Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to mandate that automobiles achieve a fleet average of 52 mpg. I wonder if that mileage requirement is based on gasoline, or ethanol. If ethanol, the new cars are going to be very small; they will be too small even if the fuel is gasoline. When I was young motorcycles didn't get 52 mpg. It appears that we will all be riding motorized bicycles in the future.

I think that if enacted Reid's mandate would destroy the American Auto Manufacturers, Ford, GM, and Chrysler. One result would be that today's cars will be on the road a lot longer. If a B-52 can remain in service for 75 years, as is planned, there is no reason why cars couldn't last that long given proper maintenance and repair. I'm sure that my current car, a Lincoln LS, would last the rest of my life. Consider Cuba; they are still driving 1950's American cars there. It can be done. If Reid is successful, then I would expect that in a few years there would be a law to ban repair of older cars. Or there would be an exorbitant tax on older cars to force them off the road.