Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Let's Tax Auto Fuel Inefficiency

This is a simple solution to encouraging car makers and auto buyers to invest in fuel efficient cars. Tax cars based on their inefficiency.
  • Set a target of 50 mpg (average city/highway mileage).
  • Cars doing better than this are untaxed.
  • For every 1 full mpg below 50 charge a 1% tax on the sale price.
  • Charge this tax on every new vehicle sold - cars, vans, trucks, and SUVs.
The least efficient car sold in the United States, according to the Department of Energy, is the Bentley Arnage. It averages just 12 mpg. With a list price of a quarter million dollars, the tax on this Bentley would be around $95,000. The most efficient car, the Toyota Prius, gets about 48 mpg. A 2% tax on a $24,000 would be only $480. The Chevy Silverado (18 mpg, $20,000 sale price) would have a 32% tax of $6,400.

Oppressive? Perhaps, but it is supposed to be. Right now that Chevy truck costs less than a Prius and does considerable more damage. It is only fair and proper that a Silverado buyer compensate the rest of the people for his excess consumption of gasoline that is driving up the price for everyone else. Chevrolet, on the other hand, would have a damn good reason to redesign their trucks to be more fuel efficient. It would be a win all around.

It's a pity this will never happen. Too many men, and quite a few women, equate the size of their pickup truck to the size of their penis. They feel it is their God given right to drive a two and a half ton pickup to the grocery store for a bag of chips and a cup of low-fat latte. Any politician to suggest this would not survive the lynch mobs.

1 comment:

PoliShifter said...

Oh there you go again...tax and spend liberals.

The Republican plan is to wait for gas to get to $10/gallon and 'let the market work it out'.

We'll see what people think of that plan.

Gonna be funny seeing those Hummers, Escalades, and Excursions gathering dust in driveways when people can't afford the gas to put in them.

But hey, for millionaires and billionairs, does it really matter if gas is $4/gallon, $10/gallon, or $20/gallon?

It's not going to stop them from flying around in their private jets, sailing their yachts, or driving their Bentleys.

And isn't the Super Rich really what everyone cares about? As long as they get their tax breaks all will be well.

We can stand under them with buckets as the wealth trickles down.