When President Obama initiated action to grant several states permission to require improved automobile emission standards two weeks ago, it wasn't long before auto companies started complaining about the standards being too strict.
I guess I can see where they are coming from. I mean, they've already been working to improve fuel economy on their products for so long, it's probably starting to get exhausting.
Automotive companies are approaching the situation with the wrong mindset. Instead of seeing an opportunity to revamp their lineup of cars and trucks to be more environmentally friendly, and ultimately make them more competitive in the long run, auto execs yet again approached the situation like this:
Also, company and auto-industry spokespeople have claimed that these new emission standards will run the industry into the ground, but their arguments don't hold much ground.
- First, there's the complaint that making two types of the same vehicle, one for states with increased emission standards and one for states without them, would be too straining on car companies. Here's a solution: make one model that satisfies the higher requirements. The other states can use it too (duh?).
- Next, the companies would be forced to discontinue some of their most popular vehicles in the midst of one of the worst economic recessions in recent history. This is actually a valid observation, but the truth is that putting all of their stock in the sales of trucks and SUVs is not a good idea. When the economy begins picking back up, the price of gas will most likely do the same, and people aren't going to be too happy about driving a truck that gets less than 20 miles-per-gallon. Let's not forget about what happened to last summer's gas prices and how it affected truck and SUV sales.
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