Walll Street Journal Opinion: CAFE Break

Washington DC May 2, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that in the Wall Street Journal today, editorial board member Holman Jenkins suggests that CAFE standards are not the solution to America's fuel addiction.

The mandatory fuel economy program, born in 1975, has achieved none of its purported goals, he writes. Imported oil today accounts for a larger share than ever of our total consumption.

As for global warming, the impact is virtually nada. Washington could ban gasoline altogether and global greenhouse gas emissions would continue to grow. So why is revamping CAFE on the verge of becoming, by acclamation, Washington's primary gesture this year on global warming?

To be blunt, the auto industry is the softest target politicians can find on which to discharge the pressure politicians feel to "do something" about climate change.

Contrary to myth, auto makers have steadily improved the energy efficiency of their vehicles by nearly 60% since 1975 -- and consumers used these gains partly to afford bigger, more powerful cars.

To meet the new standard, auto makers will have to offer smaller, less-powerful cars than Americans, with their dollars, have shown they prefer. Politicians have no real idea what effect their proposals will have. They're charting a political path to a purely political goal: to avoid criticism and receive praise on the issue of climate and energy.