How Much Does Gas Mileage Cost Us?

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“Penalties” are what you’re forced to pay when you’ve done nothing wrong – as opposed to something criminal. Like selling cars to people who wanted to buy them that use more gas than the government says they’re allowed to.

Stellantis – the corporation that currently owns the Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck brands – was recently “penalized” by the federal apparat to the tune of $235.5 million for doing just that. The “penalties” were imposed because Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles sold during the 2018-2019 model years didn’t comply with the apparat’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) decrees regarding how many miles-per-gallon a vehicle must go, irrespective of how little the buyer cares.

The EPA said in December Stellantis had the lowest real-world fuel economy among all major automakers, at 21.3 miles per gallon on average in 2021,” according to a Reuters news story about this business.

Well, so?

Was anyone forced to buy one of these offending vehicles? As opposed to the force being applied by the apparat to force them off the market?

As the Reuters story explains, the “penalties” for “non-compliance” have tripled (to $15 for every 0.1 MPG of “non-compliance,” up from $5.50 before the Biden Thing was selected resident).

The MPG decrees have been coming down since the ’70s and are nearly double now what they originally were, approaching 40 miles-per-gallon and on track (because of newly hurled decrees) to ascend to 50.

In April 2022, NHTSA sharply boosted fuel economy standards, reversing former President Donald Trump’s rollback of U.S. regulations aimed at improving gas mileage. The organization raised fuel efficiency requirements by 8 percent for both the 2024 and 2025 model years and 10 percent in 2026.

This effectively out-regulates (as distinct from out-lawing) most of the vehicles Stellantis (and not just Stellantis) sells.

Or rather, that sell well.

The “penalties” are purposely designed to make them too expensive to sell. Or rather, too expensive to buy for most of those who would otherwise like to – which is an interesting thing given that the supposedly benevolent reason for these regs is to “save people money” (that they’d otherwise spend on gas, you see).

There are several problems with this line of reasoning.

Or rather, this justification.

The first being that it ought to be obvious the people who want the kinds of cars that Dodge, Jeep and Ram have been selling do not mind paying what it costs to fuel them. They are perfectly aware that a Hemi V8 uses more fuel than a hybrid four and freely choose that which they prefer.

Imagine that.

It is important to harp on the fact that there is no misrepresentation going on. The federal apparat does not claim that people are being sold vehicles that do not deliver on the city/highway mileage numbers touted. The problem is that they did not “comply” with the “standards” set forth by the regs.

It is an important distinction.

If buyers are aware that the vehicle they’re about to buy does not “comply” – and do not care – then why is it a problem? Well, for the obvious reason. It is an affront to the authority of the apparat – and the apparatchiks – who get punitive when their authority is affronted.

Also, their agenda.

They do not want most of us to be able drive certain kinds of cars, irrespective of oour wants. And irrespective of the fact that “efficient” alternatives are and always have been available. This latter italicized because it’s important. No one has ever been forced to buy a “gas hog.” Not today – not before the regs came into existence some 45 years ago, either. Before there was CAFE there were 9 MPG Chrysler Newports – and 35 MPG VW Beetles. People were free to choose – and that was (and is) the real problem, insofar as the apparat (and the apparatchiks) are concerned.

They ultimately do not want most of us driving, period. This also ought to be obvious by now.

First to get out-regulated were big cars, the kind that average (not rich) Americans used to routinely drive, because they liked them and could afford them. Including the gas. These were penalized out of existence as mass-market/affordable vehicles by the early 1980s. Next to go were affordable SUVs and trucks – which had become the alternative to the big cars average Americans used to routinely drive. These are now also largely unaffordable – with prices on the lower end around $40,000 to start.

The end goal being to leave Americans no alternative, except the electric one. Which most of them won’t be able to afford, either. The CAFE regs green-light EVs – and red-flag anything that isn’t.

Whether people want it being entirely beside the point.

This latter having become something that no longer matters to the companies that make the cars. Or rather, it is compliance that matters more to them.

When the penalties imposed for selling people what they wanted to buy were announced the other day, a spokesman for Stellantis said they “reflect past performance recorded before the formation of Stellantis and is not indicative of the company’s direction.”

Italics added.

“Past performance” means compliance. The 2018-2019 models Stellantis is being punished for selling performed very well. They sold very well, too. But that was when Dodge and Jeep and Ram were under the Fiat-Chrysler umbrella. Stellantis is the new management and it is headed in a different “direction.”

A more compliant one. An engine-free one.

It is why there will soon be no more V8-powered Dodges – and no more V6-powered Jeeps, either. The Charger and Wrangler are to be “electrified” – which is the only way such vehicles can comply with the regs. It does not matter that buyers aren’t asking for any of this. It does not matter that they do not want this.

The apparat insists – and the companies comply – no matter how much it costs us.

. . .

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70 COMMENTS

  1. There is a big ball of hydrogen 93 million miles from the earth that burns hotter than hell.

    Who in God’s name would create such a life-giving physical force in the Universe? The sun will destroy everything that gets too close to the massive heat generated there on the surface?

    Could it be Satan? lol

    Hydrogen the element is 95 percent of the totality of the Universe, got to be there, no hydrogen, no Universe, finito, the end. The hydrogen element is not out of its element.

    Mars’ atmosphere is 95 percent carbon dioxide. You’ll have trouble catching your breath.

    You’ll collapse immediately. At those levels of concentration, carbon dioxide is a poisonous gas, you will die.

    Not enough gravity, Mars is too small of a planet to capture water molecules.

    Terra-form the place before even landing a human there.

    It’ll be a bio-dome by necessity.

    All of the carbon dioxide on Mars isn’t heating the planet by any means and it can never can.

    The sun does it all, all by its lonesome, the carbon dioxide is along for the ride.

    The sun is the only means possible to make it all happen like it does. Not only on Mars, but here on earth too. Have to appreciate what really is there, even if those pesky humans make life a miserable suffering mess at times.

    The earth will be one hellish place to be in the Universe if the sun stops shining.

    View it all from a distance, it will make a big difference.

    The birds do sing every day, even before sunrise.

    Not even Joe Biden can stop that from happening.

    Thank God for that too.

  2. this isn’t only about ICE or EV cars or even jews! its about the total

    destruction of the middle classes all around the world. its about global

    govt! And all races ruling classes are involved. Think council on foreign

    relations trilateral commision UN, WEF, the worlds billionaires (

    Bilderberger, DAVOS)etc etc etc. All these globalist traitorous

    organizations. Also Obama, and Clinton were both CIA. Clinton was recruited

    when is school in England(as described in interview with a guy in his admin

    named Morris) and Obama’s(the real manchurain candidate) family. remember

    pakistan was closed off to americans and he went there to live i believe

    with a ruling class family. who gets to do that your average “community

    organizer? HA. There is no left in the U.S. anymore except the corporate

    fake left(democratic party ? not. just the left side head of the two headed

    snake ). since the mccarthy psyop the cia /fbi etc etc has assassinated

    infiltrated, turned destroyed any real left in this country. to get back to cars. In the early 2000’s I read an article that wjth the tech available at the time 1ll pickups could get 40 miles to the gallon by changeing from things like mechanical lifters to solinoid controled ones. mech fuels pumps to electric and so on.getting 50 mpg cars is most likely doable. not to mention that decades ago carbs that could get 100 or more miles to the gallon were around. I believe the pogue carb was used on sherman tanks for its high mileage ability in ww2. Has anyone here heard of Eugene Mallove who started a magazine called infinite energy who when at MIT saw data that showed pons and flieshman data of excess heat from “cold fusion” was manipulated to show none? heard of blacklight power? there hav been so many energy breakthoughs that are being kept from us. did u know that a patent secrecy act doesnt allow high efficiency solar panels to b released to public? thats why we r stuck with efficiency in the 20% range. Its not the senile puppet Biden its the traitorous globalists and followers whether they know what they do or not! and thats just a start! think trumos any better he talked up 15 minute cities a while back . its reported that his daughter is a WEF “member”.

    • Hi Billy,

      The new Prius averages nearly 60. Imagine what its drivetrain could do in a car that weighed 1,500 pounds less than its just over 3,000 lbs. You are absolutely right that there is no technical reason why there aren’t 50-plus MPG economy cars that cost $15,000 or even less.

      There are, however, political ones.

  3. quoting Eric; “The apparat insists – and the companies comply – no matter how much it costs us.”

    Yes, tis true, but you have failed to mention who the “apparat” is. So how can you win if you do not name the evil plaguing us? You can not win until you call them out, but you won’t just as Marcus Eli Ravage says:

    page 13, The Real Case Against the Jews

    “But I tell you, you are self-deceivers.
    You lack either the self-knowledge or
    the mettle to face the facts squarely
    and own up to the truth. ”

    What is the truth? Jews absolutely control the United States Government 100%, and these Jews who infest every level of government, run the media, are intentionally destroying our free society, and they are destroying OUR car industry and OUR inventions like the gasoline engine, so that (((they))) can control us and impose their globo homo agenda on us. As you detail in your essays, if you do not accept complete Jewish immorality, LBGTQ faggotness as your inner truth, they will cancel you, they will unplug you from the grid WE BUILT and screw you royal so you can not charge you god damned electric car – the only car “the Jews” will soon allow you to own – that is – if you can afford one.

    We will win Eric, when we get the courage to call them out. Many people are calling them out, just tonight on Jeff Rense radio show, hour 3, his excellent guest Mitchell Henderson calls them out, with Jeff Rense reading the names of the god damned Jews infesting OUR government.

    I say FUCK THE JEWS AND EVERYTHING THEY STAND FOR!

    • Hi Jack,

      When I speak of the “apparat,” I mean the regulatory bureaucracy. Nixon created the EPA (and many other things besides). He was a Quaker. Ascribing the evils that beset us (and which good people have allowed by their complicit insouciance) to evil people is justified. I cannot justify characterizing anyone as evil whose actions have not demonstrated that he is. To do that would be to undermine the foundational moral argument for libertarianism. It would mean embracing racial-ethnic-religious collectivism, which is necessarily authoritarian – because in a collective the individual is subordinate to the will of the collective, which is expressed and enforced by a leadership caste that claims to speak for it. This is not for me. If I have an absolute right to be left in peace provided I cause no harm to anyone else via my actions, then so does every other individual. If any other individual is denied that, is held responsible for harms caused by others, then we arrive at where we find ourselves right now.

      I fully appreciate that libertarianism is an ideal and probably impracticable outside of small groups; that the nature (writ large) of human beings is such that groups seem to always hew toward collectivism. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

      • “It would mean embracing racial-ethnic-religious collectivism, which is necessarily authoritarian – because in a collective the individual is subordinate to the will of the collective,”

        They are engaging in “racial-ethnic-religious collectivism”, they are authoritarian, they are forcing you to subordinate to the will of their collective. Speaking high libertarian truths is no defense.

        Being idealistic will not win the day, they are reducing everyone to the status of beasts, and idealism will perish. The tribe must be called out for what they are doing. America is under full frontal assault by the tribe, and they are destroying every value we hold dear.

        • Hi Jack,

          Who is this “tribe”? It is a construct, not a fact. A collectivization. If we do this to anyone, how do we object (rationally, with any sense) when it is done to us?

          I did not “mask,” because I was not sick. The fact that others may have been – or were afraid they might become so – did not define me, nor oblige me.

          I am not a “drunk” – and so object to being obliged to establish I am not one, because there are “drunks” out there.

          If there is any truth to this “tribe” business, it is that there are evil people who are members of it. They come in both sexes, all colors – and many religious backgrounds. It is easy – and dangerous – to ascribe all evil to a specific racial/religious group – in part because it absolves the evil people in our group.

          The truth, for me, is more than just a defense. It is everything.

      • When you say jews I think you mean the Khazar fake jew satanists. There are real religous jews stiil left but the Khazars hate them and control the narrative. They own the banks, media, entertainment etc. They won the battle. There was an old school WASP culture opposed to them but that’s gone. All the mainstream Christian churches are their servants. Steven Anderson out of Tempe Arizona is a super rare baptist pastor who speaks the truth. I don’t vote or plan on fighting anything. But recognizing the truth is essential I think.

        • Hi Mark,

          The truth is there are evil people. As in individuals. This idea that all evil is inherent in a specific group and if only this group were . . . well, you know… there would be no evil is childishly naive as well as evil. We – human beings – are all of us capable of evil. Some of us decide to be evil. It does not mean that others are evil by dint of our evil.

          Focusing on those who are evil is the task at hand. Not ascribing evil to collectives.

          • Annnnd bingo. The ((((JOOOO JOOOO JOOOOOO!!!)))) obsession is just another distraction, nothing more, to trick us into diverting our gaze from the REAL enemy. It’s stupid, it’s self-defeating, and it plays right into their hands. Can you say “divide and conquer,” boys and girls? I knew you could.

              • The totalitarian Left, of course. Which, plenty of ((((Dem pesky JOOOOOOS)))) are, of course, perhaps even a majority. But so are plenty of white folks, particularly in the urban hellholes. Focusing on one small minority is a waste of time.

                • You’re right, enemies abound all throughout the country. Totalitarian foot soldiers are pretty useless without direction and funding. Lots of secret society type groups, jew and non jew make these zombified destroyers possible. They should be the enemy we focus on.

            • Indeed, Mike –

              Let us focus on what evil individuals do, not abstractions. Justice demands that they who do evil things be held things be held accountable for doing them. It is the definition of injustice hold people who did not do evil “accountable” for the evils done by others. It is the antithesis of everything reasonable in human interactions. I call no man an enemy who has not wronged me or stated his intention to do so.

          • “The truth is there are evil people.”
            We all in fact have a psychopath within. The difference being, those with love in their hearts and compassion for their fellows suppress that psychopath. While those who do not turn it loose. And go to work for the state.

      • “I fully appreciate that libertarianism is an ideal and probably impracticable outside of small groups”
        Most any form of government will work, and work well, if one is allowed to walk away from it. Which is why the Psychopaths In Charge will not allow you to do so. You might discover that a libertarian approach works quite well for you. It’s not so much that it’s impracticable as it is unavailable. At gunpoint.

        • Hi John,

          That point about being able to walk away is searingly accurate. Imagine if we had a confederation of states that people were free to move to – or out of – as the situation indicated. Want to live in a collectivist Woke state? Fine! Here it is. But you’re also free to leave and move to one that is none of those things. Lincoln, of course, put an end to all of that.

  4. Next Repube that gets in better repeal CAFE and return the $$$ stolen by Uncle

    Never needed it and no one should be forced to drove what we dont want because of some bullshit.

    CAFE and the EPA need to go

    • Honestly, I never understood where the Federal government got the power to tell a private corporation how many miles per gallon their cars could get. What the hell kind of micro-management power is that? Where in the Constitution does it give the Executive branch the power to invent a bureaucracy that can dictate miles per gallon? If they can do that, then why not car color? If accident data shows white cars are the safest, what prevents the bureaucrats from declaring white cars only? What about radios in cars; if accident data shows they distract too much, why not outlaw radios as well? Bottom line, how in the hell does a FEDERAL bureaucracy get the power to dictate something as arcane as miles per gallon to a private company? Did the Supreme Court actually say this was legal??

      • Hi Lawrence,

        The federal government has arrogated so much power that the Constitution has none, aside from the Bill of Rights (which is being deconstructed). But this is intentional. Hamilton and his federalists wrote the thing so that it could be “interpreted” to expand the power of the federal government and that is just what’s happened. And it has been happening almost from day one. There is no hope of “reigning in” the government at this point. It is a question of starting over.

  5. Where we are:

    Has anybody ever seen photos of the bicycle dumps in Chinkville?

    The Chinese began to build automobiles, didn’t have to ride and pedal a bicycle like some poor schmuck in New York City anymore.

    Don’t has to ride some stupid bike, nobody really wants to do that if you can drive a car and not sweat like a pig and stink like a pig all of the time.

    If car owners are forced to pay the penalty, shouldn’t bicycle owners benefit? They’re not using gasoline or diesel, it has to be an asset to accrue.

    The money the government receives for penalties should be earmarked for people who do not use hydrocarbons to move their sorry worth less hides from A to B.

    It’s only fair.

    Non-car owners should be remunerated for saving the planet and conserving hydrocarbons by not using them.

    Pedestrians Unite! Get your fair share too.

    The people who make solid predictions are always remunerated, right or wrong.

    Here’s one from Paul Ehrlich: “some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions.”

    Wait! There’s more!

    It’s right here: “In 1970, he revised his prediction for the worse to warn us, as Perry writes, that “between 1980 and 1989, some 4 billion people, including 65 million Americans, would perish in the ‘Great Die-Off.'”

    What a maroon.

    And all of the rest of the motley crew attempting to run and ruin your life and existence right into the ground.

      • Hi John,

        And yet, there are STILL people who think that the ruling class have their best interests at heart. Just the past few years of COVID tyranny PROVES otherwise, though I’ll still see people claiming that the authoritarian, draconian actions taken by government at the height of COVID insanity “Saved lives”, and now they’ll likely also believe the narratives about farming being destructive to the planet, and EVs being the ANSWER to climate change.

  6. The biggest problem I see is the government tells auto manufacturers to jump, and they ask “how high?”

    A few decades ago, the entire profit earned by Ford Motor was from the sale of pickup trucks, large SUVs and the full sized cars: Lincoln Town Car, Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Marquis. All were large “gas guzzlers” using old fashioned body on frame technology. Body-on-frame vehicles do not absorb energy from a serious crash as well as unit construction bodies, but otherwise people wouldn’t notice a difference.

    I had precise numbers from Ford bean counters in 2004, before I retired, and the lack of profits from other Ford vehicles was stunning. F150 profits supported the entire company.

    Let’s say a 2026 ICE F150 pickup truck got 24mpg and the 2026 CAFE requirement was 48mpg. Assuming all other Ford vehicles met the 48mpg rule, the current fine of $150 per gallon times 24mg is a fine of $3,600 per pickup truck. For most vehicles, a $3,600 EPA fine would be a big deal. Ford could pay the $3.600 EPA fine and still make a decent profit on their F150 ICE pickup trucks. But they don’t want the bad publicity.

    Instead of fighting for customers, and against arbitrary government regulations, as Ford did from 1977 to 2024, when I worked there, Ford (and the others) now just take orders from the government. They fear the $150 per mpg CAFE penalty will increase a lot in the future, and don’t want to challenge the arbitrary 48mpg CAFE requirement for 2026 model. In the government versus auto industry battle, one side is not fighting back.

    With Ford’s current EVs selling at about half the projected rate, and a huge amount of money being invested in more EVs (and battery plant joint ventures), to sell new, expensive and unpopular electric vehicles, there is no viable Ford business plan for the next five years.

    The large price increases of ICE vehicles in recent years is mainly the result of more standard equipment included in the base price. The CPI for new vehicles deletes all the cost increases attributed to additional features for their new vehicle CPI. The gap between what you actually pay for an F150 and Camry ICE, and the official CPI for new vehicles shows approximately why the ICE prices went up so much in recent years:
    Features the customers did not ask for, but have to pay for. See chart at the link below:

    https://honestclimatescience.blogspot.com/2023/06/off-topic-consumer-price-index-for.html

    • Ford hasn’t fought any regulations for at least 25 years. Probably closer to 30. General Motors has bent over backwards to comply, like Ned Beatty in Deliverance.

      After GM pulled that purely juvenile stunt on Nader, they folded like a house of cards.

      About the only regulation that they fought off successfully was gas mileage, but only until about 2000 or so. The stage was being set for further CAFE increases in the energy conservation act of 2007, which gave NHTSA unlimited authority to increase CAFE requirements and accelerate timetables in the name of “climate change.”

      The automakers are a joke

      • In my first comment, I should have mentioned that the Ford “gas guzzlers” I listed were so profitable because they were so popular.

        Ford and the others were already giving up the fight against government regulations in January 2005 when I retired. They stopped fighting for what their customers most wanted to buy two decades ago. Their customers do not want to buy EVs, and that is already obvious.

        • I drive a 1977 Ford F350 Camper Special, a 400 V8 with a carburetor,in great condition. It is easy to maintain. I can easily get to every part, should it require attention. If a deer (or, one of today’s “newer” cars ) hit my truck, the damage I may incur will likely be minimal. On a good day with a strong tail wind, I can get 14 mpg (or is that gpm? Anyway..) Because I wish to. Just doing my part of the war effort and the food production. My pronouns are; Acronyms should only be used sparingly in writing and NEVER lazily inserted into conversation.

    • Not mine.. yet. I drive a 2006 Honda Pilot and a 2012 Acura TL. My girl drives a 2008 Lexus RX 350. Trying to get rid of the RX since it is hard to work on. But, in the “I’ve got mine” department, I decided that I would buy highly reliable easily maintainable, yet drivable vehicles until I can’t drive anymore. I’m 60. I hope I can make these cars last another 15 years or so. I’ll hopefully be dead, buried and forgotten about by that time.

      • Hi Tommy,

        The Pilot ought to last a long time; the TL should be a pretty good bet as well. I myself am “clinging” to my ’02 Nissan Frontier, which I keep meticulously maintained and expect to last at least another ten years before it needs any major work…which will be well worth doing when the time comes.

        • That’s the sort of attitude I have. I was gifted a 2008 Chevy as a present, and heartily thank God for it, but I lust after sturdy, sensible, pretty, 1960’s vehicles. The Cubans still drive them. They have learned to maintain them.

          • Hi Esther,

            I have an ’02 Frontier pickup that I think I can keep running for another 20 years. I could replace the major driveline/suspension parts for a fraction of the cost of a new truck and the replacement necessity will not come all-at-once, so it’s more financially manageable. But it’s not just the expense of new vehicles that’s daunting. I don’t want to be parented by a car. I have no interest in “assistance technology.” I do not want a touchscreen. And I most definitely do not want an electric vehicle. So I’ll hang on to my old truck and repair it as I go!

  7. A nation dependent on oil is also a nation in wars for oil. The infamous German Jewish professor Leo Strauss (the father of the Neocons) argued that the state should encourage the public to drive gas hogs so that the nation could easily go to war for oil. Thus republican presidents constantly roll back mpg standards. They do not want mpg – they want war baby.

    Staussian political philosophy has been cited as the driving factor in why the USA has resisted raising fuel economy standards. They want the public hooked on oil so they can wage war for oil dominance.

    https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/article_1542jsp/

    “Shadia Drury, professor of political theory at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, argues that the use of deception and manipulation in current US policy flow directly from the doctrines of the political philosopher Leo Strauss (1899-1973). His disciples include Paul Wolfowitz and other neo-conservatives who have driven much of the political agenda of the Bush administration. ”

    Another great expose:
    https://www.winterwatch.net/2022/06/frankist-leo-strauss-the-neocons-and-the-synarchist-conspiracy/

    ——————

    The real reason why fuel economy standards do NOT matter is because we are still in the ice age, which only started 2.6 million years ago.

    https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2023-06-03_14-43-27.jpg?itok=PJUNKhcT

    https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/what-did-world-look-last-ice-age

    Here is a graph of previous ice ages which last long time:
    https://geology.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/ice_ages1-450×176.gif

    Note the logrythmic time scale. Ice ages last tens of millions of years – the current one just started. CO2 will NOT change the cycle.

    CO2 does not affect temperature as claimed – the fact is CO2 could double or triple and ice age progression will continue unabated – and we are 14,000+ years into the current interglacial – which is over the average time of an interglacial.

    • C3 photosynthesis plants (85% of plant species) would greatly benefit from double to triple the current ambient level of CO2 of 420ppm. Most scientific studies (there are many thousands of them — I have read about 300 since 1997) CO2 enrich to up to 800ppm. But greenhouse owners CO2 enrich to 1000ppm to 1500ppm with their own money!

      CO2 is a weak greenhouse gas at 400ppm and higher. A doubling from the 420ppm would impede Earth’s ability to cool itself. No one knows by how much, outside of a laboratory (where the measured effect of CO2 above 400ppm is small and harmless).

      The current ice age is at least a few million years old:
      — Scientists call this ice age the Pleistocene Ice Age. It has been going on since about 2.5 million years ago (some think that it’s part of an even longer ice age that started up to 40 million years ago).

      We are currently in a temporary, warm ice age period called an interglacial. And there was also global warming for most of the past 300 years.

      What is the best possible climate on our planet for humans and animals: A warming trend during an interglacial. THAT’S NOW.

      Today we have the best climate for humans and animals in the past 5,000 years — it was slightly warmer 5,000 to 9,000 years ago — although the IPCC is trying to make that Holocene Climate Optimum period “disappear”.

      For C3 plants, the current CO2 level is the highest in several million years and is also the best CO2 level for them in several million years — they would still prefer 2x to 3x MORE CO2 than today.

      We should be celebrating the current climate. It does not get much better than this on our planet.

      • “CO2 is a weak greenhouse gas at 400ppm and higher. A doubling from the 420ppm would impede Earth’s ability to cool itself.”

        According to this chart, most CO2 heating occurs in the first 20ppm, then it decreases logarithmically:
        https://www.therightinsight.org/media/uploads/images/climate242-1%20Heating%20Effect%20of%20CO2.jpg

        So if CO2 doubled it would have no measurable effect, and the earth would cool just as it always does. The current global warming hysteria ocurred at the peak of the modern warming blip, which will reverse eventually, and the fraud will be exposed. The blip is shown in this chart:

        Holocene temperature taper northern latitudes chart:
        https://imgpile.com/images/1ICvCk.png

        Note a couple of things in that chart, how the hysteria is collocated in the warming blip, and how the lows are lower with each cycle. Note how the current highs are below the Holocene optimum temperatures. Note how there is more ice now than 8,000 years ago.

        The next little ice age should have temps lower than the previous little ice age. If not, then that would be evidence that CO2 increasing is having effect.

        • The effect of CO2 weakens above 10ppm. But any climate change variable that heats the troposphere gets amplified by a water vapor positive feedback. When the troposphere gets warmer, it holds more water vapor, which also impedes the Earth’s ability to cool itself. So the small effect of CO2 is amplified. But it still adds up to harmless.

          Some of the best “skeptic” scientists estimate the effect of CO2 doubling with the water vapor positive feedback would increase the average temperature by +1degree C., which would not harm anyone. With CO2 increasing at 2.5ppm a year recently, doubling the current level of 420ppm to 840ppm would take 168 years. +1 degree C global warming in 168 years would harm no one. But the extra CO2, and slight warming, would both increase plant growth, and more plants would support MORE human and animal life on our planet.

          I have been reading CO2 enrichment plant studies for many decades, and advocate for 2x to 3x MORE CO2 in the atmosphere. CO2 is the staff of life on our planet. Calling CO2 a pollutant is junk science.

          We have already had a +50% CO2 increase since the mid-1800s that harmed no one.

          The climate change religion is based on data-free predictions of climate doom that have been wrong since 1979, while ignoring climate reality.

          Not everything governments say about climate science is wrong. Conservatives often make that mistake. Government scientists get a small amount of basic climate science right, so “skeptic” scientists do not debate those issues.

          The main problem is that Climate Howlers spin tall tales of a coming climate crisis to create fear and control people. They scare children, but adults should know better, after a century of always wrong environmental predictions of doom.

          • “Some of the best “skeptic” scientists estimate the effect of CO2 doubling with the water vapor positive feedback would increase the average temperature by +1degree C.”

            Even the skeptic scientists are under the media spell. People are herd animals, very few have the moral fiber or personal integrity to challenge the narrative of their age – nearly everyone goes along to get along no matter how wrong it is.

            Scientists are not immune to peer pressure, media barrage, or social pressure. A good example is Anthony Watts who runs watts up with that website – he caved to the global warming narrative – he simply could not have his skeptic website up and live if he took the position that CO2 was causing no warming. So he said it caused some warming.

            (I have been an avid reader of his site and watched his transition in real time – as I was actively blogging on the global warming hoax – and all of my blogs on that topic, across the internet were taken down by TPTB.)

            And you can NOT trust a single data file from NASA on temperature – they have been busted by those in the know – like Tony Heller who runs Real Climate Science website:

            https://realclimatescience.com/alterations-to-the-us-temperature-record/

            NASA has been busted on Mars rover missions: the official NASA JPEG image shows an arctic lemming;

            https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=lemming+on+mars&iax=images&ia=images&pn=1

            NASA of course is a government agency and MUST tow the line or the director would get replaced or funding cut. So they lie out of monetary necessity – which means everything they produce, like current temperatures or CO2 levels is 100% suspect. You simply can not believe a word they say.

            Bottom line? We could go into another little ice age and they will tell us the oceans are boiling. They will post data proving it is warming while you freeze your ass off. They will make laws against saying it’s cold. They will torture, kill, ruin, harass, defund, defrock, poison anyone who dares question the narrative, and in fact that is exactly what they are doing already.

  8. At least they had vehicles to sell. Recall that the “chip shortage” left millions of nearly built vehicles sitting in parking lots because a critical microchip wasn’t being produced. FCA was largely uneffected by this other than they couldn’t keep up with demand. My nephew bought a bright green Jeep. Took 6 weeks to get on the build schedule. When it was delivered the local news put up a picture of it on the carrier, along with a load of white pickups, a funny scene for sure but shouldn’t have been newsworthy. The dealer was just happy to get some inventory and I’m sure already had buyers willing to take a white pickup over nothing.

  9. We were promised Utopia. When it didn’t spontaneously arise a scapegoat had to be found. But if the people complaining would just take a look around they’d see that what we have is so much better than the promised land. All the wanna-be Cassandras are constantly wrong, but the miniscule actions taken are credited for the incorrect prophecy.

  10. Remember Obama? He was our glorious President who raised the mpg standards:

    ““These fuel standards represent the single most important step we’ve ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said President Obama. “This historic agreement builds on the progress we’ve already made to save families money at the pump and cut our oil consumption. By the middle of the next decade our cars will get nearly 55 miles per gallon, almost double what they get today. It’ll strengthen our nation’s energy security, it’s good for middle class families and it will help create an economy built to last.””

    https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/28/obama-administration-finalizes-historic-545-mpg-fuel-efficiency-standard

    ————————

    Just so you know who makes the laws:

    Barry and “Big Mike”
    https://rense.com//1.mpicons/slider20200710/bbm.jpg
    https://rense.com/general96/BO-MO.jpg

    Don’t forget, they want to make “Big Mike” president.
    Michelle Obama would be Democrats’ best chance to win in 2024

    https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3899576-michelle-obama-would-be-democrats-best-chance-to-win-in-2024/

    ———————–

    Here is an Obama voter – who left her kids in a Tesla while she was shoplifting at Orlando Dillards (be sure to watch the video in this Fox news article – don’t leave kids in a Tesla)

    https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-woman-shoplifting-when-her-car-two-children-inside-burst-flames?dicbo=v2-AExyxtZ

    • ‘Remember Obama?’ — Yukon Jack

      Another Hahhhhhvid lawyer, as I recall, like Jenny Granholm.

      If elected president, I will raze Hahhhhhvid Law, fence the site, and turn it into a hog farm and abattoir.

      BACON, bitchez!

    • Golly, and to think that just by imposing a regulation, you can magically make cars that all get north of 55 miles per gallon. A big thank you to our overlords for their mercy!

  11. Benjamin Martin
    “Would you tell me. Please, Mr. Howard, Why I should trade one tyrant three thousand miles away
    for three thousand tyrants one mile away.” – The Patriot (movie)

    The EPA created in 1971 by Nixon. Approx 18-20,000 employees with a average salary of $125,000 paid by you for screwing you! Doesn’t get any better than that.

    So,,, 20,000 unelected jerks,,, and one demented evil moron takes it upon themselves to dictate what you can and cannot own.

    It will get worse,,, much much worse.

  12. ‘Was anyone forced to buy one of these offending vehicles?’ — eric

    Hell, no! In fact two people I know, this year, bought used 2018 Ram pickups with the offending 5.7-liter Hemi, for the specific reason that they wanted that engine anyway.

    One of them, who tows a 25-foot trailer, finds that the big Hemi yields 2-3 mpg better fuel economy than his previous ‘compliant’ Ford EcoBoost pickup.

    What is so galling about CAFE diktats is that they are wholly arbitrary. The Trump admin loosened CAFE; “Biden” tightened it like never before. No actual science or quantifiable goal underlies any of this idle regulatory knob-turning.

    It is contemptible for political know-nothings like EPA “administrator” Michael Regan to engage in automotive engineering by proxy. One of the more arcane ways of challenging Regan would be to sue him for practicing engineering without a license, turning government’s own licensing regime against it.

    By contrast, one doesn’t need a license to become a federal administrator or Congress Clown, because any FOOL can do it. And hundreds of them already are.

    Idiot Hahhhhhvid lawyer Jennifer Granholm, currently impersonating the Energy Secretary, is one egregious example among many. She knows jack shit about energy, but used to run her fool mouf on TeeVeeeee.

    • “Idiot Hahhhhhvid lawyer Jennifer Granholm, currently impersonating the Energy Secretary”

      She was promoted to read the script – not knowing anything is what they want – as she will not be mentally tortured with moral dilemma or guilty conscience.

      Biden’s nuclear waste czar, a he-she: Non-binary ex-Biden official Sam Brinton arrested for yet another baggage theft. Brinton is being charged with grand larceny in third airport baggage theft case

  13. I often wonder if the car manufacturers and their lobbyists had given a firm NO! to the CAFE rules when they first came out would we be in this mess today. They did a great job meeting EPA regs on actual pollution via TBI and Cats, so how does mileage have anything to do with pollution? I think they could have won in court, but we’ll never know; the camel’s nose under the tent has led to the camel walking off wearing the tent.

    • CAFE started out as the scapegoat. Blaming Washington for the detuned, vaccum line laden mess they made of V8 engines to compete with Japanese 4 bangers was easier and gave them time to retool their plants to V6 and straight 4s. And because everyone had to do it, it wasn’t seen as a problem.

  14. The past few years of COVID tyranny should PROVE to the masses that government is NOT looking out for the best interests of the people. And ever since the Biden regime got into office, it has also become obvious they’re pushing the agenda of the Club of Rome & World Economic Forum, which has been pushing an anti-human agenda for DECADES disguised as “Saving the world”. However, there are those who STILL think that the draconian measures such as universal lockdowns, universal vaxx mandates, universal face diaper mandates, etc., “Saved lives” despite MASSIVE evidence that they DESTROYED lives instead. Such people are probably driving alone in a car wearing a face diaper, virtue signaling on social media about how they “Trusted Dr. Fauci” or “Stand with Ukraine”, or perhaps even carrying a BIDEN 2024 sign. Now they probably REALLY think that universal driving of EVs will “Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave the planet from climate change”.

    • I traveled through Aspen yesterday now that Independence Pass is open it’s saves a few minutes if you don’t get stuck behind a Texan. On the way through town I spotted a stunning young lady dressed like an anime figure. And a mask. Oh well.

      I wonder if these people are wearing them for the same reason as Michael Jackson? Recall when he was in a public space (usually from the building door to the limousine door) he was usually in full elephant man style head covering. At this point I think there are many people who are bothered by others due to their looks or something else? Like maybe they’re just trying to avoid interaction with other people. So wearing a mask says “leave me alone.” For all I know she was a model or celebrity, she certainly had the body for a camera.

      “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Didn’t quite work out. More apropos would be “Today, everyone is famous to 15 people around the world.” And who wants that hassle?

      • ‘it saves a few minutes if you don’t get stuck behind a Texan.’ — Ready Kilowatt

        Muh wa ha ha … my family and I, Texans all, have been invading and encroaching on alpine Colorado for a century now, since my maternal grandparents worked their laborious way up Raton Pass in a Model T in 1925.

        Didn’t do no good. Radical leftists — personified by gay leftist DemonRat governor Jared Polis — have taken over the state and are running it into the ground.

        One wonders whether western Colorado — from Grand Junction down to Cortez — ultimately will petition to join Greater Utah, just as eastern Oregon craves to attach itself to Greater Idaho.

        Leftists can occupy the coasts — I don’t care — but they do not deserve to subvert and destroy the beautiful state of Colorado.

        • Colorado went bad when people started moving here for work. I came here because I wanted to live here and was willing to take a pay cut and harder job. I wonder if there’s a population inflection point where this happens.

          The really bad part is that the newcomers are all concentrated in the Denver metroplex, so anything bad in Denver County becomes a state issue. Even COVID wasn’t a big problem once you got out west (I think Delta county had less than 50 deaths over the whole time).

          Utah looks better in comparison, but they’ve got many of the same problems with outsized influence by the mob, just a different one.

          • I agree with your assessment, RK –

            Even in my rural backwater, the rot has set in. Chiefly because of people who moved here who didn’t really want to live here. Case in point, the people who brought “Floydfest” to this area. Floydfest is a massive concert event that lasts days, that attracts thousands of people to a county that had 14,000 residents last time I checked. Floydfest brings noise and crowds – the very thing most of the people who live here despise and used to like about living here, because the county had neither. But it’s too “quiet” for some who moved here – and not as “hip.” Also, not as commercialized. The people behind FloyFest want to turn Floyd – formerly a sleepy southern town – into a McSouthern McTown, with alll the attractions.

            And all the problems.

            Some of the people who attend Floydfest inevitably decide it’s “cool” here and decide to move – and bring that same attitude here.The place is already noticeably more crowded; there is traffic where there never used to be any. McMansions are popping up. I dread this because I have seen this before, in Loudoun County – where I lived a long time ago, when that area was still pretty rural. It is now McMaggot Central. And I expect that will happen here, too. If we have to move, next time it will be far enough in the sticks that the tide won’t follow us – at least not until after we’re gone.

  15. I just can’t believe that the government is trying to regulate away something for which consumers have proven a desire.

    That just wouldn’t happen. And if it did that would mean that the government, which is there to reflect the will and defend the rights of citizens, was trying to control them instead.

    So unimaginable as to be preposterous.

  16. Fuel efficient vehicles are generally not very large. While a Miata is sporty and fuel efficient fitting the family into it for a trip to visit aunt Rose is rather difficult. Taking purchases home in a small car can also be challenging and I say this as some one who took home a 4500 watt generator on the passenger front seat as the box would not fit into the trunk or back seat (I had to hold onto the box to keep it from being knocked out of gear but I got it home).

    Some days I wonder if there will be EV minivans or is the minivan market dying? Minivans while ugly could carry a lot of people or bulky (low weight) cargo easily.

    I’m also curious what the people who write these regulations drive and do they not think this will effect them also?

  17. For whatever reason, or lack thereof, people simply refuse to understand that government is not your friend. That since they depend upon their assumption of authority to kill you if you disobey they CAN’T be your friend and have zero desire to be. They just desire that you believe they are.
    It would be a monumental undertaking, and likely constantly interfered with, but would it not be nice if one could actually see a bottom line number what FedGov costs each and every one of us? And not just the taxes permits and fees, but the increased price of EVERYTHING you buy, including stuff you can’t live without, like food, shelter, and mostly clean water.
    How much cheaper would all your stuff be if not for FedGov rules and regulations. How much better would you be able to afford to pick and choose based on whatever criteria pleases you. To vote with your wallet. If you want low CO2, by an EV. If you want a brush hopping pickup, buy one. If you want a car that gets you from here to there as cheaply as possible, buy one. But a government that does not WANT you moving around whenever and wherever you please is constantly standing in the way of that.
    Because they are psychopaths.
    They’re sick. And they want you sick too.
    They are not your friends.

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