Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarpop
it is a bad bill. First of all, you have to buy a new car, you can't get a used one.
|
Why does that make it bad? it's only very recently that manufacturers here have really been attempting to reduce the MPG, so a new car is likely to be more fuel efficient than a used one. Also, surely, we're only guessing at the MPG of a used car. Which is fine if you're getting rid of a probable gas-guzzler, but to be certain you're replacing it with something significantly more efficient surely it needs to be new which a known mpg? I suspect if the scheme were opened up to used cars, there would be much shennanigans afoot.
Also, you poo-poo the 1mpg improvement required for trucks, and yet if they are only getting 15mpg, that's 6.7% which is not insignificant. Plus clunkers are probably getting far less than that which of course increases that percentage. From what I could tell from the tables linked to in the OP, the mpg for these vehicles does not appear to have improved that much. I would say it's pretty safe to assume that most of these vehicles are on the road because either (a) they are needed for what they are used for -in which case if they are replaced it's going to be with much the same thing which is going to be impossible if you make the required mpg change much higher, or (b) they are vanity vehicles in which case their owners likely have more money than sense and are not likely to be interested in replacing them with smaller vehicles for a few grand discount -which is the only way you'll get a bigger mpg reduction. So although it doesn't sound much, maybe it's the best that can be realistically effective, and is enough that it's better than nothing? I agree that on the surface 1mpg seems like a measly figure, but i think it's a knee-jerk reaction to dismiss it out of hand. 1% is often insignificant, 1 elephant is usually not. It's all relative. and I could be stupid.
. . .
as an addendum, I may not have Jim's finesse, but I do agree that it's somewhat rude to post that you don't have time to read the link but then take the time to give your opinion on what you think it probably says, especially when your opinion -valid though it may be- is about the worth of the program and not it's workings, which was the point of the OP. It's almost trolling. You're not the only one who does it by a long way, but I generally expect better given the usual quality of your posts. Just sayin'