Trump Ditches 'Green New Scam' – Ford Predicts Cheaper Wheels Ahead

In 1975, the federal government, once more meddling in something the Constitution doesn't permit them to meddle in, established the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE standards. These standards set mandatory average gas mileage standards for auto manufacturers' fleets. These standards have been altered over the years, generally being raised, making life more and more difficult for auto builders. There are different standards for cars and trucks as well, which is in large part why the huge nine-seat station wagons of many of our youths have been replaced with SUVs, essentially the same thing on a truck chassis.

Now, as my colleague Becca Lower pointed out on Wednesday, President Trump is rolling back those standards, and at least one major auto industry CEO is pretty upbeat about the change.

The CEO of Ford Motor Co. is revved up for the Trump administration's plan to make automobiles affordable, as he expressed his praise for helping to bring car prices back down.
"What you should know is that this is a victory for affordability and common sense. As the president said, we will be able to offer more affordability on our popular models, and we'll be able to launch new vehicles built in America that are more affordable because of this rule change," Ford CEO Jim Farley said on "Fox & Friends" Thursday.
"Frankly, [the Corporate Average Fuel Economy] was totally out of touch with the market reality. We were forced to sell EVs and other vehicles. We're not going back to gas-guzzlers," he continued. "We have a lot of EVs and a lot of hybrids at Ford, but now customers get a chance to choose what they want, not by what we force on them."

As I've said thousands of times, it's not the government's role to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. Ford's CEO is correct to be enthusiastic about this order.

Look, American autos have come a long, long way since the late '60s and early '70s when many of us were toted around by parents, along with brothers and sisters, in something like the enormous Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon my aunt and uncle toted their family around in, or my Dad's big Ford LTD station wagon. The federal government really has no business interfering with gas mileage standards, but the 10th Amendment is pretty much a thing of the past, it seems.

But let's go back to the manufacturers and the market. Gas mileage can and should be a selling point. It speaks to efficiency, and it speaks to which model, which manufacturer's vehicles are the most economical to operate.

That should be a choice, a choice made by consumers, not government.

American-made vehicles have gotten steadily more sophisticated and efficient over the years. My massive F-350 turbo diesel appears (at least to me, who is anything but an automotive engineer) to be a technological masterpiece, and thanks to the efficient diesel engine and the aircraft aluminum body, this huge truck that could tow Mount Rushmore gets 20 mpg on the open road. And buying it was a choice, my choice, based on my wants and needs.

That's how it should be. Eliminating the CAFE standards would be preferable, but this is nonetheless a good move. Ford's CEO recognizes it as such. Now American buyers will have more freedom of choice, as is always the case when government gets its overwhelmingly heavy thumb off the scale.

Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.

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