COMMENTARY: The new golden age of the automobile is here
Flooring the accelerator of Donny Krieger’s ’69 SS Chevelle was one of the great thrills of my life. I was only 15 when I slammed the Chevelle’s four-speed Hurst shifter into second and stomped on the gas. Its monster 396 V-8 let out a nasty growl as the nose of the car jumped up and the tires screeched.
Big V-8s are in the news again.
The Trump administration recently eliminated large financial penalties on automakers for failure to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. Passed in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo, CAFE standards were designed to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by demanding better fuel economy.
But the unintended consequences of government meddling increased fuel consumption.
You see, cars had to hit tough miles-per-gallon targets, but light trucks — then a small category of pickups and work vans — faced looser standards. Crafty automakers simply replaced wood-paneled station wagons with comfy SUVs and trucks that delivered significantly worse mileage.
CAFE rules also forced automakers to focus so closely on avoiding financial penalties that innovations in safety, new designs and performance took the back seat. In the past few years, CAFE pressure accelerated the decline of V-8 engines that were among the most durable machines ever built.
That’s because the Obama administration set stringent mpg standards for 2025 that have made it almost impossible to keep naturally aspirated V-8s in production. Toyota retired its legendary V-8 in favor of a twin-turbo V-6 in 2022, but recalls and reports of turbocharger issues show how even Toyota — the gold standard for reliability — has struggled to meet the Obama-era standards. The elimination of CAFE penalties — which essentially makes CAFE standards moot — gives automakers some breathing room to bring V-8 reliability back.
Some critics warn that America is “going backward” on fuel economy. Other critics argue that CAFE regulations helped Elon Musk get Tesla off the ground because the company made $11 billion selling regulatory credits to automakers who couldn’t meet CAFE standards.
But don’t they prove that government created a bizarre, lucrative loophole that made credit trading more profitable than genuine innovation? Tesla’s breakthroughs came from consumer demand, incredible risk-taking and technology — not government meddling and fines.
The government needs to stop impeding automobile innovation, which is just shifting into high gear. Hybrid and EV sales are growing worldwide as costs plunge and ranges extend.
Both AI and increased computing power will give birth to technologies we can’t even imagine yet, from advanced hydrogen fuel cells to synthetic fuels and other clean power sources that could one day power cars far more cleanly and cheaply than today.
We are in the most exciting era of cars yet — in which anyone can choose to buy a bulletproof gas-powered V-8 or a compact hybrid that gets 50 mpg.
Cancer took my old friend Donny Krieger a decade ago. Were he still here, I’d rent a Tesla Model S Plaid and take him for a ride. That modern muscle machine goes 0 to 60 mph in under two seconds.
See Tom Purcell’s syndicated column, humor books and funny videos featuring his dog, Thurber, at TomPurcell.com. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com.