Senators are arguing over whether to implement ambitious new goals for automobile fuel efficiency, a worthy goal, but one they are going about in the wrong way.

Monday, March 18, 2002

Senators are arguing over whether to implement ambitious new goals for automobile fuel efficiency, a worthy goal, but one they are going about in the wrong way.

A proposal being tossed around in the U.S. Senate would force auto makers to reach an average miles-per-gallon threshold of 36 by 2015 – certainly an attainable goal for the industry, if it were truly motivated to reach it.

But forcing auto manufacturers to change their ways is going to be a difficult sell, and the idea imposes on the free enterprise our economy is supposed to be built on.

The real key is for drivers to change their buying habits,encouraging companies to create more fuel-efficient cars.

This has happened overseas, where Japan, for instance, has already had gas-electric hybrids that get incredible gas mileage on the road for years. If American carmakers saw a demand for better fuel efficiency, they would rush more of these cars to showrooms, too.

This is an issue with national security implications; reliance on oil as a fuel makes the country’s policy in the Middle East all the more tricky and expensive. It’s also an environmental issue. Washington is right to worry about fuel consumption, but if lawmakers feel they must get involved, how about a tax credit for anyone who purchases a vehicle that gets, say, 40 miles to the gallon or more?

Something like that, or some other incentives that change the equation on the demand side, while still keeping Americans’ and car companies’ freedom to choose intact, is the best course.