(republic) Congressman wages fight against raising CAFE standard

http://www.dailytribune.com/stories/020407/loc_cafe001.shtml


ROYAL OAK -- U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Township, came to his home district Friday from Washington, D.C., to beat the drum against raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirement for auto makers.

With Michigan's economic tank running on low, Knollenberg said it would be devastating if environmentalists and some political leaders get their way and raise the standard, possibly up to 40 miles per gallon. It means the struggling Big Three would have to produce more vehicles that go farther on less gas.

The standard now is 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.2 for trucks. A higher CAFE standard was trumpeted by President George Bush in his State of the Union speech as part of a goal to reduce American dependence on foreign oil, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, both Californians, are pushing for action.

Knollenberg, who represents 60 percent of Oakland County including Royal Oak, thinks there are better ways to decrease dependence on oil, arguing that raising the standard would cripple the American auto industry

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they lost.

There is no bail out possible.

80,000 US auto workers now due not work for the big 3.

It will be more in the future - Ford must downsize AND junk much of their plants so as to move to flexible manufacturing, GM still is not serious about the "Volt" and similiar concepts - indeed is not serious about the Gore auto that they helped develope from current technology with its almost 80/mpg - it was ready in 2000, and no work was done on it to move from lab to market once Bush was elected.

Mercedes has seen its quality go down rather than moving Crysler quality up to its old stanndard.

I don't see how CAFE change or no change will affect the US Auto folks positively or negatively - worker or management or shareholder - the ship is sinking for other reasons.

Now single payer universal health would indeed save auto jobs - but the GOP congressman has not said much that was positive about that - now has he.