TPT November 2007

From the AmericaS

– acknowledges that the sale of outmoded machinery and vehicles to poorer countries resists easy analysis. Few people, even economists and environmentalists, are willing to condemn countries with developing economies for seeking bargains in the machinery of production. Also, in many instances the ‘newer-old’ heavy equipment runs cleaner than the altogether antiquated original, and may even greatly exceed standards prevailing in the new locale. But the international trade in retired equipment and vehicles was estimated at $150 billion annually as long ago as 2003. The earth’s atmosphere is no doubt neutral on the subject. The question is whether the nations of the earth, advanced and developing, can afford the same lofty indifference. Automotive US drivers, who burn 385 million gallons of gasoline a day, turn toward cars offering greater fuel economy With fuel prices around $3 a gallon, many American car buyers are shifting toward smaller, more efficient models. By late summer, smaller cars had won market share from larger cars, and car-based sports utility vehicles (SUV’s) had taken share from larger trucks and pickups. Writing in the Detroit Free Press, Justin Hyde noted the extent to which that trend – supported by better technology

– is bringing about a ‘greener’ automotive industry. According to a federal estimate, the average fuel economy of new vehicles built in the US is very nearly at the highest level ever. Mr Hyde, a member of the Detroit paper’s Washington staff, said that auto makers and environmentalists are hailing a projected increase in fuel efficiency for 2007 model-year vehicles as a sign of progress toward reducing US dependence on foreign oil. But he also observed that the improvement could cause automakers some trouble by providing new ammunition to backers of tougher federal fuel economy standards (‘Vehicle fuel economy surges toward record,” 31 August). While the lawmakers will have to fight it out, the Union of Concerned Scientists claims that the American consumer has already cast a decisive vote against gas-guzzling cars. David Friedman, director of the group’s clean vehicles program, told Mr Hyde, “It’s clear consumers are feeling pressure of higher gas prices, global warming and oil insecurity, and making do with the choices they have.” On the basis of sales estimates from automakers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calculated that 2007 models, including both cars and light trucks, would average 26.4 miles per gallon, surpassing the previous peak of 26.2mpg in 1987. The increase of 1 mile per gallon (mpg), or 3.9 per cent, from the 2006 models follows two years of no change in the fleet average. The NHTSA says the average fuel economy in 2007 model-year cars is expected to rise by 1.2mpg to 31mpg, while the light truck average is expected to rise by 0.7mpg to 22.9mpg. Domestically

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N ovember /D ecember 2007