Can't have nice things

In memory of my 95 extended cab

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2 things:
The new truck has 4 doors. That's a crew cab.
Part of the reason for today's massive trucks is a change in CAFE regs starting in 2012 that bases fuel economy standards on vehicle footprint. It's easier to make a larger footprint than a more efficient vehicle.
- It’s ~~easier~~ more profitable to make ~~a larger footprint~~ the consumer buy a larger vehicle than a more efficient vehicle.
  Minor fixes, spot on otherwise.
- When a measure becomes a target it ceases to be a good measure.
- I can see how 2 can be gamed by car makers, but I don't know how I would fix it. Seems intuitive larger cars will use more fuel, e.g. can't use the same standards on 18 wheelers and sedans.
  Are there good alternatives? Is my intuition dead wrong
  
  Tax carbon, by raising gas tax. Let the market figure out the details. This lets the market optimize for efficiency instead of optimize towards defeating the entire point of regulation.
  
  hmmmm, this feels wrong, but off the top of my head i don't have many critics. but, like, what if the car makers just make very inefficient, but also very cheap cars? won't people buy that instead?
  
  Very inefficient cars would burn a ton of fuel and then consumers would be paying a fortune in fuel taxes.
  
  Depends on how high you make the tax, lower priced car might offset that.
  And gas tax also disproportionately affect the poorer population, for many of them cars are mandatory because of commuting, etc. And those who are well-off might just not care about the tax.
  
  That’s the case with all Pigouvian taxes.
  
  Pigouvian taxes
  oh i didn't even know there is a word for this class of taxes, thanks. i guess that's why it felt intuitively wrong to me even though i can't quite put my finger on it. maybe i just have a general aversion towards Pigouvian taxes.
  
  Shift the tax to vehicle weight with a separate scale for electric cars but don't have exceptions for commercial vehicles that could be used as private vehicles. For example, exempt cement trucks but not f350 dualies. It sucks that anyone with a legit business need for a f350 will get hit but that'll just be the cost of doing business.

147 comments