LA Times Op-Ed on CAFE

"FJ80WaitinForaLSV8" (fj80waitinforalsv8) 12/19/2013 at 12:00 • Filed to: CAFE

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http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commen…

The not so thinly veiled contempt that Mr. Becker exhibits for trucks and SUVs demonstrates a lack of knowledge of the auto market. SUVs and trucks have not shrunk in size because their size is directly related to their capabilities. While Mr. Becker wishes to believe you can tow a 4000 lbs boat with a Prius that simply isn't possible. Additionally, the "antiquated" technology that they use also happens to be more capable and more RELIABLE than the advance technologies (cough *hybrid pickup*) that I'm sure he envisions.

Lastly on his attack against the Big 3, their corporate averages are lower because they are full line manufacturers. Toyota and Nissan have a minuscule percentage of the truck and large SUV market and their share has shrunk over the last 5 years.

NaturallyAspirated > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 12/19/2013 at 14:21

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To play devil's advocate for a minute, I would say that the author has a point: many new SUVs and pickups are nearly indistinguishable technology-wise from a 20-year-old SUV or pickup. I've driven a 1988 Ford F-150 with the big straight 6 and stick shift, I've driven a similar era Ram 250, and one of my friends drives a mid-80's Ramcharger. When I look at a brand-new Ram 2500 pickup, I see that it has a solid front and rear axle, leaf springs in the rear, a big-block V8 engine, and gets around 17 MPG depending on which engine you pick. That to me sounds pretty old-school, technology-wise.

Now, I would posit that the technology on this new truck compared to an old truck is centered around emissions control. I believe that the new truck is certainly polluting an order of magnitude less than the old Ramcharger, with it's ancient 360 that barely passed emissions when it was new.

I hate that the author, like many people, has this idea that "technology" is some kind of silver bullet that can magically make any car get wonderful gas mileage. We have known how to get good fuel economy since the Honda CRX and Geo Metro - with lightweight cars and small engines. "Technology" can't circumvent the laws of physics, and we know (I can post the math if people are curious) that modern fuel-injected engines do a really excellent job of extracting energy from fuel. It's a fact that a big, heavy truck or SUV takes a lot of energy to get moving.

The truth is that people are buying vehicles with capabilities that they will never, ever use, either because they have been misinformed that it is "safer," or from an attitude of "well, if the in-laws visit, and if I also buy a boat, and need to tow the boat while giving a ride to the in-laws, then I'll be really glad that I have this crew-cab pickup truck" when in reality, a small hatchback or even a kei car would fit their needs much better and save them a tremendous amount of money both in purchase cost and TCO.