truth about domestics

As per a law proposed by the Obama administration, new fuel efficiency rules will be rolled out by 2016. I think fuel efficiency rules are important for reducing their impact on the enviornment, but they should be fair for everyone. The reason why this bill is unfair is the rule that automakers who sell less than 400,000 cars per year will have less strict regulations. As the Detroit News says, based on last year’s sales, it will give some brands an unfair disadvantage. These brands include Germany’s Daimler AG, BMW AG and Volkswagen AG, as well as Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and other Asian brands such as Kia, Suzuki and Subaru.

The rational for this is to set one national standard by harmonizing with the standards that are set in California. But do we need to give the automakers who import a majority of their vehicles into the United States and export a majority of their profits out any additional advantages? Why does the government of the United States continue to tax and put the large domestic automakers at a disadvantage? How much more can Ford, Chrysler and GM take???

For the original article, see this link to the Detroit News.

Back in the day (which was a Wednesday by the way), DaimlerChrysler was involved in a Global Engine Alliance, designed to put forth world class 4-cylinder engines for Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Hyundai.  Several products (like the Jeep Compass above) featuring this engine are already on the market, but with Chrysler’s new partner Fiat, it looks as though Chrysler might be leaving the Global Engine Alliance.

The reason being that Fiat makes many of its own smaller engines, which would make more sense in Chrysler vehicles to help improve the economies of scale for both automakers.  Automotive news is also reporting that the Ram could get a Fiat diesel, so stay tuned for more news on that front.  For the details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Chrysler)