DANA POINT, Calif. — Have you driven a gas-guzzling planet-warming SUV lately? If so, it’s probably because gasoline prices have plunged in recent months and you’re more likely to trade up to a truck, Ford Motor Executive Chairman Bill Ford said Monday.
And he’s not happy about that.
“When gasoline went to $3.50 a gallon we saw a sea change in customer behavior,” Ford told Fortune Magazine managing editor Andy Serwer at Fortune’s Brainstorm Green conference in Orange County, Calif. “Now people are turning away from more fuel-efficient vehicles and taking the bigger vehicles.”
“I’ve been talking for five years now about the need for a gas tax,” he added. “We have to have some predictability on fuel pricing and that price signal has to be strong enough so customers” will continue buying smaller, fuel-efficient cars.” (Read more on Ford’s talk at Brainstorm Green.)
In other words, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM) and Chrysler won’t be able to kick their addiction to the profit margins that come from selling monster cars until consumers go cold turkey on cheap fuel.
Ford, who said he had been considered “something of a Bolshevik” in the auto industry for his early embrace of electric cars, said Detroit needs a floor under gasoline prices so it can make investments in alternative fuel vehicles.
“The worst thing for us is instability,” he said. “We need a much more stable planning horizon. That’s not just true for gasoline but for any fuel we use.”
Ford noted that when he joined the Ford board two decades ago he was told to stop “consorting” with suspected environmentalists. Times have changed in the car business.
“We haven’t had a lot of revolutions but boy are we now. I love it.”
Follow the Brainstorm: Green conference on Twitter at twitter.com/greenwombat and twitter.com/marcgunther.
Of course Bill Ford is for the gas tax. Ford is in a better position when it comes to hybrid vehicles compaired to the other two U.S. car manufacturers, so when the price of gasoline goes up, people will by more hybrid cars. Simple economics.
Bill.. go play hockey and please stay away from FMC. You always want to stick your finger in it when it’s getting good, and always mess it up when you do. Please BOD make Bill stay at home or go golfing.
We love Alan!
I love it! And the money should be used to expand, build, modernize and subsidize public transport for EVERYONE, like in Europe.
Yea, because price floors work. You need an economics class.
I agree with Ford; we need to change the signals we send to consumers. I drive a crew-cab dually and an M5, so it hurt when diesel went to $4.50 and premium to $4.00. However, if I new prices would stay high, I’d adjust and my next truck would probably be smaller. Likewise, the M isn’t practical at last year’s prices and I would consider something else. However, at $2.00 or less, I’m not going to buy a Prius, a Smart, or some other little “beep-beep”.
I hate the idea of a gas tax, but I hate sending petrol dollars to our emenies even more.
If you want people to but more fuel efficient cars then ditch the gas hogs and have Ford MAKE THEM!
Bill Ford is absolutely correct, and our national energy policy is not to have a policy. Congress does not have the courage to bring the SUVs under the CAFE standards because their constant campaign is funded by the oil industry. We need more fuel efficient automobiles and more alternative forms of energy. I may hate to pay the price at the pump, but I favor a gas tax providing Congress earmarks (bad choice of words) the funding to debt reduction and alternative energy R&D.
It is guys like Bill Ford that encourage this American to NOT by an american made vehicle!
We already have way too many taxes in this country. That only tax the working class. Yet another gasoline tax is meant to do the same. On another note car manufactures would love another fuel tax. It makes those of us who aren’t willing to stick it out buy yet another new car. Driving everyone further in debt. Our nation has the same problem. I’ve been driving my 91 Ford pick-up for over 12yrs and 285,000 miles. I’ll keep it because it still runs like a top and I don’t have a payment hanging over my head.
It’s not an “addiction to profit margins”, as you glibly claim, that drives Ford to offer big cars and trucks… it’s what consumer want to buy that drives the selection and production mix of vehicles.
Bill Ford’s point is that when gas is more expensive people want smaller cars. No matter what happens to gas prices, Ford can only stay in business when it provides the vehicles people want to buy.
Bill has millions of dollars and is willing to raise our taxes when many of us are on a tight budget even while we drive fuel efficient cars.
Has no one considered the true effect of $4 gallon gas and diesel on our economy? Do we think we are in the current state of affairs soley because of the sub-prime melt down? Why do they think so many people cut spending which led to the slow down? Maybe because they were spending it all as the pump? Jacking up the price on gas will just sap what little bit of recovery we’ve got going now.
We need a policy where alternatives are truly competitive. Handicapping existing sources just to make alternatives seem competitive is not a winning idea.
Bill F hasn’t bought a gallon of gas in……..forever. While do the spoiled kids that can’t run a business always tell us what to do. Stay with the Lions and make it a perfect 0-32 after 2009.
I agree Bill. The last thing we need is another tax.
Hmmmmmmm.Has Mr.Ford seen the prices of his company’s hybrids – not exactly consumer friendly.I would love to buy a small fuel efficient car and maybe even the Ford Fusion hybrid but the price is outrageous.I’m sure the public would buy hybrids in droves if the car companies would bite the bullet now meaning sacrifice on price now for customer loyalty later. Regular gas is at a decent price now approx $2.10 and hybrids are priced rather high- when the price of gas goes up,and it will,hybrid prices will go thru the roof and demand will be sited.
Regardless of whether bailout money was taken – car companies shouldn’t preach the ‘Buy American’ slogan if they’re not willing to be American -hearts first pockets second.
Sure he did 🙂 what he’s saying if anyone can read between the lines is – You forced us to lose money because of this fabricated energy crisis that jacked up gas prices until people were affraid to buy our trucks and bigger cars SO we re-tooled and stopped everything else so that we could concentrate on small cars and BANG now oil dropped off the map and now we need to be repaid for our time lost. If a gas tax is the only way to push that then Mr. Ford is for it.
Wake up people! Your already being taxed out the whazoo for gas, oil is 1/3 the highest price last summer but your still paying over 1/2 the highest price it hit. Your getting bashed. Who’s pocketing that money? Mr. O already said he cannot push his energy plan with gas below $2 per gallon, he made that comment on air when gas was $1.40-1.45 BANG, within 2 months it’s at $2.00 a gallon even when everyones reserves are flowing over and production has cut back.
Better wake up – People depend on your ignorance to push all agenda’s.
Ouch Mr. Ford, sounds like we’re being held hostage to buy your smaller, fuel-efficient cars/hybrids. If it’s not the oil companies it’ll be the car companies?
I hope Billy-Boy is talking of a tax which is only imposed on the drivers of gas guzzlers. I hate to think that the same tax would be levied on the non-gas guzzlers since that would kind of defeat the main goal.
Bill… There are already substantial gasoline taxes imposed by both the Federal and state governments.
First they need to engineer more fuel efficient vehicles. The ranger small pickup in the 4 wheel drive version gets almost the same fuel mileage as an F-150 with the 5.4 liter V-8. They keep killing small fuel efficient diesels and other engines as not profitable. The man needs to rethink his way of doing things. We also don’t need another tax that the government will spend frivously.
How is making us pay more gas tax ever a good thing? Ford is an absolute idiot for thinking and saying this. I agree with Gary from Royal Oak. Good old Billy hasn’t bought a single ounce of gas using his own money. If he and the company he chairs had any sense, they would have had a line of fuel efficient vehicles all along. Instead, they let greed stand in the way of good business practices. Take a lesson from Toyota and Honda you idiot Ford…and send me your credit card so I can start buying my gas with your money.
Geez,I’ll need a small mortgage to buy one of Ford’s fuel efficient small cars/hybrids.
Hmmmm,maybe that will be the new Wall Street derivative – mortgage backed cars.
Now that Ford is making Flex & HYbrid vehicles in this country. The USA needs a real world gas price som Americans won’t forget that REALITY is just around the corner. Mr. Obama didn’t forget, he bought a Ford Escape Hybrid BEFORE becoming President. Too band the Presidential cars are basically Cadillac Trucks/Limos.
Well , other then him the rest of his staff do they need big Limos too or could we be better served by having them show the example & drive Alternative fuel/hybrid vehicles too?
The USA as a nation needs to change this time & prepare for a reduced energy supply of cheap fuel. I applaud Mr. Ford’s sentiment & honesty. Now tell FMC to stop making them Ford GT’s
that only get 5MPG and are 600BHP
I bought a new Ford Focus 2 months ago, it get nearly 40 miles per gallon on the highway and about 30 in town. All this great mileage for less than $12,000 out the door.
attn ed from long island, the price from ford for the fusion hybrid will be the same regardless of demand. that being said dealerships may try to jack them up. as a matter of fact i am the current general manager of a ford store and you dont know how many times in a day that i hear about 3 and 4 grand over sticker for a hybrid from other dealers. i for one wont do it. also 29 grand base msrp for a hybrid is pretty darned cheap considering the 6 or 7 grand tax credit you will get from uncle sam for buying a hybrid. that makes the car roughly 22-23 grand which by the way is only around a 1500 premium over a gas powered fusion. when you couple that with significantly better city fuel economy you will save the money back within two years and lets face it most people do the large portion of their driving in the city and not on the open road.
So Bill Ford wants a gas tax! I don’t hear the CEO’s of Honda or Toyota call for one. Ford says he wants gas price predictability so car companies can plan their path forward. Yet, CEO’s are supposed to chart the future with some vision, like those who did at Honda or Toyota. No Bill, I will never buy a ford now!
I’m sorry, Mr. Wombat. Bill Ford has earned no credibility on this topic. Zero. Zip. It is true that he was talking up green since 2000 or so, at the same time that he was CEO (and chairman) of Ford. During his tenure, it was “do as I say, not as I do,” as Ford continued to churn out more low-mileage SUVs (anyone remember the Excursion?), and do nothing to design or produce more environmentally friendly cars. He is the worst kind of environmentalist, one who speaks out of one side of his mouth, and delivers the exact opposite out of the other.
I purchased a large amount of shares in this company because I thought they were the leaders in this industry. This kind of thinking doesn’t promote ingenuity and leadership. It’s the same old way of doing business that put the auto industry in the mess they are in now. You can have more than one market to sell to. I am a family man. I need an SUV to haul stuff, and an efficient car to run the long distance to work. Wouldn’t it be great if every business was able to use the gov’t force consumers to buy the only product you want to produce. What an idiot. Get this guy off the board.
Its funny how the government makes it seem like they are taxing us to help us kick a bad habit, but they know it would be cheaper for people to pay a gas tax than to buy a fuel efficient vehicle. What if the tax is imposed on the people who actually buy SUVs and other gas guzzlers instead of everyone. People should pay an extra tax on their vehicle at the time of purchase if they are considered gas guzzlers. The government handles things the way my grade school teacher did, punish everyone for the misconduct of a few.
What happens when gas goes up again? We know it will. Shame on Ford!!
Thanks Mr. Ford,
I’ve been waiting 40 years for this. The world works like this. Europe has high gas taxes AND A PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM 10 TIMES BETTER. Chicago’s Elevated / subway trains jostle you around like am old stage coach on a rutted dirt road.
Besides that, our energy dollars go to nations that are funding Madrasahs, which are teaching millions of youths to hate the USA. These suicide bombers have cost us and will cost us a lot more than a gas tax.
To all of you that say “no” to a gas tax I say “wake up”…. now “is” the time for a gas tax.
Bill Clinton should have taxed us back in the 90’s and we would not be in the Gas Guzzler situation we are in now. During his administration we had gas down to 99 cents a gallon.
Just like the Patriotic “Bond drives” of the 1940’s, we need a Gas Tax of about $1 a gallon for one year. It ($3.20 a gallon gas) would have minimum impact on everyone for a year. Rich or poor.
We consume 375,000,000 gallons of gas PER DAY. $375,000,000 additional a day in to the coffers would pay off a lot in 365 days. What would that come to???? $137 Billion?
I am retired and I have an $1800 a month income. I am ready for the tax.
Liberty Gas Tax !!…
It’s a big “sandwich” and we all need to take a bite. If you are not interested in taking your bite… leave for about a year. I hear Venezuela has cheap gas… wanna go there?
If I read the article correctly, we NEED a gas tax so Ford can sell smaller cars. The idea of a gas tax so we can sell smaller cars for one company sickens me. My wife and I both have a Jeep and if and when we decide to trade for a car, IT WON’T BE A FORD.
Bill Ford is RIGHT. Yes I said it, he’s right.
I am a mechanical engineer by trade, and a gearhead at heart. I drive a 15mpg ’94 Ford Lightning and a 26mpg ’04 Mustang, and I drive them even more when gas is cheap.
But the fact is that there is a limited supply of oil in this planet, and we are consuming too much of it. When fuel is cheap, there is no incentive to build more fuel efficient vehicles or research more alternative transporation technology. Why? Because of us! Lazy, cheap Americans.
At some point our consumption will out-pace supply and we’ll be back at $4 (moer likely $6 or $7) per gallon fuel…and everyone will be complaining about the car manufacturers, oil companies, and politicians. But the truth is that we’re the ones who will buy cheap trucks all day long over expensive smaller cars that get great mileage.
A gas tax that is used to fund alternative fuel research and highway infrastructure will discourage us from purchasing as much fuel while allowing oil and car companies to plan for the future. It will also allow us to improve our own country instead of contributing to the Dubai building fund, and lots of countries that would love to see the U.S. smoldering.
Now, if we could only prevent Obama from bailing out every mis-managed company and acutally use the money for what it’s intended purpose…
Gas hit $4 per gallon and I purchased a hybrid, 48 miles per gallon. Oil prices have dropped and guess what, most of the United States has stopped producing oil as there is no profit. I will never purchase an American made vehicle again and my next vehicle will be electric.
To some level Mr. Ford is correct. Money drives behavior and the cheap fuel we have shows this clearly. the the commens about the Eexcursion, I counter in that they put in a diesel and that massive vehicle got about 20 mpg. Stop looking at the press releases and do your own research on mileage. Some of the best vehicles come from the US. I drive less than 4 miles (round trip) to my office, so driving mileage doesn’t make much of a difference. Half of the trip time is generally idling at a stoplight. Lets get rid of left-hand turn lights we I bet we would save a few million gallons per day!
While I’m all for fuel efficient vehicles, I wish that more Americans could recognize the significant variety of living and driving conditions experienced in different corners of our country. Small, fuel efficient cars may make a lot of sense in places like Southern California. But I’d like to see someone spend a winter living on my rural Indiana road while trying to get through snow in a Prius. Without 4WD, you simply can’t go anywhere. No wonder everyone has a Silverado.
Most people seem to be against a gas tax. Personally I would like to know where you think taxes are going to be raised to afford all of the new junk that the government is paying for? A gas tax would at least be a boon to many of the new companies that focus on full electric and other alternative means of fueling vehicles. We can fuel a car for the equivalent of $.04 a gallon off the electric grid. Why not give people more incentive to want greener cars? A gas tax is not going to be the end of the world, only a realization that we have had cheap gas for a long time but with rising global demand for gas, this low gas price will not last.
I’m all for environmental friendly and reducing our energy dependent to oil rich countries. However, the gas tax is a wrong approach since it will also penalize to small cars consumers. Why not have car tax base on size of the engine? Let say if engine is 3.5L or more, then we should or should not add 3-5% tax on ticket price? Sort of like luxury tax of sort?
I got an idea. Lets just do away with the free market so that whoever has an issue we can address it right away without waiting for the free market. I can quit my job too and collect so I can hang out all day and smoke and drink, how cool. Heck I could even imagine cars and stuff being a thing of the past in the non-free market society which I am very much in favor of. I know to some this sounds harsh but from what I read it sounds like the thing to do and plus I don’t want to work anymore, its over rated anyway. And another thing Bill Ford doesn’t care because he collects off of great granpa’s fortune. People, I want a fortune to live off of as well and the U.S. government has endless amounts of cash to support our non-free market victim society. And for the last 200 years we thought free markets were the reason for our success. Come on people 200 years to the last 8, I will go with the 8 and forget the last 200, they were just 200 dark years of hell for the U.S. Now we see the light after all these years.
Not sure I understand this rationale. There is nothing preventing Ford, GM or Chrysler from stopping design efforts on SUV’s and other gas-guzzling vehicles. Why do they need a gas tax for this? If they don’t make SUV’s, obviously people won’t buy them anymore.
It’s nice to read comments like Blake’s (April 21, 3009 1:12 pm) and Tom’s (same day, but at 1:07 pm), but very discouraging to read comments like the one sandwiched in between them (by T.B.). I believe, unfortunately, that the maajority of car buyers have T.B.’s mentality right now. That’s what needs to change.
Have we not noticed that when gas hits $4 a gallon the news is full of stories of hybrids and small cars? But when it falls to $2, the stories fade, people start to forget, attitudes change, and we consumers start buying bigger and more powerful cars/trucks again. Look at the sales data over the last few years for verification. All car companies want to make cars that people buy. They don’t make cars that people “should” buy (whatever that may mean). Remember, the Toyota Prius is only a fraction of Toyota sales, and its sales have fallen since the price of gas has fallen. Few people wanted a little econobox when gas was $1.50 gallon. Within 2 months of gas skyrocketing, everyone wanted a small, efficient car, and the Prius got all kinds of good news coverage.
My point is that unless we (the American consumer) feel some “pain” at the pumps, we are not going to all buy little cars just to be green, whether or not we wish that was true. Who will pay $5000-$8000 more for a hybrid when you will only save a few hundred a year in gas? Some will… most will not. Will you if you save a few thousand? Yep! Remember, oil money flows into the middle east at an alarming rate, and the suppliers know the price point to keep us hooked and keep us from investing in alternative energies. Think of it as a drug supplier and user. We’re hooked. And only if we feel pain will we have a chance of breaking this bondage. “Hoping” that we “do the right thing” is a child’s dream. Let’s grow up, take some pain (we can debate how much pain we can take, perhaps several smaller steps over time) and put pressure on ourselves to ween off the middle east.
Arguing whether or not Bill Ford is privileged (he is) is irrelevant. His point is that unless we the consumer “demand” that we get off oil, we won’t. The only way we will “demand” it, is if we (you and I) feel it in our pocketbooks. Demand will drive supply. Simple economics. Think of it this way. If we wanted everyone in the country to drive big huge SUVs, how would you get them to buy them? By telling consumers that they should?? No. Do it by creating an environment that drives them to make that purchase. I’m a fiscal conservative, so I hate taxes as much as the next guy, but if we intend to make a dramatic change in our consumption of oil, this is the way.
Thank you Mr. Ford! Not only will this help improve predictability in resource planning for the Big 3, but it’ll provide a floor so we won’t have any more “Gas Guzzler” bubbles anymore. This country really needs to start acting on large, systemic changes to energy policy if we want to conserve our resources, rid ourselves from the influence of foreign oil, and (for all you believers out there) save ourselves from massive climatic shifting. Not to mention a large influx of money into a government that desperately needs it right now. Everything about a gas-tax is beneficial in the long-term.
Ain’t America great? We buy what we want and Bill Ford nor this government is going to bully America into buying something not everybody wants. If you want to drive an electric tin box, fine that is your right. But, don’t tell me I have to drive it. It’s called freedom folks, wake up!
Why do people think that only gas guzzlers should pay a tax. If you own a car that gets extremely high mpg then you only fill your car up occasionally. You pay very little tax in one year. People driving big trucks filling up every other day however will pay much more into this fund. Everyone pays for what they use… If you truly want to be ECO friendly then walk to work, don’t use any gas, move in with your in-laws to reduce consumption of fuel in your home, and convert your home to run entirely on wind, solar, etc.
Progressive answer to everything, taxes! What have the taxes done so far, bigger government, rotting infrastructure and corruption. No Thanks!
If it weren’t political suicide to enact a gas tax, Washington would’ve done it years ago (Bush kept taxes low to appease his GOP base, not because it was logical or good for the economy). A gas tax is the simplest solution to our problems in Detroit, our irresponsible use of natural resources, and our disproportionately high emittance of polution.
It’s not surprising to read these comments – it’s hard to justify paying even more for a fuel we’ve taken for granted for so long. But if you think about it, the reasons other companies have succeeded in producing high mpg vehicles is the substantially higher costs of fuel in other countries. In Europe, for example, gasoline costs roughly 4 times more than it does in the US. Companies competing in that market (in which Detroit arguably does not) were forced by market conditions to produce more efficient cars. In the US, a gallon of gasoline sold for under a dollar up until about a decade ago, roughly the amount of time it would’ve taken to develop and build a hybrid car. Based on the way our capital system works, the companies would have been punished (through the stock market) for investing in fuel efficient cars and forgoing the easy profits of the day. Thus it is the government’s responsibility to guide corporate America to do “right.” If our government had imposed a gas tax, the price of gas would have steadily climbed over the years, incentivizing both manufacturers and consumers to produce and purchase more efficient automobiles.
When gasoline hits $4 a gallon again there will be fewer gas-guzzling cars, more fuel efficient vehicles, and shorter commutes (not to mention more use of public transportation). A gas tax would very quickly and predictably accomplish the same goal.
Sorry, one thing I left out of my rant… the tax should probably be at the state level. The states need the extra funding for road construction and such. Keep the funds local (state level), we don’t need to send the money to DC and have them spend it on… who knows what.
One more point… by taxing gas, the people that are using the highways more are paying more for their upkeep than others. Sounds fair to me. If I drive 100 miles per day, then I pay more to keep up the roads than someone driving 4 miles round trip.
I also use a fuel friendly car for my daily transportation, but do have an F350 for hauling stuff and recreational use. In addition, I carpool with 2 other people, thus driving the 45 mile round trip to work only 1 out of 3 weeks. I’m doing my part to conserve and don’t need to be hit by MORE TAXES that are misused by our Gov’t!! Besides, I haven’t seen or heard of a hybrid or electric vehicle yet that makes economic sense to own. Battery replacement is extremely expensive and they are very eco-unfriendly.
How can anyone seriously believe that if the Government levies another new tax that it would actually be spent on it’s intended purpose? They are so far in the hole that any new money will be allocated elsewhere just like it is in every state that starts lotteries. Wants and needs are never ending, so some new emergency comes along and instead of state parks and grren spaces, you get more money down a rate hole sent to mis-managed banks and car companies, etc. Sheeple can’t think for themselves.
The market is predictable, people want a safe fuel efficient car or truck.
I’ve had more problems with Fords over the years than any other manufacturer, if Ford wants more predictability in the market, sell a car that runs. Keep your tax and your Ford vehicles I wont buy another Ford ever again.
All of you should stop dictating how others should live. All you little hitlers should remember that we live in a free republic and I want to keep it that way. Most every eco-nazi I have met is a hypocrit anyway. You all talk a good game about green this and green that but I bet you all have mobile phones, cars, tvs, homes, more than one pair of clothes etc. Anyone of you can be totally green at any time. Just turn everything off, sit down, don’t eat or drink anything and go totally green. I for one am going to drive what I want to drive and will embrace new technologies to help us save energy in the long run.
And NO MORE TAXES. If you want to see how poor people live, just go live in a socialist society, most everyone is poor no matter how much they make.
I agree this is America with free rights. I would buy a hybrid if I did not have to a fortune for a battery. And have to be squeezed, and I mean squeezed into a small car. I think I have the right to my SUV. I take you to the article that appeared on MSN recently were the insurance institute for safety looked at these small cars when they were crash tested against other cars that were larger (ie pruis against camry), guess what they tested poorly. And the smart car the body dummy was thrown around with significant body damage. This is the very reason I buy my SUV. Also the very reason my family member is alive today because they were in a honda pilot that SAVED HER LIFE!!!!!! I have significant injuries from a car accident from a small car years ago. I also like my SUV for travel, giving my animals a place to lay when traveling, ease of getting things in and out. Getting my elderly parents in and out of the back seat. There is alot of thought that went into my decision to buy an SUV. And I have chosen to live with the grummy gas mileage as a trade off. And THAT IS MY DECISION. I should not have to give those things up because car makers can not seem to be able to make larger cars AND SUVs with gas saving technologies. The hybrid Tahoe only gets 20 mpg. I chose not to buy it because it was not a trade off for the extra expense in price and then the expensive battery that is not covered under the warranty. Since when did this stop being America and government oversight mandate the kind of car that a drive or force me into submission by taxing me to death.
To Joe in New York. You must be a liberal as your (Yes, a tax is the answer) speaks volumes. So typical
NOTHING WILL CHANGE WITH ANOTHER GASOLINE TAX.THE RICH WILL GET RICHER AND THE POOR WILL GET POORER AND AFTER A FEW MONTHS WE WON’T NOTICE AND THAT IS WHAT THEY EXPECT.
Ford along with the other big 2 should have started years ago like Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, in investing in fuel efficent vehicles. If that would have happened, they probably wouldn’t be in the situation they are in. For the past few decades, they have been making gas guzzling junk using the cheapest materials in order to make a big profit for executives and shareholders. The last thing the American people need is another TAX.
That righ, tax us in to buying something we don’t want because you can’t make a bigger SUV thta get goog gas mailage.
This whole “green” thing is getting pretty rediculous. Do you really want to go green, turn your thermostat to 67 degrees in winter and 80 degrees in the summer, throw out the blow drier, wash your clothes by hand and hand them out to dry, burn one light per room at night, throw out the video games and the DVD, turn off the TV, don’t water your lawn your well pump needs electricy and you are wasting water, get rid of your car so you no longer have to by gas, wash it, change the oil and buy tires, stop taking yur clothes to the cleaners (chemicals & electricity), stop buying some many prescription drugs (it takes energy to produce them and the drug companies dispose of their chemical in the rivers and bays).
Get serious people, the only people that know how to do all of the above are the Amish. They use no electricy, no gasoline, they till their fields with horse drqwn plows and by hand, they wash their clothes by hand and hang them out to dry, they do not have TV’s, Video Games or DVD’s. The Amish have been in our country for many many years, raising families and enjoying a good family life. They choose not to be dependant on “non-green stuff”.
This planet is moving towards another ice age3 due to climate shifts. This planet has been though one before and mankind survived. Many of us will survive the next one. Our planet cannot continue to absorb the population growth we are putting it through. Nature has it’s ways of purging out what is not good. Look at the weather, rain cleans the air and fetilizes the earth, trees clean the air of carbon dioxide, snow cleans the air and saturated the earth with moisture, fire cleans out old growth treas and plants only for new growth to take its place. It’s the natural order of things.
We do have a responsibility to be good stewarts of the earth while we are here. We need to minimize out footsteps but we can never erase them. Let’s stop all this riduculous chatter about gas tax, price per gallon and focus on controlling our own American Destiny by being self sufficient like the Amish. We have the resources, we have the science, we have the wealth, and we have the American working spirit and ambition. Forget about raising taxes, Chinese Batteries, Middle East Oil, we have everything right here in our country to take us to the future.
While I completely agree with GQ on the government’s ability to wisely use the tax money (Personally, I think State could do a better job than Federal), I’m not sure what the alternative is. What steps should be taken instead? Do nothing (failure)? “Tell” people what to buy (failure.. this still is the USA, right?)?
If we do not begin to set up an environment that promotes alternative energy over oil from the middle east… then… what? If we do nothing, then we continue to be at the mercy of our drug (ie: oil) supplier until we have spent all that we have. The price will always remain at a point where it is not economically feasible to drill our own oil at the quantities needed…. our suppliers will see to that.
If we set up an environment promoting alternative solutions, then the combined brainpower of this nation will focus on the problem and come up with a solution. We always do. Look at the attention and investment it got for a few months when gas was $4 gallon. And look how fast the investment money dried up when gas hit $2 a gallon. But, we only research and invest that when there is a financial benefit. That’s the marketplace.
So, besides telling people what they should do (use less, invest in alternative energy), how do we get them to do it?
Gas taxes penalize everyone, even the people who drive small fuel efficient vehicles. Ban all SUVs in the US and make the auto manufacturers build cars and trucks that meet mileage standards. Look at what the UK is doing. American auto makers are a joke.
all the people who are complaining would really throw a temper tantrum if they taxed gas at a rate high enough to pay for all the roads…..
We Americans are accustomed to the look and feel of larger cars. Here is a novel idea, how about making a fuel efficient large car or truck? My 1997 Pontiac Sunfire had a 190HP 4 cylinder engine. With some transmission tweaks and a redesign, that same 4 cylinder motor should be about to output 220HP and give the same power and feel of a larger engine.
I know we all like the sound of a V-8 or V-6, but maybe a fair portion of people would like a hefty V-4!
All Bill Ford wants is for the price of gas to remain relatively stable. Within a year we have gone from $4 gas to $1.50 gas. At one end everyone wanted to buy a more efficient car, at the other end, everyone wanted to buy a large vehicle.
A gas tax is a way to keep prices at one end of the spectrum. This is, however, not good for consumers because we get to pay more for the car companies to have stability. What stability does that create for us? Lets see… They will likely then begin to charge us the SUV price for the econobox, to raise profit margin; we will also get to pay more tax that gets used to pad the govt’s wallet; etc. So the stable part for us is that we get to pay more… No thanks.
Way to go, Bill! Yes, America desperately needs a gas tax. Without it we are going to bump along from one oil price/supply crisis to another, and policy forged in crisis is seldom good policy. (Anyone remember the Patriot Act?)
This is the true answer to encouraging people to drive more efficient cars.
CAFE standards are horses**t. There’s just no logical reason why a company shouldn’t be allowed to specialize in trucks or sports cars that happen to get less than 30 mpg.
Sadly, no politician would ever vote for a gas tax hike since it is political suicide. We will be stuck with ridiculously inefficient programs such as CAFE for a long time.
After reading Bill ford comment that new Ford that I was going to buy will be Toyota
It’s refreshing to see someone who actually has a brain, a conscience, and a lot of gumption to chart their own coursre at the head of one of the big auto companies. If America doesn’t stop driving gas-guzzling vehicles and reduce our dependence on foreign oil we will literally drive ourselves into the ground. A gas tax is the perfect solution – those who use the most gas pay the most tax. The gas tax could help0 reduce the deficit and put into research into alternative vehicles and transportation, and help offset the enormous sums of money we are paying to defend our oil interests across the world. We should also progressively tax the big oil companies, since they’re the ones riding on the backs of Americans and who could give a darn about the environment and reducing gas consumption. So while America goes into further debt, the oil companies get richer, while the auto companies keep pushing large cars and not enough electric and alternative cars.
I wouldn’t mind seeing gas prices doubled gradually over several years. You can’t do it all at once, otherwise you’ll choke the economy, and giving it several years will give fair warning to the automakers to get their act together on developing better cars.
BK in Toledo must be the smartest person in the world, by stating the market is predictable…idiot. Use your wisdom to solve the high unemployment rate in Ohio.
This sounds like yet another idea that is so brilliant it is stupid. Exactly how do they think this would effect those who are already cash strapped and whose only means of taking a trip is by driving there. These of course are the very same people who can least afford to run out and buy a brand new pricey car that has high fuel mileage. And I don’t want to hear about some brilliant program that gives the lower income people a break from paying yet another tax while someone who doesn’t make significantly more then they do has to continue to pay the tax. I am sick of tired of not being able to cool my house without having to pay through the nose and subsidize others because I keep going over the ridiculously low levels of electricty and gas usage that somehow constitute the average usage.
Why do American Car companies need a much more stable planning horizon? Isn’t that what free capitalism exactly against. Why should we need to pay higher taxes for them to make a profit? If forgeign companies can make better product and profits, you need to consider what American companies are doing wrong.
WONDER WHY FORD CAN’T MAKE A PROFIT OR THE LIONS WIN A GAME.
Anyone thinking of raising gas prices at this time when the country is in a severe recession is nothing but a moron. It will only make the economy worse. People need the extra money to help get the economy going, not the oil companies.
Tax oil imports, NOT gas… it’s effectively the same thing, with one difference, raise the price of imports and you support the domestic oil industry.
You can’t just urge people to drive fuel efficient cars, the automakers sell what customers will buy. Tax oil imports to drive oil back to $75/barrel, which makes domestic oil production viable.
We need to import less oil for national security and national economic reasons, because right now oil spikes send money flowing out of the country… tax the oil imports and at least some of the money from spikes stays local.
If you want fuel efficient cars you can’t just decree them, or does nobody see people driving Toyota Tundras around. You need them to make economic sense. Sell more hybrids and hybrid technology becomes cheaper as you amortize R&D.
Hybrid technology currently adds $4000-$8000/vehicle, if the second hand market will pay half that premium in four years, you still need to recover $2000-$4000 in the first four years of ownership… anything less and you aren’t economically making sense.
Bill Ford is right, you can’t sell small cars over SUVs when gas is $2.
Where was Mr. Ford during the 70’s gas crisis. American car makers should have seen the writing on the wall whereby being held hostage to foreign oil producers and greedy energy corporations called for the reengineering of combustion engines to provide much better gas milage and less energy usage. Now he wants the common man and woman to pay more for the problems corporations like his perpetuated. But, what can we expect when powerful corporations working together maintain a stranglehold on decisions and products to benefit their elite members at the expense of those who they hold hotage to their selfish greed. Modern technology can put men on the moon, build awesome fighter planes and weapons, and perform medical miracles. Why can’t science and engineering produce power sources that use fossil fuels efficiently – but, I’ll give Mr. Ford credit, he hasn’t taken bailout money yet; yet it is there for him to accept whenever he feels the need for it! Way to go corporate America!!!
Gas taxes are quite high enough thanks.
What we need is a car company chairman, who has the moxey, to invest in finding another, cleaner fuel source, that still allows for vehicles that hold “stuff”, as well as a person, and can still go to visit the family, without a significant delay to “recharge”, and that will offer the occupants some practicality in a vehicle.
So far, not a single car company has come up with anything more than lip service, to environmentally friendly vehicles, that get the job done.
The so called “hybrids” do little, to reduce the emissions…..they simply get a little…..and darned little….better mileage.
Electric is totally impractical for anything but local errands.
Hydrogen can work, but car companies don’t want to offer it. No infrastructure for refueling though.
New ideas are needed. None have come forth. Talk about a lack of scientific investment. We can spend thousands on “catsup research” (yes, we have) but we can’t develop a suitable environmentally friendly engine for a car. Why do I get the feeling, we aren’t even trying????
Seriously just how long would it take to get off gasoline maybe decades,and the argument for mass transit the govt couldn’t possibly fund that to cover the outlying urban areas where most people live and most people don’t want to deal with that uncomfortable ride everyday(pew what’s that smell)hybrid/electric cars don’t fit all either,oh and to one commenter the gov does have a gas guzzler tax already!
I understand what you all are saying, but do we need to hurt our pockets for our auto industry to evolve?
Why can’t the automakers just do the right thing by making all of their vehicles more efficient? This includes Trucks and SUVs. I live in Montana, and a big part of our way of life is having a good Truck, and what you guys are saying is that one day the Trucks might have to be phased out to make more small cars. What will all of us Truck loving people do? Why can’t the auto makers make more fuel efficient trucks and large SUVs? They have the technology. Ford just came out with a hybrid SUV, so why can’t they apply that to larger vehicles. I don’t think that we should have to give-up the things we love to be more “Eco. Friendly”. I think that they should try to appeal to us more, after-all we are the ones with the money.
What people seem to forget is that what’s happening in this country right now, i.e., TARP, Omnibus Bill, Stimulus Bill, reaching out to thugs and dictators thinking that making nice with them is going to somehow make the U.S. safer, all these things, the move towards Socialism, a gax tax on top of all of this is just the cherry on top. How much more can the American publc take? Government spending out of control, our national security compromised because of the Utopionistic approach to governing on the part of President Obama, etc. I am absolutely stunned at what has become of our country in 3 months time. A gas tax, why not? Everything else is a disaster, why not add to it. Unbelievable!
Bill Ford should have a great share in Europe, where gas taxes are killing consumers… But wait! He doesn’t! Taxes don’t solve problems, creativity and inventiveness will
Well, I am interested in what Ford says. Ford will be in business after GM fails.
All, before you compare the US to Europe understand that they have a mass transit system that can get you just about anywhere without the need to drive. In our country, we need to drive to get where we need to go. In Europe they avoid the tax by taking mass transit, we cannot since we don’t have that same system.
I’m not buying that gas taxes would be a solution to anything. Look at other countries where the gas taxes/prices are high now and what is the impact? I sit in rural Canada and see 8 of 10 vehicles pasing by on the highway are trucks – because people need them to haul. I see many adults who live in cites because they can not afford cars. As best as I can tell Canada auto sales are not booming – so no solution to the auto makers. The tax money collected by the government – just promotes bigger government.
So what country as a model, shows benefit from Bill Ford’s Tax idea?
I agree we have problems that need to be worked out, but more taxes are not going to solve anything.
It’s come to this! The Government is the only one that can fix anything, all they need is another tax to take more of your money! I agree with many of the comments, we the consumers drive what the companies produce. If we don’t buy it – they will either change or go out of business. The solution to their problem is to build vehicles that serve our wants and needs and also gets better gas mileage or runs on an alternative fuel. They need to foget about the “small car” idea and create vehicles that are powerful, good sized and inexpensive. We put a man on the moon 40 years ago we should be able to pull this off. A little thinking “outside the box” would be helpful. As for Mr. Ford and our government are they setting the example with small gas saving cars. I don’t think Mr. Ford has a stretch limo Ford Focus that he rides around in.
Even better would be an additional tax on imported oil. Advantages: greater predictability for the domestic oil industry, as well as auto industry, greater incentive to conserve, less revenue for our oil producing foreign adversaries, decreased funding of terroism, and improved balance of payments. This could even be offset with a tax credit elsewhere so that the net tax to the consumer is negated or minimized.
one way or another we must change our fuel consumption because fuel prices are going to continue to rise in the long term. The best time to implement the new taxes are while base fuel prices are low that way we have some room to reduce the price of fuel if their is a large upswing in base fuel costs. I also agree that any more tax money should stay at the state level and should go to increased public transit systems. I would not tell anyone they have to drive a Prius, however, I get sick of people that CHOOSE to drive inefficient vehicles complaining about higher fuel prices. Its all give and take if you drive a bigger vehicle than you choose to cut back somewhere else.
A better tax would be on vehicle weight and horsepower. This should be an extra tax on top of the state property tax. We all need some basic level of fuel but we don’t need to 8,000 lb vehicles to move one person.
A Toyoto Camrey Hybrud Driver.
i think u are nuts on the gas tax please just brng down the price of your car and truck 39000.00 t is to much fr a truck or a car w wood have to make 50000. oo a yeay and not to maney make that a yeat well thanks you
Bill Ford and The CEO for Autonation both want higher gas tax.This lastest news should tell you something about the auto retailers sucking wind to stay alive. They don’t want us to have a choice in the type of cars we buy. Ford would like to have one type of car to build and all parts interchangable, each assembly plant has the same cars to put together. He doesn’t want his company to have different body styles or sizes because that cost money when each assembly plant has to be built to accomodate a different body style. If the American people are forced to drive matchbox econo cars because they can’t afford to drive a full size car that burns $2.00 a gallon in taxes, that plays right into the one kind of car business plan for Ford and Autonation. I’m sure we would never see Bill Ford or the Autonation CEO driving in the matchbox car because they can have their companies pay the taxes for the European gas gusslers they will be driving.
And that is why I will never buy another FORD or from Autonation. Hey I have a great Idea, sugar is a surplus, so lets put a 100% tax on corn syrup that way the sugar people can sell more sugar. Or in store video rentals are down so lets raise mail prices so netflix and thant can’t exist. That will bring back the video store. What a Joke.
It is disheartening that so many are opposed to a gas and/or carbon tax. This is a relatively simple means of encouraging development of renewable technologies that will reduce consumption of hydrocarbons. These cap and trade schemes are pretty complex, and WILL be gamed by the various players. Also, a gas tax could be phased in over time and done in a tax-neutral manner. As long as the American people insist on unchecked consumption of oil and natural gas in the face of constrained supplies we will continue to live under the threat of wildly swinging prices and the instability it breeds. Best regards.
Diesel cars and recently the clean diesel was introduced by Europeans, Hybrid was introduced by the Japanese, and who is in the top worldwide: VW/Audi/Porsche, Toyota, Honda, Daimler…
While Europeans and Japanese have invested in product development: fuel efficiency, technology, performance, quality, etc. The big 3 from Detroit were sleeping on the wheel and never saw it coming.
My wife and I drove American cars for many years but when was time to trade and get new cars last year we bought a Japanese cross over and an European sedan.
By the way, we don’t need a gas tax to ensure Americans will buy smaller, more efficient, better built, better handling automobiles. Just look around!
…and let people drive pick up trucks if they need to.
I was thinking of buying a Ford F-150 dual cab 4 wheel drive truck soon. Gas prices wouldn’t have affected my decision to purchase a truck or not (I need it for business). But, because Bill Ford is obviously more concerned about his company’s profits that turning out products that his customers want, I think I’ll buy a Toyota Tundra instead. Bill: Wake up! A free market is the ONLY methodology that is truly efficient for the masses over the long term. In the short term, you just lost another customer because of your left wing, big government, tax the hell out of the little guy at the expense of the large corporations and unions, mentality. What an idiot.
I am so tired of the big 3 trying to sell us what they want to sell us instead of selling us what we want.
Forget them, I’m never buying another car from them again. I hope they fail tomorrow. Not another dime should go to save these dinosaurs who are so out of touch they cannot be saved.
Most of you republicans have no frame of reference on the gas tax. Oil is a commodity which is not priced cradle to grave, we get it cheap without incurring the actual costs to the environment and national security. 60% of our comes from foreign sources yet no one seems to see energy independence as a positive. Im sure OPEC will be glad to keep gas prices low so long as you’re burning it up. Secondly the gas tax in this country is between 18 and 20 cents a gallon since 1980. That means the tax has DECREASED 140% over the last 20 years when adjusted for inflation. In other industrialized nation it stands between 2 and 3 dollars per gallon (Japan and Europe).
It’s *almost* unbelievable to me just how naive the comments on this topic are. An incredible number of them make Bill’s point, then end with “I’m never buying American again” or “Bill is an idiot”.
A few recurring things from this thread:
Point: The gax tax should only be on gas guzzlers.
Counterpoint: If gas prices are higher, then people who buy gas guzzlers *are* penalized considerably more than those who buy fuel efficient vehicles. This is one of the main POINTS of the tax. Not only that, but the proceeds of the tax could (and in my mind should) be used for income tax credits for people who buy high efficiency vehicles.
Point: Shade of the above — a gentleman in the thread complained that he had bought a hybrid when gas was at $4/gallon, is unhappy that prices then dropped below $2/gallon and ended saying he’ll never buy an American car again.
Counterpoint: Again, this is one of the major POINTS of the proposed tax. A variable gas tax that was made to keep the price of gas at a stable level (i.e. when prices rise the tax drops) would allow people (not just the big 3) to better decide what vehicle to purchase. If the tax was designed to keep gas stable around $3.50 for example, people would be know that paying a bit more to buy a high-efficiency vehicle **would** pay of rather than **might** pay off.
Point: The Big 3 should just make what Americans want to buy and not worry about gas prices.
Counterpoint: What Americans want to buy depends on what gas prices are. Up until the gas crisis of the late 70’s, the **only** car Americans wanted to buy were gas guzzlers. When gas prices spiked at that time, Americans suddenly wanted fuel efficient vehicles and the only ones available were foreign-made. The Big 3 shifted production and made sveral fuel efficient vhicles (the Escort and the K-Car come to mind). In the years since, American demand for fuel-efficient vehicles dropped and the Big 3 shifted back to what Americans buy… guzzlers. The same thing has happened a couple of times since — so long as gas is (relatively) cheap, a significant percentage of Americans don’t buy efficient vehicles. In order to sell vehicles, the Big three *must* make what people want to buy. Then when the prices spike, everyone throws rocks at them because the vehicles they make aren’t fuel-efficient. This doesn’t affect foeign car makers to nearly the same degree because in Europe and Japan, gas is taxed so heavily that it is **always** expensive (like $7/gallon after conversions). Therefore they always have a domestic market for extremely fuel-efficient vehicles. The gas-guzzlers they make are pretty much exclusively for the stupid Americans. When gas spikes, they always have their more efficient vehicles on tap to sell. The only reason they make the gas guzzlers is because there is a much higher margin on them — same as why Detroit makes them. A gas tax would therefore remove one of the main barriers that keeps the Big 3 from being competitive with foreign car manufacturers. I’ll also note that someone made a note about a high gas tax in Canada making no difference. My question to that poster would be to ask which major car manufacturer is located in Canada?
Point: The Big 3 are dinosaurs and can’t keep up with foreign manufacturers in terms of making fuel-efficient vehicles.
Counterpoint: Essentially the same as the above. European and Japanese automakers are NOT making fuel efficient vehicles for the American buyer. They’re making them primarily for their domestic customers and the reason they are is because gas is so expensive. Gas is so expensive in Europe and Japan BECAUSE it is taxed so heavily. When gas is expensive, whether the cause of it is taxes, OPEC, or a hurricane in the wrong spot — fuel efficiency sells cars. When gas is cheap in the US, idiots buy Hummers. If you want the Big 3 to make fuel efficient vehicles, they need a **stable** domestic market for them. They cannot invest billions of dollars researching new techs and building these into their vehicles when the market for the efficient cars likely won’t exist by the time the car is available.
I don’t want to pay more for gas. I do want a stable economy that can’t be disrupted by countries that have oil and hate Americans. A gas tax **would** help with that particular goal.
To all those who so much hate american Big three. Let me tell you first. Someone in every family is either employed by the big three or has a friend or relative who directly or indirectly is working for them.. If you so much hate American then leave this country and go where there s gas tax and gas is expensive. It will help our economy to keep our Dollars in America. Those of you who do not want American product, nothing can be more disloyal than this. Sad very sad.