Anonymous

I am writing in opposition to the proposed regulations referencing the new CO2 and CAFÉ standards for light-duty vehicles. CO2 emissions from these vehicles amounts to less than 1% of manmade emissions, which amounts to less than 10% of all CO2 emissions. Even if you were able to eliminate all CO2 emissions from these vehicles you couldn’t measure the difference. The technology mentioned here costs more than that used on most new vehicles sold today. The estimated costs of new regulations will add about $2,500 to the price of a new vehicle. With around 10M vehicles sold a year in this country, the added cost to reduce less than 1 percent of CO2 emissions by 5% a year, the costs do not justify the increase in cost to the consumer. Also, these regulations offer incentives for manufactures to produce vehicles that meet the new regulation, however it makes no mention of who is suppose to buy these. The demand for vehicles that meet the new requirements are a fraction of the market and are not projected to rise beyond 20% of the market. Such production numbers would force manufacturers to produce more of these vehicles than they can sell, leaving them to dump them off on rental car companies (to sit on the lot and unrented, undriven, and not helping reduce emissions), or sold at no profit or loss, leaving manufacturers to lose money, requiring them to get another government bailout, costing taxpayers even more money. If these agencies are truly interested in reducing emissions in these vehicles, they need to do so by making them attractive to the customers that manufacturers need to sell to. Tax breaks and incentives for customers that make buying desirable vehicles cheaper and easier than buying something that pollutes more. Customers would love to buy an economical, environmentally friendly vehicle, but they are not willing to pay extra for it. Incentives to customers are better at shaping standards and behavior than are regulations on manufacturers.