"Vehicle User Groups" Call for Fuel Economy Gains That Don't Ignore Consumer Transportation Needs

EDITOR'S NOTE: Gasoline prices are too God damn high, period. From a cost-of-living/inflation perspective perhaps the price is where it "should" be versus the cost of milk or bread, but then maybe milk and bread are too high, too. If we're gonna be fighting a war in oil producing countries that costs billions of taxpayer dollars, then at least we should get relief at the pump. We should be paying less than a dollar a gallon. Why? because we should, that's why! And we should still have cars that get 100 MPG, and don't polute the air, as well.
Marc J. Rauch

WASHINGTON - October 11, 2007: A U.S. Congressman, a former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and representatives of vehicle users groups urged Congress to set realistic fuel economy goals that do not unreasonably raise prices nor diminish the utility of popular motor vehicles that many consumers need.

At a news conference hosted by SUV Owners of America, SUVOA President Barry McCahill said, "In the wake of high gas prices some want to legislate huge increases in fuel economy, but have blinders on regarding the consequences to families, small businesses, farmers, and recreation enthusiasts if pushed to extreme. We're united today in calling for a more reasonable way to give Americans more miles per gallon."

"We've heard endless rhetoric about 'gas guzzling SUVs and pickups,' but nothing about the transportation needs of tens of millions of Americans," McCahill said. "Worse, those needs are dismissed by some as irrelevant. The elected officials and groups here today represent millions of Americans who feel their voices are very relevant in this debate."

McCahill, a former official at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), was joined by former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater who served in the Clinton Administration; Congressman Baron Hill (D-IN); Derrick Crandall, President and CEO, American Recreation Coalition; and Austin Perez, Director of Regulatory Relations, American Farm Bureau Federation.

Congressmen Hill and Congressman Lee Terry (R-NE) are co-sponsoring H.R. 2927 that would increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) by 30-40 percent, but with flexibility so consumer needs, jobs, safety and other factors are considered carefully when NHTSA regulators set the standards.

The Senate already passed very different legislation that would force all vehicles to get 35 mph (40 percent increase). But unlike H.R. 2927, it would cause a massive change in the vehicle fleet because it makes no distinction between cars and light trucks, or their real world uses.

"As a former Secretary of Transportation who dealt with fuel economy I can tell you that Congress should stick to the wisdom it had when CAFE standards where first enacted -- allowing for a more realistic standard for light trucks. Congress also had the wisdom to let the experts at the Department of Transportation decide the details of each model year's fuel economy standard," Secretary Slater said.

Congressman Hill said, "H.R. 2927 presents a real and difficult challenge to the automobile industry: start making your cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles more fuel efficient and friendlier to the environment. Although challenging, this bill is realistic. We must collectively move our country on a path toward energy independence. But, in doing so, we must not jeopardize tens of thousands of American jobs."

"The Bill I've sponsored, H.R. 2927, is attracting strong bipartisan support because it continues the wise tradition of regulating trucks differently than cars and yet offers what most Americans want--more miles per gallon."

A study by Lehman Brothers warned that if the Senate bill becomes law, U.S. manufacturers who make most of the vehicles that are needed by farmers and recreation enthusiasts, would have to cut production of large SUVs and pickup trucks by 60 percent.

"Some are cheering that possibility. But, which RV or boat owners are going to volunteer to give up vehicles that enable family fun outdoors? Which farmers are going to be forced to make do with less?", McCahill asked. "And why should they be forced to do so when Congressmen Hill and Terry have a better way to accomplish all the same national goals?"

According to Crandall, "CAFE rules caused the demise of the family station wagon, formerly the mainstay for getting people and gear to outdoor destinations. SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks emerged as passenger car substitutes not because owners like paying more for gas, but because they value the outdoor lifestyles these vehicles enable, like hunting, fishing, skiing, boating or camping."

"Those values still run strong, and should be respected and encouraged. From boat dealers to campground operators, from RV manufacturers to ski rental shops, from retailers selling outdoor goods to guides and outfitters, tens of thousands of businesses and millions of jobs are supported by $400 billion in annual expenditures on recreation," Crandall added.

SUVOA studied towability and documented that in the 1970s when CAFE first became law, most passenger cars could tow a small fishing boat or camping trailer. Since then, passenger cars gradually lost that ability and today just one percent can tow the same small boat.

Farmers, ranchers and other Americans living in rural areas would be hard hit if the provisions in the Hill-Terry bill do not prevail over the onerous Senate fuel economy mandates.

According to Perez, "Today in tens of thousands of map dot towns, mostly far from Washington, D.C., those who farm the land to feed us, got up long before most of us did. After filling their coffee cups--not at a Starbucks, but in their kitchens--most climbed into full-size pickups to haul feed, grain, crops, livestock, equipment and tow trailers. They need affordable trucks, to do the range of jobs on the farm."

"The nation is united in the desire to get much better fuel economy and decrease dependence on imported oil. But, we are not a one-size-fits-all society as some would like, and have differing transportation requirements that should be respected," McCahill said.

"In addition, there are thousands of businesses -- small and large -- that depend on light trucks -- construction, landscapers, florists, utilities, painters and carpenters. There's a reason that even at three-dollar-a-gallon half of all new vehicle sales are still light trucks," he added.

"Affordability of new vehicles should also be a consideration. Fuel economy mandates pushed to extreme levels would add thousands of dollars to the price of a new vehicle. Many would never experience the fuel savings because they couldn't afford to buy a new one and those who could probably would never re-coop that savings at the gas pump," McCahill said.

"Let me be very clear. We are not opposed whatsoever to pushing aggressively to improve the fuel economy of all vehicles. It's a strategic national imperative that we do so. But let's do so in a common sense, flexible way that makes sure all of our national priorities, economic considerations, consumer uses, and safety are factored into the equation. H.R. 2927 is the only legislation in Congress that does so," he said.

For more information: http://www.suvoa.com; http://www.funoutdoors.com; http://www.fb.org.