Restoring Sanity In Vehicle Emission Rules - Karl Denninger

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Chasing the last few parts per million is crazy; we got better than 99% of the way to zero with closed-loop, port-injected, catalytic converter equipped engines in the late 1990s and we should return there tomorrow.  Doing so would re-introduce cars to the market which instantly and wildly increases fuel economy because they're smaller and more-aerodynamic than a truck -- and if available at a reasonable price, which they will be under those standards, people will buy and drive them.  As an example the 2015 Mazda 6, a full size sedan with a nice trunk and reasonable seating for four could be had in 2014 for right around $20,000.  And that's with a high-pressure fuel system -- revert to port-injected and you take at least a thousand more off the price with almost zero environmental impact.

There's no reason we can't have that car back again -- minus all of today's "nannies" -- at that kind of price.  Yet it has airbags, ABS, reverse camera, TMPS and traction control -- and was available in both a 6 speed manual and automatic gearbox returning close to 40mpg on the highway.  Mine has a quarter-million miles on the odometer and not a single non-consumable mechanical thing has been repaired or replaced on it during that time.  These are the sort of vehicles we need in America -- affordable, reasonably fun to drive, safe, reasonably-inexpensive to purchase (and thus insure) with excellent fuel economy and reliability.  Every manufacturer can make these sort of vehicles if we stop stepping on their necks.