Obama Admin. Fuel-Efficiency Rules Likely to Exempt Daimler, BMW

[Jeff]

"German luxury auto makers including BMW AG and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz are close to benefitting from a U.S. concession that will allow them and a few other foreign makers to keep selling cars that emit more greenhouse gases than those made by mass-market rivals such as General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.," according to this article in the Wall Street Journal.

Why?

"The German companies," which, according to the article, would not say whether they lobbied for the exemption, "say the U.S. rules are unfair, since as makers of sporty, powerful vehicles they cannot offset their most gas-guzzling models with smaller, more fuel-efficient models as easily as can high-volume car manufacturers with broader product ranges."

Logic: Because we only make fuel-inefficient cars, we should be exempted from fuel-efficiency standards.

This is nonsense. Whether or not you agree with the fuel-efficiency rules, I cannot see any thinking person not being appalled by the double standard applied to car manufacturers. Might it be that our leaders have a penchant for "sporty, power vehicles" made by BMW and Daimler and don't want to have to pay more for them?

If fuel-efficiency standards make sense, they make sense for EVERYONE.