Members of Congress and President Bush, thank you for worrying so much about members of the middle class and trying to make sure we have an easier path to travel:
General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Sunday the new fuel efficiency requirements imposed by Congress last month would add $6,000 to the price of an average GM vehicle by the end of the next decade.
That's a more precise estimate than the one Lutz gave at the New York Auto Show in April.
"We've done even more research and it's going to be in the range of $4,000 to $10,000 with an average of about $6,000," Lutz said. "This is going to be a net average of cost of $6,000 per vehicle which will have to be passed onto the consumer. The good news is it won't come all at once, because 35 mpg doesn't kick in all at once."
I don't know that I buy the $6,000 estimate; Detroit has a history of claiming higher costs to meet standards than actually show up. But CAFE standards are stupid -- they won't make Americans use any less fuel, and they won't affect global warming much. Whatever is added to the price by the government's meddling is a cost we shouldn't have to bear.
