Like it of not due to some legislation there are changes coming down the turn pike (*pun)
Congress was busey and its going to affect allot of folks, look to California as the test bed for whats coming up.
These changes are sweeping and will happen fast, China has the industrial base to bang out the required materials.
Todays world trade your bound to encounter products that are mfg or assembled outside the USA.
I know Lynden Air Cargo regularly flys car chassis by C-130 to Mexico quite regularly to keep the production line moving, as a aircraft mechanic allot of aircraft parts are of overseas in origin, I'd seen allot of electrical microswitches, breakers, relays made in Mexico carry our FAA/PMA approval stamp.
aircraft radios from Indonesia, intertubes from brazil.
China has been exporting truck's in Asia since the 1920's and they do rather well in Asia.
like allot of things, I remember when Japanese tools were crappy, then Taiwan, China, now it seems India has that title.
The basic issue is quality control, some the chinese mfg items that are coming in are of rather high quality materials, fit and finish, for years we been getting the low end export junk and assumed the whole country is nothing but shoddy low end goods, now we are beginning to see products the regular Chinese use every day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Policy_Act_of_2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Independence_and_Security_Act_of_2007Fuel economy
Congressmen representing automobile manufacturing regions objected to the proposed increase in
fuel economy standards. They said the measure would sharply increase the cost of new cars, lowering demand and further burdening the struggling automotive industry. Representative
John Dingell of
Michigan advocated instead an increase in the federal gasoline tax, which he said would have more immediate effects on oil consumption by influencing consumer behavior (i.e. car purchase decisions and total miles driven).
[24]Summary of Legislation
The bill signed into law in December 2007 was an 822-page document changing U.S. energy policy in many areas.
[11][12] Title I-Energy Security Through Improved Vehicle Fuel Economy Title I contains the first increase in fuel economy standards for passenger cars since 1975, and the establishment of the first efficiency standard for medium-duty and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. In the year 2020, it is estimated to save Americans a total of $22 billion and have a significant reduction in emissions equivalent to removing 28 million cars from the road. Title I is responsible for 60% of the estimated energy savings of the bill.
[13] A. Increased Corporate Average Fuel Economy
- Manufacturers must meet the average fuel economy standard of 27.5 miles per gallon or come within within 92% of the standard for a given model year. [14]
- Development of standards for commercial medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles [15].
- Manufacturers can receive credit in one vehicle class if it exceeds the CAFE standards, allowing them make up for another vehicle class that may be below standards. Credits can also be exchanged between manufacturers [15].
B. Improved Vehicle Technology
C. Federal Vehicle Fleets
- New conservation requirements for federal vehicle fleets.
- Federal agencies cannot use light-duty or medium-duty passenger vehicles that do not meet the new low greenhouse emission standards.
- Using 2005 as a baseline, by 2015 Federal agencies must reduce petroleum consumption by 20% and increase the use of annual alternative fuel by 10% yearly [15].
Title II: Energy Security Through Increased Production of Biofuels
Title II contains the first legislation that specifically requires the creation of Biomass-based Diesel fuel, which is the addition of
renewable biofuels to diesel fuel. To be labeled as Biomass-based Diesel, fuel must be able to reduce emissions by 50 percent when compared to petroleum diesel. As of now, Biodiesel is the only commercial fuel that meets this requirement
[17].
[
edit] A. Renewable Fuel Standard
- Taxpayer funding for increased production of biofuels. The total amount of biofuels added to gasoline is required to increase to 36 billion US gallons (140,000,000 m3) by 2022, from 4.7 billion US gallons (18,000,000 m3) in 2007. The Energy Act further specifies that 21 billion US gallons (79,000,000 m3) of the 2022 total must be derived from non-cornstarch products (e.g. sugar or cellulose).
[
edit] B. Biofuels Research and Development
- States with low cellulosic biomass ethanol production may be rewarded grants for research, development, and application of biofuel technologies [15].
- Requires the Secretary of Energy to initiate studies on the use of algae as a feedstock for biofuel production, studies on the durability and performance of engines with the use of biodisel, and studies to optimize the use of E-85 fuel in flexible fueled vehicles [14].
