Honda doesn’t have a productivity lead on the Big 3. In fact, back in 2008, Chrysler took the lead in the US for the most productive auto plants. The differences between all the makers now are mostly statistical noise.

1) Changing withholding tables is free.

2) Sending checks is one thing the government actually does VERY, VERY efficiently.

3) You could also take additional steps to minimize how many you send, such as adjusting FICA withholding so the employer sends less to the government but is credited with the full amount (ie, if…

You certainly implied it.

The cost of the environment is certainly a prime consideration. But none of them have ever shied away from plants in non “right to work” states and none have ever had an issue with unions gaining traction, either. The VAST majority of Toyota and Honda’s investments have come in non “right to…

That “Mercedes and Nissan and BMW and Toyota and VW” all went to “non-UAW states” because of the states’ anti-union stances.

Actually, they still do get alt fuel / electric credits. That bit is still carryover.

Most cars need around a 10%-20% fuel efficiency boost to meet the 2025 standards.... that is tough, but doable.

As for the most effective answer to improve average fuel efficiency, I think the clear answer has always been simple - tax…

Nonsense.

You could simply adjust withholding checks or send a monthly rebate, just like we’ve done with the EITC in the past.

Tack on the expected cost on the front end, and all you’ve done is make all cars more expensive, albeit on a sliding scale with the premium based on efficiency. Even used cars go up in price…

Most of Toyotas factories are in non “right to work” states. Your theory is absurd.

Mercedes, Nissan, BMW, VW? They simply went with whoever was willing to bribe them the most. Hell, the Mercedes plant cost $300 million to build and they were given $253 million from the state of Alabama to do it. I suspect that had a…

Honda has four assembly plants, 1 engine plant, 1 transmission plant, and 1 parts plant in the US. Four of those are in Ohio, which is not a “right to work” state. One is in Indiana, which was not a “right to work” state when they built the plant. The only plants they’ve ever built in the US that were in “right to…

Good insights, but also oversimplification, too.

Toyota’s first US plants were not in what we generally refer to as the “south” in the cheap non-union sense most people think about. Their first plant was in California (TABC) . Their second was also in California (NUMMI). Then Kentucky (not “right to work”). Then they…

1st:

Of course they would. The UAW would be stupid not to talk politely about trying to work with him now. It has nothing to do with any of its (distant) past racist behavior. It’s a matter of survival for them.

The GOP is firmly in control of the federal government now and is trying to pass all sorts of their agenda…

No one is saying you can’t spend your money how you want. But the fact is that your choice doesn’t impact just you. If you paid for all the external costs of your choices, fine.

But the fact is that you don’t. The extra pollution you choose to spread negatively affects everyone. The extra gas you choose to burn costs…

Actually, the average efficiency has increased, even with the shift to larger vehicles. The problem, that you touch on, is that if gas prices stay the same, people will switch to larger vehicles simply as it comes at no extra cost. There are ways to create a penalty. CAFE historically has been poor as it has…

Sorry, but you’re confusing the new requirements with the old way CAFE was done.

Each and every vehicle has a fuel efficiency requirement, based on size. It doesn’t matter if you sell 100% large cars - but rather that the cars meet their requirement for their size. The 54.5 mpg number is very misleading - most midsize…

Not at all. You simply add a line to your income tax return. Say the credit for a nonworker of driving age was half that of a worker. Your household has two workers and one nonworker. That equals 2.5 times the value of the credit. The value of the credit is determined easily by the revenues turned in to the…

Well, I didn’t say it was *perfect*. :)

Adjustments could certainly be made, such as a slightly larger credit for rural citizens.

I also think that it would actually spur on mass transit demand. I live in a metro area with nearly 2 million people and our mass transit system is completely useless. Thankfully my commute…

Sigh.

The tests have been dumbed DOWN and that is precisely why the sticker mpg is so much lower than what counts for the fuel efficiency standards. They’ve gone through the test twice now and modified the scoring to make the sticker show LOWER numbers.

And if you don’t get the sticker mpg in real life, then you’ve got…

Those larger vehicles don’t have a 54.5 mpg requirement - theirs is significantly lower, and the requirement for each vehicle is based on its footprint.

And yes, gas is cheap. For now. That never lasts, and being unprepared for the hit is dangerous for national security and the economy. You may not remember gas lines,…

Actually, quite a few cars already meet that 54.5 mpg mandate.

Most people don’t realize that the mandate applies to the CAFE standards test methods, NOT what they put on the sticker. For a car to reach the 54.5 mpg standard, its sticker mpg would have to be around 39 mpg. So already, you’ve got the Volt, the Sonata…

There are other ways to get around a regressive gas tax nature. Put the revenues from the tax into a refundable tax credit - I’d make it a flat amount per person employed, and a smaller amount for each person of driving age.

There’d be no problems for anyone consuming an average or less amount of gas per year -their…

Not enough to influence choice.

We need a gas tax of $3 per gallon, phased in, with revenues used to repair existing infrastructure (only about $0.10 of that $3), not expand it, and the rest going to fund a fully refundable tax credit. If you consume an average amount of gas, this would cost you nothing apart from the…