Honda has promised a new fuel efficient Accord, but not another hybrid.

Detroit has trouble building a safe car. Now the unions don't want one that is energy efficient--
Maybe they will pay the raised gas prices out of union dues....

It is time that J.Q. Public be made to sacrifice speed for economy by a Federally mandated maximum speed of 55 mph. Saves fuel, air polution, and lives now, not in 5 or 10 years. Little increase in vehicle price and a sudden reduction in gas prices.

Everything is still made of rusty steel, whY????? We produce over one billion tons of steel against only 30 million tons of aluminium worldwide. Steelworker unions are making aluminum too. Maybe they are making sure Alcoa , Alcan and others dont grow too fast and start taking business from steel companies. It is okay to build bridges , skyscrapers, rails, fences wtih steel. But it is no longer AOKAY to build cars, trains, trucks ,etc wtih rusty heavy steel. Our jets must use aluminum to jump into the air. They are not made of damn steel except landing gears which is alloy steel lightweight and strong and very expensive like hell. Aluminium is not really expensive but UAW dont want to be robbed of pension dollars so more aluminum can be put in cars and pickUps. we have aluminum engines now. This is not enough but we need to build more aluminum plants to supply enough aluminum to the voracious auto industry. There is one reason we are selling vinyl windows so to offset supply pressures on aluminum. That is nice but we need to proudce more aluminium maybe 100 or 200 million tons of aluminium annually. oh boy we have a bright future in aluminium!!!! Do you know that aluminium is superior in crashes than steel? Aluminium has an unique property that folds into accordion like crushes while steel crunk in one fold or two . aluminium is the wonder metal of 21st century. Hey Wagoneer use aluminium, fool! Start saving gasoline. Yeah put more aluminum into PickUPs!!!! those rednecks must learn to love aluminium1!! Steel sucks rust!!

What a load of baloney.

The American taxpayer is subsidizing Toyota.

YES THEY ARE!

Is it right?

Heck no!

Amerioan taxpayers subsidize directly through tax breaks extorted by the liars for their Tundra plant in Texas. And through the phony currency values that Japan is using to screw the American middle class.

You want energy solutions? Well why would any same person just flat out give them to a nation that will not participate in fair trade?

You want to blame somebody for the problems with fuel prices or do you want to fix the problem? Toyota will not and never will act in the best interest of the United States. Anybody that thinks they will is a complete moron.

Look at their nation. It is facing a population decline of 25% over the next 50 years. They are busy looting any nation that is stupid enough to fall for their lies to hedge this. They are buying the US and some people are stupid enough to sell.

I say tariif the bejezus out of them because they would and ARE doing the same to our goods.

Who's average fleet fuel economy ratings have gone down the most over the last five years?

Toyota.

In fact in larger vehicles, Toyotas traditionally get the worst ratings, for MPG and safety. Their new full size truck is the only one that does not get five stars in crash testing. THE ONLY ONE! GM, Ford, Dodge and Nissan all got five stars.

And just last week they anouced that the entire production of 5.7 liter Tundras is being recalled, all of them need to have new engines intstalled, 30,000 of them.

So why trust them?

Oh by the way, they are oppposed to CAFE increases too but they show their opposistion in different ways, they pay off "our" elected representatives. At least the American auto industry makes their case in public.

Bob Lutz said it best, there isn't a single auto engineer in congress, doubt there is an engineer in any capacity, how exactly can these politicians make decisions about how to build a car?

2020 dont get it,this should be imposed by 2012.There wont be any oil by 2020

Mike Rath - Safe cars? do you have your facts straight. Check them out, I don't have the time to do it for you.

Gumby - Steel consumption is rising because the number of cars made is rising. The amount of steel used today is greatly reduced compared to the past. Along with plastic, high density plastics and aluminum, the current vehicles are safe and efficient. Projects like ULSAB (ultra light steel auto body) have proven their weight against other materials in safety and weight.

CAFE regulations force automakers to make cars get better mileage. And they have to do it with current cars, because they have to do it fast, instead of spending necessary funds on new technology (hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric).

CAFE regulations are farce becuae they force automakers to ignore technology that may add extremely high gains in mileage for "sure thing" incremental gains.

The real problem is the idiots in Washington that are so lost that they "think" legislation will cause gains.

This is all a smokescreen to cover up the ineptness of congress. They spend so much time sniping each other that they neglect to work towards building and supporting structure that can provide replenishable energy. It is posible that ethanol could produced for sixty cents a gallon in the next two decades. Instead Pelosi is posing for media events and making an ass (an even bigger ass) out of herself. Of course between her and Bush, it's hard to decide which one is further disconnected from the public's best interest.

Aluminum substitution in body structures will allow people to have their cake and eat is too - same size vehicles but less emissions, better mpg. lightweighting vehicles can and do get the highest crash ratings - just ask Audi. perhaps the biggest, heaviest vehicles should be lightweighted first... this is where people want size the most and they will be coming in closer in mass compared to smaller cars on the road. simple physics though - lightweighting improves mpg, emissions, braking, acceleration, driving dynamics, etc. no other single attribute has such an across the board beneficial effect for vehicles as lightweighting.