He’s not doing Detroit a favor
Re “Detroit’s bullying angel is set to fight,” Aug. 11
As the author of California’s Clean Car regulations, I read this article with great interest. The fight by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) against raising corporate average fuel economy standards and preventing California and 13 other states from implementing cleaner-car requirements is counterproductive to preserving the long-term survival of the American automobile industry.
High gas prices, over-reliance on foreign oil and global warming are just three good reasons for Congress to approve a comprehensive and meaningful global warming bill this fall. A fourth reason is that the U.S. should become the home of more environmentally friendly and cleaner cars that will provide long-term, sustainable jobs. Delaying meaningful action, yet again, on the most important environmental and economic issue of the 21st century is not in the best interests of our country, the planet or the American automobile manufacturers.
Fran Pavley
Agoura Hills
The writer is a former member of the California Assembly.
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Dingell is actually enabling the executives of the auto companies to continue to hide their heads in the sand as they refuse to make decisions that would make American automobiles competitive. The result is the continual loss of jobs for American autoworkers.
I was born and raised in Michigan, and I have many relatives who worked their whole lives in the auto plants. The auto industry has been in decline for the last 30 years because of this type of backward thinking.
American cars need to be gas-efficient and emissions need to be cleaner. The American automobile industry falls further and further behind because auto executives have steadfastly refused to make the changes and innovations that foreign companies are willing to make.
No one is fooled by Dingell’s stance that only rewards the lobbyists, whose voices he is channeling like a lap puppet. If Dingell really has workers’ interests in mind, as he says, why then have auto jobs been declining in Michigan for nearly the entire period of his governmental service?
Carmen Reid
Santa Barbara
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It’s ironic that Dingell’s support of the Big Three automakers in the U.S. has actually exacerbated the industry’s decline. This chronic enabler has made the American auto industry less competitive, less efficient and less environmentally sensitive. The result is less market share and mediocrity.
Tom Johnson
Anaheim Hills
