Save The Environment, But Don’t Save Your Arse [Updated below]

As I was driving home from work yesterday, I watched as a long line of vehicles passed by me at a major intersection.  The reason this not-out-of-the-ordinary procession struck me as being of more than passing interest this time was that, amidst the group of SUVs, compact, mid-size, and luxury cars, was a Smart Car and it looked so fragile, small, and helpless when directly compared to all of the other vehicles, even the compacts.  This is the kind of car the Anti-President wants all of us to drive and will force all of us to drive, as John Hughes of BusinessWeek reports [tip of the fedora to Pat Austin for alerting me to this Doug Ross posting and to Mr. Ross for one of the pictures below]:

The Obama administration set the first national regulations targeting climate change, boosting U.S. automobile fuel-economy standards by about 30 percent.

The requirements were raised to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon for 2016 model-year cars and light trucks from 27.3 mpg in 2011. The final rule issued today will cost automakers $52 billion to comply and add $926 to the cost of buying a car within five years, according to government estimates.

Two points…

1) For now, the decision of driving one of these Smart Cars is voluntary.  I’m quite sure, without fear of reasonable refutation, that those people who choose to do so purchase one these vehicles because they want to help save the environment.  The problem is, in their zeal to help save the environment, they are not willing to help save their own asses:

Further, I have no problem with an adult individual deciding to risk their life for the sake of what they see as an important cause.  However, I think it criminal if they drive with any children in such an unsafe-at-any-speed car.

2) Regarding the actions taken by The Anti-President which will force all of us to drive such unsafe and horribly unattractive vehicles… This is just another attempt by this hater of all American tradition to deprive us of one of the great aspects of life in The United States: our love of the automobile and cruising down the open road.  I suppose this preening little ninny associates the American car culture with the clingers.  I know the jug-eared jerk wants to demoralize us.  Well, Mr. Smarty-Pants, you ain’t gettin’ your sissy hands on my car, ’cause I can’t drive at 55.

I’ll be at the Vanishing Point before you ever get me, you twinkle-toed nimrod.

UPDATE at 1911…

Lance Burri [the Evil Burri, not the Good Burri] has a very interesting theory on why they want us to drive ‘smart’.