It was recently announced that the federal government is going to require that all US passenger vehicles be equipped with stability control as a standard feature. While I applaud ability for this innovation to increase the safety of vehicles, two things came immediately to mind…
One, this only makes the cars more resistant to becoming unstable. This in no way accounts for bad drivers which seem to be everywhere (especially in Florida and New Jersey).
And second, why not turn that power of vehicle standards to MPG ratings? They’ve done it before, why not now? Not only could this spur innovation (or just require companies to give us the cars they already sell in the rest of the world), but it could lower fuel costs from an increasing supply thanks to more efficient vehicles.
I guess everyone is happy with gas $0.50 cheaper than a few months ago…