Cars are going to get much more expensive with these fuel efficiency mandates and the affluent will drive electrics, while everyone else will drive old cars. W

Cars are going to get much more expensive with these fuel efficiency mandates and the affluent will drive electrics, while everyone else will drive old cars. We have ever increasing crashworthiness requirements, which make cars heavier, which increases car weight. We have a ratcheting fuel efficiency mandate. The convergence of these two pushes for lighter, more crashworthy cars, which means expensive materials. Electric cars may be price competitive very soon as prices for batteries fall, and as prices for gasoline cars increase. However, these regulations, while well meaning, will be counter-productive. People simply can't afford new cars anymore and are driving old cars much longer. We have a lot of 1990's engines out there in fairly reliable cars, and these emit far more pollution than a modern car, nevermind the fuel efficiency.