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In recent years, I've started to question the American mentality, or at least that of the people running the place. Some of the things that are passed as policy in the 21st century are more akin to thinking in the Middle Ages - one may as well forget science exists, and unfounded fears are made into demons and manipulated to hide facts.
I've just read in the International Herald Tribune that the CAFE figures have not been revised since 1975, which I hadn't realized. So, in other words, while the State of California wants to fine car makers for creating gas emissions (a ridiculous thought in the first place, as it's users that sit in traffic, one to a car in a vehicle half the size of a London bus), the US as a whole has done nothing to encourage better fuel efficiency, which is surely in everyone's interests, for three decades.
Another incredible statement coming up. To quote the newspaper: "Raising the [CAFE average] number from 27.5mpg [US] would cause hundreds more highway deaths each year because auto-makers would meet the goal by moving to smaller cars, the administration argues."
What that really means is we in America make big cars, and don't want to try and compete with other nations. If big is safe, that must mean that a 1950s Yank Tank is by definition safer than a brand new mid-size/compact import car, right? And a truck with off-road tyres and the kind of ground clearance that provides shelter for a family in the midday sun is safer than a smaller vehicle with state-of-the-art road tyres, better brakes and a low centre of gravity. And don't even get me started on chassis technology!
Ironically, it is probably this protectionist attitude that has led the US industry to its grave, as, more often than not, it makes vehicles that are only truly suitable for one market. If Detroit is to flourish once more - and it would be nice to see that day - someone needs to pull a few heads out of the sand, look around beyond the porch, and listen to the scientists for a change....
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