It’s time to get the government out of auto manufacturing

Many of you will recall that I have long been a critic of the government’s implementation of Café standards calling for auto manufacturers to hit severe miles-per-gallon targets.

It explains why an article in The Wall Street Journal’s Nov. 14, 2016 special section on energy, “Should Federal Fuel-Economy Standards Be Relaxed?” caught my attention.

The Obama administration has set a target of 2025 for cars and light trucks to achieve 54.5 mpg, a move that is expected to add another $3,000 to the price of automobiles. It has been estimated that today’s new cars cost over $6,000 more than they likely would have been without the Obama mandates.

I hope scaling back the mpg mandate is high on the list of cuts Donald Trump anticipates making in regulations plaguing the country.

Auto manufacturers should get a backbone and ask the president-elect to allow them to determine the market for high mpg vehicles.

Those $7,600 tax credits for purchasing an electric car need to go, too.

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