Daimler/Chrysler fined $millions for violating CAFE Standards

[pwd72s]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/02/autos/cafe_fine_record/index.htm?section=money_mostpopular


(edit) My goof...Moderator, please move this to off topic...

[Moneyguy1]

I thought they had a cafe (or at least a cafeteria) in every major facility. What gives?

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Moneyguy1

I thought they had a cafe (or at least a cafeteria) in every major facility. What gives?

LOL! Corporate Average Fuel Economy...at least I thought that is what CAFE standards meant...

[Moneyguy1]

I figured we needed a little levity.....

[lendaddy]

Yea, lets regulate them out of business, that'll teach them....errrrr us

[jyl]

I understand that Michigan etc are losing auto jobs, but aren't the Southeast states gaining auto jobs? Not at a 1-for-1 rate, I imagine, but how much of the decline of the Big Three is offset by the rise of the imports' US operations?

[berettafan]

Originally Posted by lendaddy

Yea, lets regulate them out of business, that'll teach them....errrrr us

i'm sure this was not a surprise and was calculated in to the price of those cars.

[berettafan]

and $30m? if you want to create change you can get REAL with cafe standards, quit messing with this bs corn fuel and battery nonsense, and tell the lobbyists to take a hike. THEN you will see change.

$30m, that's probably the president's secretary's Christmas (err, holiday) bonus.

this is like putting a book in front of W, everybody knows it's just for show.

[oldE]

It's ironic that the European manufacturers, who meet client demands for fuel efficient cars on their home turf consider this a cost of doing business in the USA.

"Only European car companies, which mostly sell luxury and performance-oriented cars here, have had to pay such fines - and many do so routinely"

I realize tighter standards in 2007 led to almost no diesels being sold in the NA market, but there is some cool stuff in the pipeline, if we're smart enough to ask for it. The following is a quote from a test of the upcoming Audi A4 as reported in Canadiandriver.com

"In Europe, where the car has already been launched, buyers have a choice of five engines, two gasoline and three diesel. A 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine has 160 horsepower and a 3.2-litre gasoline V6 boasts 265 horsepower. The three oil-burners include a 3.0-litre TDI, a 2.7-litre TDI and a 2.0-litre TDI. Horsepower ratings are 240, 190 and 143 respectively. I managed to get one of the diesels to try - the 3.0-litre unit - and the amount of torque available when booting it out of a tight corner on a mountain road made it a more enjoyable drive than its nearest gasoline equivalent. The 3.0-litre TDI has a whopping 500 nm (369 ft-lb) of torque on tap and will tag the speedo at 100 km/h in just a shade over six seconds."

It will be interesting to see if these engines gain acceptance in North America.

Real life example: '06 Jetta TDI, (100 hp, 170 ft-lbs torque), mixed driving 5.6 liters/100 kilometers (about 50 mpg, I think). It would be lower on the highway, but I don't have the 6-speed gearbox. This engine is being replaced with the 2 liter mentioned above, 140 hp and 236 ft-lbs. The 6-speed will be standard equipment, with VWs 6-speed DSG as the optional gearbox.

Les