How many Volts in a Tahoe?

It is now official. Per our friends at the EPA, by the 2025 model year, a car manufacturer’s fleet (i.e., cars and light trucks) must average 54.5 miles per gallon. This is known as the CAFE standard…Corporate Average Fuel Economy.  We’ll ignore for the moment that this standard is double our current standard, and focus on the facts.

Traditionally, the CAFE standard has been set by Congress.  But, for President Obama’s EPA, this is not good enough.  Because cars emit the dreaded carbon dioxide, which all plants need to live, the EPA has seized control.  You may have heard that all manufacturers agreed to this 54.5 mpg standard earlier this year, but understand, they had little choice.  States, particularly California, were set to impose their own rules, and rules from state to state would cripple the industry.  So, when the feds said, agree to 54.5 and we’ll hold the states at bay, well, that was an offer they couldn’t refuse.

I’m going to use today’s numbers because, unlike the EPA, I cannot predict the future, nor, can I force the future to be what I demand.  And, to simplify “the math”, I will assume that GM only makes the Chevy Volt and the Chevy Tahoe.  The Chevy Volt is rated at 93 mpg which includes the first 35 or so miles that it runs on pure electricity.  The Chevy Tahoe is rated at 17 mpg.  If all Chevy did was manufacture 2 vehicles, one Volt and one Tahoe, they would be good to go as this results in a “fleet” average of 55 mpg.

But, what if 2 purchasers are “soccer Moms” and a Volt doesn’t get the job done?  Simple…GM manufactures another Volt.  Now, GM has 2 Volts that no one wants, but has sold 2 Tahoes.  Of course, GM doesn’t manufacture cars that way.  To meet the CAFE standard, GM needs to decide first, how many Volts it will manufacture, and how many Tahoes it will manufacture.  But, that decision is no no longer based upon what consumers want, it’s based upon what the EPA dictates.

The only way Detroit can hit these averages will be by turning at least 25% of its fleet into hybrids.  But hybrid sales peaked in the U.S. two years ago at 3% of the market and are declining.  The EPA’s $157 billion price tag includes only the estimate of what manufacturers will have to invest in new technology, not the billions more that will hemorrhage when nobody buys their EPA-approved products.

Do I see another GM “bailout” in our future?

 

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SoundOffSister

The Sound Off Sister was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and special trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; a partner in the Florida law firm of Shutts & Bowen, and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. The Sound Off Sister offers frequent commentary concerning legislation making its way through Congress, including the health reform legislation passed in early 2010.

34 Comments

  1. Plainvillian on December 7, 2011 at 9:28 am

    Didn’t we have electric cars a hundred years ago, when the US was used to traveling at 7 mph?? How many Baker Electrics were sold?? Didn’t consumers make a choice back then?? How many of us actually believe electric cars will be accepted during the interstate highway era?
    No wait, we’ll not be given a choice except electric cars, high speed rail and public transport, will we??



  2. phil on December 7, 2011 at 9:34 am

    Nobody ever bailed out my great-grandfather’s buggy whip factory, because it was too big to fail.



  3. Dimsdale on December 7, 2011 at 10:48 am

    I think you can fit eight of them in the back of a Suburban.?? A Tahoe would probably only hold six.? 😉



  4. Fish on December 7, 2011 at 12:31 pm

    Dims,
    Thanks, best laugh of the day.



  5. Sad4CT on December 7, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    My husband and I will need to take two vehicles if we want to do anything with all of our grandchildren at the same time.



  6. SeeingRed on December 7, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    Gimme a?conservative House & Senate and roll ths crap back before it gets us in MORE trouble than we’re already in…the presidency is icing.?



  7. Eric on December 7, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    These bast-ards will never get me out of my Suburban, and certainly not for some POS electric car. ?When will these idiots come to realize that you CANNOT stuff anything down our throats! ?It’s un-American, and it just ain’t gonna’ happen!



    • Dimsdale on December 8, 2011 at 11:51 am

      I second that.? Priuses look like women’s purses!



  8. JBS on December 8, 2011 at 6:11 am

    The Zer?’s Evil Political Agency, the EPA, has to push electric cars to stay in line with the Sustainable Consumption and Development (SCD)protocols of the United Nations agreement. Gasoline has a finite amount of energy to be derived from a given gallon.? In order to meet the requirements of SCD, the EPA has latched onto electric vehicles. All because the developing world states want economic equality. So we suffer with flaming electric cars, bankrupt “green energy” boondoggles and crony-liberalism, all at our expense.
    How many Volts in a Tahoe? Too many.



  9. sammy22 on December 8, 2011 at 11:41 am

    I am all for Eric keeping his Suburban. Some people want electric cars.



    • Dimsdale on December 8, 2011 at 11:53 am

      And they should be able to have them.? Without being subsidized by the government or the people that want/need Suburbans.? I want small Diesels, but the government makes it so hard to get one established here, that all the gems stay in Europe etc.



  10. sammy22 on December 8, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    If they want them, they shall make them=if there is demand there will be supply? Dims, just go to your local VW dealer and you can have your diesel.



    • Dimsdale on December 8, 2011 at 2:48 pm

      Oh yes, I know, but not with 4WD, which I need where I live.? If a Tiguan comes out with a 4Motion Tiggy, then I will come out with the cash.? Turbo gassers eating high test aren’t my thing.? Waiting on Subaru too.? There is a demand, and the first to come out with a small Diesel SUV will be in automotive pig heaven, but they can’t seem to close the deal.
      ?
      On the other side of the coin, electrics don’t seem to have any demand, but we got those.? Hybrids are trying, and they have potential, but you aren’t going to get one fixed at Bubba’s garage, only the stealer, I mean dealer, and pay dearly for the privilege.



  11. sammy22 on December 8, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    You live in the “wrong” part of the country.



    • Dimsdale on December 9, 2011 at 10:47 am

      Don’t remind me!? At least my town is an island of conservatism in a sea of liberalism.? 😉



  12. Lynn on December 9, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    Didn’t know there were any towns like that in MA
    ?



  13. Shared Sacrifice on December 10, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    Diesel is the way to go- especially when yesterday’s NY Times front page, above the fold story claims that the USA is sending too many batteries to Mexico and the lead is harming Mexicans…? I’m going to have to research whether Fast & Furious got same coverage because those guns contain lead and have actually harmed hundreds of Mexicans!



  14. sammy22 on December 10, 2011 at 4:36 pm

    I wonder why since there appears to be such “demand” for diesels, they are not everywhere. Could it be that they are expensive than the gasoline powered cars? Their performance is not as good as gas cars? Diesel is more expensive than gas?



    • Dimsdale on December 10, 2011 at 11:13 pm

      Well, as off topic as this is, Americans have been burned by previous cheap attempts by domestic auto makers, and never been exposed to the newer Diesels like they have in Europe and elsewhere.? If you look at pickups, Diesels are the new hot rods, with pickups blowing the doors off of supposed sports cars, and this with a price premium of about $8,000!!? As for the price of Diesel fuel, that is purely due to politicians taxing it until it has become more expensive than gasoline? European prices are proof of that.? It is cheaper to make, and uses distillates that are really not useful for gasoline etc, by does compete with heating oil. In other words, since virtually everything that moves in this country moves by Diesel, it is a secret tax passed on to the consumer (much like taxes on the “rich”).



  15. sammy22 on December 11, 2011 at 7:03 pm

    It sounds? to me like until there is a custom model for Dims and taxes on diesel are reduced, Dims will continue to drive gas powered vehicles.



    • Dimsdale on December 11, 2011 at 10:22 pm

      Not to prolong what I though was an otherwise friendly discussion on the merits of Diesel powered vehicles; who said anything about a custom vehicle?? All the Diesels you could ever want are currently manufactured and sold in Europe and elsewhere.? Our ridiculously over stringent emission standards make it unfeasible to bring many of them here.? The Diesels that are sold here, even with the premium placed on them, sell quite well, particularly the trucks.? If the government would simply get out of the way, we would have many more being sold here and saving millions of barrels of imported oil.
      ?
      And, as luck (design, really) would have it, my current (and previous) vehicle runs happily on Diesel.



  16. sammy22 on December 11, 2011 at 10:57 pm

    What merits of Diesel vehicles have you brought to the “conversation”? There are plenty of Diesel trucks, pickup etc. built in the US and running all around where I live. And they are used to carry around people not freight. The government is not in their way.



    • Dimsdale on December 12, 2011 at 10:19 am

      To wit: EPA, fuel tax (affecting every one of all those trucks, trains and ships you see).? How many regular Diesel passenger cars do you see?? Now go to Europe, where Diesel is not penalized for its emission characteristics, but favored for its economy characteristics, and see how many Diesel cars are around you.? Merits include the above plus longevity and a relatively lower level of high technology required to make and maintain it.? In other words, understandable by the average mechanic, meaning you can use the local garage to get it fixed.? Try that with a hybrid.



  17. sammy22 on December 12, 2011 at 11:48 am

    Yep, lots of Diesel cars in Europe, I have seen them. The demand in the US is not there, that’s all. Remember demand and supply, or supply and demand?



    • Dimsdale on December 12, 2011 at 3:19 pm

      Why of course I do!? I also know that you tax something you want less of, and subsidize something you want more of.? Why don’t you enlighten us as to the difference in price of Diesel fuel and gasoline in Europe and relate it to said demand?? If the greenie laced government wanted us driving Diesels, they wouldn’t be penalizing Diesel owners with extraordinary taxes on the fuel, negating some of the economy.? As for that demand, did you chance to drive one of these vehicles while there??



  18. sammy22 on December 12, 2011 at 4:55 pm

    No, did not drive one this last time. Given the price of gas and diesel (not to mention the rental rate and insurance), it was more cost effective to take public transport and “leave the driving to them”. As of Dec. 7, 2011, the average price of gas in Italy was 1.708 euro/liter (up 9.9% from the last pricing) and diesel was 1.702 euro/liter (up 13.5% from the last pricing). Reference: il Corriere della Sera of Milano.



    • Dimsdale on December 12, 2011 at 9:32 pm

      Wow!? I guess they have caught up with the U.S. in milking the price of Diesel! ? It has been a while since I have been there. ? I guess that leaves the inherent economy and driveability of Diesel as a reason for sales, particularly with the way Europe taxes fuel.?? Overtaxation doesn’t change the fact that it is cheaper to make Diesel and that it has superior economy.



    • Dimsdale on December 13, 2011 at 11:19 am

      Looking at the prices again, I see that Europe has at least had the decency to keep relative price parity between the two fuel type, unlike here, where what used to be a relatively inexpensive fuel now exceeds the price of more-expensive-to-make gasoline by an average of 20% (at least here in MA, what they are doing to you in CT is criminal!).



  19. sammy22 on December 13, 2011 at 5:31 pm

    A quick check of the total taxes on gas and diesel shows that the taxes on diesel are lower then those on gas (even in the N.E. states). So what gives?



    • Dimsdale on December 14, 2011 at 10:17 am

      The evil oil companies: this time of year, Diesel competes with heating oil in production amounts.? And the fact that taxes are a percentage of the fuel price.? And all the things Shared lists below.?



  20. Shared Sacrifice on December 13, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    http://www.connecticutgasprices.com/tax_info.aspx
    Taxes in CT make diesel more expensive than premium gas.? We’ve also got a gross receipts tax which is added to our price before fuel , even heating oil, reaches distributors.? A few years ago when gas hit $4/gallon, the dems in CT saw such a windfall in tax money, simply by virtue of the increased price of fuel, that they raised that hidden tax even more.?? The government profits more on gas & cigarettes than any of the usual, evil capitalist, suspects that the media blame.? Please consider turning your cynical and jaundiced eye toward the political and media establishment.? United we stand, divided we fall!



  21. Dimsdale on December 14, 2011 at 10:51 am

    Why Diesel powered cars are a better value than gasoline powered cars:
    http://tepper.cmu.edu/news-multimedia/tepper-stories/diesel-vs-gas/index.aspx



  22. sammy22 on December 14, 2011 at 1:51 pm

    So go out and buy one!!



  23. Steve M on December 14, 2011 at 5:35 pm

    Please, stop with the back and forth. On occasion I come in to look at comments after three or four reader emails complaining that the comments section turns into a “forum” of back and forth. They leave and don’t bother to comment BECAUSE of the back and forth. Again, we’ve fallen into that trap. Please. Stop. Comment on the post and leave it at that.



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