So the import automakers have finally accepted that the idea of 35 mpg Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards (up from 27 mpg, now) are here to stay. Good for them. Except that they want more time to do it. Right now the proposition is 35 mpg by 2020. If they can’t increase their average fuel economy by a meager 7 mpg in 12 years (!) through legislation, maybe the good ol’ invisible hand in which so much faith is placed will have something to do with it.

Right now, the trouble with CAFE is that it addresses the supply side of the equation, not the demand. It might force manufacturers to build more fuel efficient small cars, but while gas is cheap, everyone is still going to buy 12 mpg SUVs and family sedans with 300 hp V8s. What we need if we want to get things done, is to raise gas taxes. When gas is $6/gallon (or $2/L up here, whichever you prefer), people will be forced - if only by the pressure on their wallet - to stand up and think about their driving patterns. And when people argue that higher gas taxes will most seriously affect low income families and businesses, they’re probably right - so give them a tax cut, or a gas rebate. Or maybe even force them to re-evaluate how dependent they need to be on cars. Shocking.

Of course, it’ll never happen. If the auto lobby has been able to delay legislation for this long, there’s no way that we’d be able to make any headway against the oil lobby…