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Hey Dave! Hope you are doing well. University has been awesome. Learning quite a lot. I’ve been gathering more information so that hopefully I can ask you better question, haha.
I have a question for you. I have been learning about climate change. It’s quite a serious topic. And there’s much to do. But for starters, does larger and heavier vehicles like compact and large suvs generate more heat released into the air as a result of braking activities? If so, time to start putting some restrictions in place! What do you think?
Of course heavier cars dissipate more heat into the environment, but that heat energy comes from the fuel that was burned to get the vehicle up to speed. We can just think of this of the effect of vehicle weight on fuel economy. Heavier cars generally use more fuel. Fuel economy (also measured as CO2 emissions) is already regulated throughout the world.
Dave
Dave, can you clarify what you mean when you say fuel economy is already regulated?
My thinking is this, since suvs use more energy and release more Co2 into the atmosphere, why don’t the feds place a limit on how many suvs can be sold, or at least raise the price of suvs in order dissuade people from purchasing it. I know there’s a gas guzzler tax but it doesn’t seem to be working. Because I mean if the manufacturers stop making these suvs, people will have no choice but to buy smaller and more economical sedans.
Fuel economy is already mandated by law in most of the world. In the US is is called Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and will probably get more stringent in the next few years. By limiting the average (weighted by sales) fuel economy of every car manufacturer, they preserve freedom of choice to the public, while still forcing better fuel economy. In other countries the law is written in terms of CO2 emissions, which are directly proportional to fuel consumption. You can convert directly from MPG to grams of CO2/mile.
I tried to understand what you said, but I simply don’t have the background knowledge to comprehend in terms of the laws governing emissions which seems to be quite complicated and an entire subject of its own.
So I’ll just continue the theme of suvs and bigger cars. I’ve noticed that manufacturers are discontinuing a lot of their sedans offerings at an alarming rate all across the board. Whats your view on why manufacturers are taking this shift away from sedans to suvs?. I can name some of the obvious ones but wanted to see if there are other factors besides: higher ride, more weight for car to car crash safety, and extra room. Although this may be politically correct, I have a theory that as more women are taking higher positions within these companies, they are pushing their own agendas.
The reason why GM, Ford, and Stellantis have abandoned sedans in favor of SUV’s, CUV’s and trucks is that they are the most popular segments, and the sales of sedans and coupes has been falling for a while. The reasons seem to be primarily that trucks and SUV’s are trendy (no real logic to this trend) and that the public generally has little appreciation for the better driving characteristics of sedans and coupes over SUV’s and Trucks. Sedans and coupes handle better than big and heavy vehicles. The other reason is that the US automakers have not been competing very well with the foreign automakers (especially Toyota and Honda) in sedans and coupes. For GM, Ford and Stellantis, the SUV’s and trucks have been the most profitable vehicles.
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