california sues automakers

[runawayjim]

so the state of california is suing automakers because they "cause global warming". now i'm an environmentalist and lean to the left and all... but this is one of the dumbest things i've read in a while (and i read a lot of dumb stuff everyday).

there's also a good discussion of this over at slashdot.

[Snowguy716]

I'm with California on this. I don't want to see automakers paying out large sums of money, but I want to see some more proactive encouragement in renewable resources in automobile production.

They're going after the auto makers because they can push for change this way rather than just "punishing" the oil companies.

[Jerseyman4]

Sounds a bit frivious to me

[LA_TN]

Seems it would be more simple to close all roads in CA instead of being sue-happy. Action works faster than blame...

[monsoon]

I believe the year for peak fuel efficiency of american automobiles was something like 1988. Since then because of big loopholes in the laws, the average fuel efficiency of automobiles has been falling and the average vehicle on the road is no better at fuel efficiency than 1970s gas guzzlers. (they don't pollute as much however)

The current GOP dominated government is quite happy to leave this status quo as is while making platitudes that say "America is addicted to Oil". Well no s*it Sherlock. The dependence on imported oil is one of our most serious security problems in this country, and everything that we can do, including requiring the automobile makers to improve efficiency as they once did, will help to remove that risk. Our federal government, who is in the pockets of big oil and big business, is doing nothing about it except starting wars in and drilling in our pristine national parks in order to secure a constant oil supply. It's a fools plan.

Thank goodness that California has the balls to finally do something about it. If they prevail the automakers will be forced to clean up their act as there is simply no way they will give up that market.

[runawayjim]

california will not prevail on this one. they're wasting valuable state resources on something that will do nothing but get some press. don't they even prohibit the sale of diesel cars in california (like the VW TDI's)? they think they're all radical, but they're being frivilous.

the only way to go about getting lower emissions is to mandate better mileage and better emissions standards at the federal level.

i'm all for better efficiency, but the problem is not the automakers, it's the consumer. the more popular vehicles of the last 10 years have been increasingly turning towards the SUV, which is why we've seen efficiency drop. unless the consumer changes, nothing else will change. the automakers are not forcing anyone to buy SUV's, trucks, and other large gas guzzling vehicles.

[Snowguy716]

Seems it would be more simple to close all roads in CA instead of being sue-happy. Action works faster than blame...

Quite true. Action does work faster than blame. But blame works faster than denial.

And placing blame on the consumers exclusivily is also wrong. It's like telling a kid that it's wrong to take the $100 when the other choice was a cheap $10 toy. Our government has kept gas prices artificially low and auto companies have taken advantage of that by building massive SUVs.

[runawayjim]

Quite true. Action does work faster than blame. But blame works faster than denial.

And placing blame on the consumers exclusivily is also wrong. It's like telling a kid that it's wrong to take the $100 when the other choice was a cheap $10 toy. Our government has kept gas prices artificially low and auto companies have taken advantage of that by building massive SUVs.

so if our government is responsible for keeping gas prices low... isn't it ironic that the government is suing the automakers for trying to make a quick buck? after all... this is a capitalist country.

[JDC]

I think it's a great idea. Consider how low American fuel economy is compared to most other countries. Why should auto manufacturers be allowed to sell products that burn so much fuel when it's quite obvious there are options that are much more efficient?

[Recchia]

I find it ironic that its always California that is doing things to lower emmissions, etc., when they are the state known the best for automobile oriented sprawl and 12 lane freeways... If you want to lower emmissions, then stop building areas based around automobile convenience only! Nonetheless, at least this lawsuit will make a point, even though it probly won't prevail.

[Gusterfell]

We all know that today's vehicles could be more fuel efficient, with minimal sacrifice to power, cost, or desirability. The technologies to do so are nothing new. California has a case if it can prove that automakers have deliberately neglected implementing these advances.

Either way, kudos to them for bringing attention to the issue. Now who's going to sue the oil companies and the federal government for their collusion?

[monsoon]

california will not prevail on this one. they're wasting valuable state resources on something that will do nothing but get some press. don't they even prohibit the sale of diesel cars in california (like the VW TDI's)? they think they're all radical, but they're being frivilous.....

Its my guess that either Honda and/or Toyota will settle with California for marketing reasons. There is no reason to believe the auto makers will be united against this lawsuit.

35 years ago the big 4 (there was American Motors then) fought the government tooth and nail over proposed rules that would cut the pollution belched out by their gas guzzlers. These regulations came in part because the air in Los Angeles had become unbreathable. The big 4 argued that it was not technically possible to meet these requirements without expensive equipment the American public simply would not accept. Then Honda, which was only known for motorcycles in the country at that point, stunned the auto industry with the Honda CVCC which not only exceeded these air polution requirements, but did it without expensive equipment.

Honda used this fact in the early 70s to catipult themselves from an unknown at the beginning of the decade to a car with almost cult status by the end of the decade. Waits for these vehicles were in the months at that time and they couldn't ship them here fast enough.

If either of these manufacturers settle with the state, it will force the others to follow suit which is the point of suing all of them.