Minimum gas mileage requirements don't need to be legislated.....competition will take care of that. Markets solve problems....give them some time.
I would agree with you for the most part, but you are assuming a truely free market, without corruption and bribes, but that's another story.
Generally I would agree, but what about antitrust laws? If we would just let the market do whatever it wants to do, we would end up with 1 giant conglomeration in each sector... (AT&T, Microsoft,etc.) Also the market might act too late. With this all oilbusiness we are about 20 years late, and as it seems the Senate, Congress, whoever still haven't got the picture... Not to mention that the Feds' actions at the LTCM fiasco wasn't a "let the market freely correct itself" policy, and neither is the existence of PPT... So to think that it is a freemarket is extremely naive...
It is tighter specs in this case. Have you ever heard of lean manufacturing and 6sigma? Japanese parts are made with tighter specs but they don't carry as much inventory and their lines are more efficient. They can produce a high quality car for cheaper. And it helps a lot that they aren't paying people for nothing. All of the big three american companies are paying thousands of workers that should have been laid off, but the union contracts prevented it. Now they just send them to the "rubber room" to read magazines or something for their entire shift.
Cache your points makes sense. I have been wondering, looking for input, based on the current UAW situation it seems to me that the only to save them if through protectionism. What do you think? Heavy taxes on all import made vehicles or lesser on import hq with american mfg, make sense or not?
Those taxes cause all sorts of dead-weight loss, and from a consumer's perspective don't accomplish the goal very well. Subsidies cost the consumer (read taxpayer) the same amount of money but at least accomplish the goal better. I'm probably going to get some flack for this, but there is really only one long term solution that benefits the consumer and accomplishes the goal. Bust the union contracts, lay off the workers that aren't productive, and implement lean concepts. I'm confident that without the extra weight, the american companies can out perform the foreign automakers.
Ford GT, really nice car, and one of the few that I would love to have when I hit my goals, and a nice car is in the works. Way to go Steve! Gordo
We just got our first Hyundai 3 days ago. Our first automatic EVER. I can't keep my right hand off the shifter!