NPR this morning said that 17.5 million new cars had been sold in 2015. Damn, that's a lotta wheels. There was a time, back in the 60s, when a 5 million car year was considered good. And consider that a car easily lasts 10 years these days. Keep up a 17.5 million a year sales rate for 10 years, and you have 175 million cars on the road. For a population of 300 and some million. That's a car for every two citizens.
Then the NPR greenies went on to wail about the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). The sales figure are "cars and light trucks" and light trucks are selling well. The light trucks (SUVs count as light trucks), get about 20 mpg at best, the little econobox cars might get 35. Obama wants 50 mpg in a few years. I got news for him. We won't ever have a 50 mpg CAFE except by lying. We do some of that already, flex fuel (gasoline or alcohol) cars give the CAFE a big boost just by bureaucratic fiat.
Was I Detroit, I'd make all my production "flex fuel" because it's easy and cheap to do, and I get all sorts of CAFE improvement for every flex fuel vehicle produced. Just a little attention to gasket materials in the fuel system, using only gaskets that are alcohol proof, a bit more code in the microprocessor to recognize the fuel and for alcohol program the injectors to throw in a good deal more than for gasoline, and presto chango, I have a flex fuel vehicle. Good for a 20 mph bump in my CAFE.
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