpg
for SUVs and light trucks.
One aspect of the “dumbness”
with which Cato takes issue is
that the new standard would
probably not reduce overall fuel
consumption. If history is a guide,
reducing fuel cost per mile will
just encourage people to drive
more miles. Backing up this view
are the calculations of a Pennsylvania
State economist who
figures that higher CAFE (Corporate
Average Fuel Economy) standards
not only won’t cut fuel use
but also would bring dirtier air.
He estimates that a 50% increase
in CAFE would bump up by a few
percent the total emissions of volatile
organic compounds, nitrogen
oxide, and carbon monoxide.
Getting back to Toyota, the
carmaker’s complaint with the
Senate Bill has nothing to do
with pollution. Toyota wants to
keep selling big vehicles in the
U.S., which would only be possible
with looser CAFE standards.
That’s because Toyota doesn’t
make much from the small cars it
sells. On the Prius, it makes nothing.
So profits from
Tundras and Land
Cruisers subsidize
the sales of its most
fuel-efficient vehicles.
As you might suspect, the green
movement doesn’t think much of
Toyota’s CAFE logic. Even a Pulitzer-
Prize-winning N.Y. Times columnist
has dumped on the automaker
for making “green” vehicles on one
hand and lobbying for more fuel efficiency
latitude on the other.
But Toyota’s detractors seem
to be ignoring a few facts. There
has been no shortage of highmpg
vehicles, even disregarding
hybrid technology. If you want
something that handily beats the
Senate’s CAFE levels of 2020, feel
free to go out and get a ’97 Geo
Metro (44 city/49 highway), an
’05 VW Beetle (38/46), or an ’04
Honda Civic (47/48). These cars
haven’t exactly been top sellers,
another reason why Toyota wants
to market bigger vehicles. It, like
other auto companies in the U.S.
market, is trying to deliver what
consumers want.
Many proponents of stringent
CAFE levels also advocate superhigh
fuel taxes as a way to get
more of us driving Geo Metros.
They argue that steep taxes would
stimulate work on fuel efficiency.
This is a case of be careful what
you wish for. High fuel taxes in
Europe haven’t spawned superfuel-
efficient technologies there.
And fuel-tax advocates seem to
forget that virtually every piece
of food we eat and every item in
our houses, offices, and factories
gets carted cross country by gas
or diesel fuel-burning trucks. Any
fuel tax these vehicles pay gets
passed on to consumers. True,
we probably won’t be driving
bigger vehicles from Toyota. We
won’t be able to afford them.
— Leland Teschler, Editor