Ex-Tesla VP Says Congress Should Tax Gas to $6 per Gallon

[The Grim Squeaker]

Daryl Siry says Congress needs to add huge taxes to fuel or drop CAFE standards

It wasn't so long ago that gas prices across the U.S. were skyrocketing and many states saw consumers paying upwards of $4 per gallon or more. As the economy in America and around the globe started to go south, many stopped driving as much, which sent the demand for oil plummeting and gas prices along with it.

Lower gas prices are great news for most Americans who can now pay less than half what it cost in the summer. At a time when budgets for most Americans are tighter than ever, gas prices hovering around $1.50 per gallon in most states is a great relief .

If you believe what former Tesla (the electric car company that famously fired employees via a blog post) VP Darryl Siry has to say, low gas prices are an abomination that needs to be stopped. Siry says that as long as gas prices are cheap, the average American consumer has no incentive to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Siry goes further and says that Congress should either tax fuel to $5 - $6 per gallon or abandon CAFE altogether. To say that statement is inflammatory to most Americans is an understatement. Siry believes that if fuel prices don’t rise, the extra cost of meeting CAFE is nothing more than a hindrance on the automotive industry that can't accomplish the goals of reducing fuel consumption.

Siry wrote in a blog post, "The solution is simple from an economics standpoint. Pass a gas tax to keep gas prices at a relatively high figure. Let's say $5-6, which is sacrilege in the US but still 30% cheaper than gas in Europe. Ever wonder why small, efficient cars are popular in Europe but not here? Look at the gas prices."

Simple, no shit statement. Chances of it being acted on, so that green subsidies are less needed and a host of America's issues are solved? Roughly that of an ethanol powered space shuttle taking off for the moon tommorow, piloted by Genetically modified pigs.

[Bounty]

For some nebulous reason many Americans refuse to believe you can get by with a 1200cc, 60Bhp, 50MPG car. The last time I tried asking why someone who commuted six miles over flat streets needed a five-litre V8 it had to do with overtaking, which apparently is some kind of magical act reserved for monstrously wasteful cars.

The big problem with this sort of tax is that right now, a huge number of Americans do have vehicles that use a lot of gasoline but don't have the means of replacing them with a newer, more efficient vehicle. Upping the tax to $6/gallon in one go is going to be a social massacre. This needed to be instituted gradually thirty years ago for a painless mindset shift to work..

[Stark]

As we all know, solutions that work for the rest of the world often don't work in America. Fundamental differences, you know. Safely drive with 100bhp?

[Ender]

If they want to give me a new car that doesn't use gas as well, sure. Otherwise fuck that.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

The last time I tried asking why someone who commuted six miles over flat streets needed a five-litre V8 it had to do with overtaking, which apparently is some kind of magical act reserved for monstrously wasteful cars.

I think it may have to do with the one out of every ten drivers who's a total bloodthirsty fucking asshole. You know the kind: they drive Penis Trucks with nineteen extra high-beams, 36" monster tires, and W'04 or McCain/Palin'08 bumper stickers at 120mph in a school zone. These fucktards especially love to drive 40 in the fast lane on the highway, then hit the gas and light their afterburners when you try to pass, forcing you to have to kick in your 'burners and redline your engine for all it's worth. They're also the same guys who get in your lane and lock their brakes hard as quickly as possible, thereby causing a nice little shockwave that can jam an entire freeway solid for hours. Yeah, it's an arms race on the American highway because we've all been cultured to be absolute dicks to one another if we can't see each other's faces, the exact same operating principle behind John Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory. And then there's the set of Cellphone Drivers who simply are completely _incapable_ of giving a fuck about the safety of others because they're too busy yapping about the most inane crap they can think of to their gossipy friends.

Keep in mind this isn't an argument for arming everyone on the road with 1:1 scale copies of the fucking Queen Mary II; if anything it's an argument for hard limits on maximum horsepower, say 30? Sure it'll take four days just to cross a state, but we all need to be taking the goddamn Train anyway!

[Sky Captain]

Sometimes I found it amusing how Americans complain about high gas prices when gas in US is nearly 2 times cheaper than in EU. Even now in my country gas is more expensive than it was in US during summer oil price record.

[Captain Seafort]

Tell me about it. Even the equivalent of $6/gallon would be pretty cheap compared this summer's prices over here.

[Stark]

On the flip side, petrol has dropped significantly in AU back down to where it was about the start of 2008... so now there are supply shortages.

This is the free market in action, obviously.

[Bilbo]

If this guy and his company cannot build a car that people in America want to own then why the fuck does it become the governments job to tax the American people until his car looks interesting?

Little bit of bias here. Maybe someone should fire this assfuck via a blog.

[Mr Bean]

If this guy and his company cannot build a car that people in America want to own then why the fuck does it become the governments job to tax the American people until his car looks interesting?

Little bit of bias here. Maybe someone should fire this assfuck via a blog.

You might have missed the "Ex" part in the OP, or maybe you don't know that "EX" means they already fired his ass. Excuse me he's an executive, unless he burned down the plant he's "off to pursue exciting new opportunities"

[J]

If this guy and his company cannot build a car that people in America want to own then why the fuck does it become the governments job to tax the American people until his car looks interesting?

Do your patriotic duty and shop! Buy a 3 ton truck or SUV, preferably both, support your Detroit automakers and their incompetant management and UAW leeches! Power be unto the free market!

By the way, Atlanta and a few other cities were completely out of gasoline this past fall, America can either adopt a sane energy policy or there will be a lot more shortages to come. The industry, the market, and consumers are too shortsighted to recognize these issues, so for the good of the country the government may have to jam the new policy down their throats by whatever means it deems necessary.

[Ender]

If this guy and his company cannot build a car that people in America want to own then why the fuck does it become the governments job to tax the American people until his car looks interesting?

Little bit of bias here. Maybe someone should fire this assfuck via a blog.

You might have missed the "Ex" part in the OP, or maybe you don't know that "EX" means they already fired his ass. Excuse me he's an executive, unless he burned down the plant he's "off to pursue exciting new opportunities"

No, I'm trying to find it now, but about a year ago a story broke about this fucker. He's a scam artist. He basically goes around, buys designs for electric cars, gets investment capital from green groups and activists, sells dealerships on orders, and then drives the company into the ground, making off with a lot of the cash through his "executive expense account". Rinse, repeat.

[MKSheppard]

Actually, the engine in the US Postal Service's LLVs is a inline four, and we still get a mighty 15 MPG average out of it.

[darkjedi521]

Actually, the engine in the US Postal Service's LLVs is a inline four, and we still get a mighty 15 MPG average out of it.

How much of that low mileage can be attributed to the stop and go driving and constant idling of a suburban route? I'm making the assumption the LLV refers to the trucks the make the residential deliveries.

[Bounty]

Actually, the engine in the US Postal Service's LLVs is a inline four, and we still get a mighty 15 MPG average out of it.

How much of that low mileage can be attributed to the stop and go driving and constant idling of a suburban route? I'm making the assumption the LLV refers to the trucks the make the residential deliveries.

An engine designed in 1977, mounted in a truck that's geared for stop-and-go driving, getting poor mileage? Colour me surprised

[FSTargetDrone]

I think it may have to do with the one out of every ten drivers who's a total bloodthirsty fucking asshole. You know the kind: they drive Penis Trucks with nineteen extra high-beams, 36" monster tires, and W'04 or McCain/Palin'08 bumper stickers at 120mph in a school zone.

On a slightly different angle, on Christmas Eve I was out shopping and saw this:



It's a big ol' Ford F- something-or-other Super Duty featuring a Pennsylvania "Wild Resources Conservation Fund License Plate" with a picture of a happy river otter on it.

You send Harrisburg $35.00 and they put $15.00 of that towards the Conservation Fund.

I suppose I should admire the sentiment of the owner of this truck, but there's something darkly humorous and ironic about he or she having a license plate like this on such a large, heavy and inefficient vehicle.

By the way, I'd hate to get in an accident with this truck. Its bumpers are just about level with the bottom of my Mini's windshield.

[Glocksman]

For what it's worth, my 1978 Olds Delta 88 5.7L Oldsmobile engined (not the Chevy 350) 4 bbl got 18 MPG in city driving by my calculations.
My current 1992 Olds Cutlass Ciera 3.3L FI gets the exact same MPG in city driving.

Granted, the newer car does better on the highway (31 mpg) with its 4 speed automatic, but I rarely do much highway driving.

As long as I kept my foot out of the 4bbl, I would have been just as well off mileage wise driving that old rear drive tank.

[Sephirius]

Simple, no shit statement. Chances of it being acted on, so that green subsidies are less needed and a host of America's issues are solved? Roughly that of an ethanol powered space shuttle taking off for the moon tommorow, piloted by Genetically modified pigs.

Sod off, the euros alternately love/loathe us for our cheap huge cars- small cars make work in Europe, but I bet they wouldn't buy one if they had a similar situation.

Let's put it this way: given large spaces for which to maneuver or park (North America), which would you rather have for the SAME amount of money - a Ford Fiesta or a Ford Mustang?
(Fiesta Zetec S = ~10 000 GBP + VAT, Base Mustang is about the same (~20 000USD to GBP), and better equipped and about 120BHP more powerful.)
Also keep in mind how large the rest of the cars around here are- an F150 would demolish most cars, let alone small euro ones in a crash.

So no thank you and no, Mr. "Environmentally-friendly-as-long-as-it-helps-my-portfolio" I think I'll keep my 5.7L Chevy V8 for some time, and I believe most people who are sensible and not knee-jerk-car-hating-vegans-who-don't-think-cars-should-be-anything-but-transportation would wish the same.

[Stark]

What a load of shit. 'Large spaces'? You mean 'really cheap gas' and 'car culture obsessed with displacement', right? Romanticising big blocks MAY - I say MAY - lead to a disregard for fuel usage.

It's fucking sad when people just rattle off some bullshit and say 'oh yeah I bet everyone wants a huge-block V8 like me'. That is relevant to the waste and economic factors... how?

[MKSheppard]

I suppose I should admire the sentiment of the owner of this truck, but there's something darkly humorous and ironic about he or she having a license plate like this on such a large, heavy and inefficient vehicle.

And how the christ is the guy supposed to get his boat or camping equipment deep within the wilderness without said vehicle? And no, I don't mean to the nice camping sites that are just off a nicely paved road for the day-trippers.

[Sephirius]

What a load of shit. 'Large spaces'? You mean 'really cheap gas' and 'car culture obsessed with displacement', right?

While the second and third come into it, don't disregard the first. You'd be hard pressed to maneuver a wider car around most of the UK, let alone some of the other places in Europe. I think it would be quite difficult to go from point A to B in London in a Corvette or a Viper, (Or a caddy or Buick) but they do just fine here. And they'd do just fine in Oz too so I don't even know what you're on about.

It's fucking sad when people just rattle off some bullshit and say 'oh yeah I bet everyone wants a huge-block V8 like me'. That is relevant to the waste and economic factors... how?

Who said I gave a shit about the waste and economic factors? I enjoy my car as a statement of who I am and I love it immensely- I was more on about people whinging on and on about "HOW COME AMERIKKKANZ HAET SMALL CARS?"
Also, my engine is a small block. Not a big or huge block. And it still gets a good 18/24+ MPG. A motor is mostly in how you drive it, not the displacement when it comes to fuel efficiency - as Glocksman already said. And I, like most of the North American population prefer a huge engine using not much of its potential rather than a small highly strung engine soaring through the rpms every time I leave a stoplight just to get up to 60kph.

[Stark]

LOL That's the funniest shit ever. Car parks big = buy giant car? I feel you may be getting this backward, buddy. I'm glad you gave me all that personal trivia about your car, though, that's totally relevant.

[Sephirius]

LOL That's the funniest shit ever. Car parks big = buy giant car? I feel you may be getting this backward, buddy. I'm glad you gave me all that personal trivia about your car, though, that's totally relevant.

Well hey, you're the one who said it was a HUGE BLOCK, I was just correcting you.

Oh and while we're on the subject, yes I'm aware that it may seem backward, but euro cars evolved out of a need to save space, whereas the North American designs were unfettered by such restrictions, and are more comfortable and better for it.

[MKSheppard]

LOL That's the funniest shit ever. Car parks big = buy giant car? I feel you may be getting this backward, buddy. I'm glad you gave me all that personal trivia about your car, though, that's totally relevant.

Hey stark, If your engine goes above 3-4 thousand RPM while doing everyday highway driving (60 MPH/ 97 KMH) you have an engine that's too small.

[Pablo Sanchez]

I think I'll keep my 5.7L Chevy V8 for some time, and I believe most people who are sensible and not knee-jerk-car-hating-vegans-who-don't-think-cars-should-be-anything-but-transportation would wish the same.

Just because you're such a sad wanker that you have to rely on your fucking car to make a statement about who you are, doesn't mean you have license to call people like me "vegans" just because we have the sense to base our self-image on better shit than automobiles.

That out of the way, I would say the main reason Americans have historically preferred large cars is that automobiles are approximately the most efficient way to travel between American cities (because our rail system is for shit), and these travels are going to be longer and more tedious, unless you're moving along the East Coast. Like if I'm in Paris and I want to ski (I like to ski) I can hit the Alps inside of six hours. If I'm in Chicago and I want to see some good slopes (that is, not the kind of bullshit they call ski resorts in Minnesota or Michigan) we're talking about 16+ hours, easily. Furthermore those six hours in France are a cakewalk with a village to stop and have a bite in every ten miles. Most of the 16+ are going to be spent in desolate country like Nebraska, which you can simulate by drawing a line on a bit of paper and having a look at it for 5-6 hours. Doing that in a small cabin, behind a relatively low horsepower four-cylinder engine, would be torturous (I've yet to drive a four cylinder that felt as smooth as a six cylinder at highway speeds; I can't imagine driving a vibrating car for 2/3s of a day running). Also, I don't know much about cars, but I doubt running an engine barely under the red line for 16 hours just to stay at interstate highway speeds is going to do it any good.