The Gas Tax

Piece in the NY Times about how new technologies in cars are not in fact increasing the fuel efficiency of cars. Rather, the increase in the efficiencies of engines is leading to either faster acceleration times or greater weight of the vehicle as a whole.

What could possibly be a solution to this?

In improving fuel economy, virtually everyone agrees that there is a way only if there is a will. "There is no shortage of technology," said John M. DeCicco, a senior analyst at Environmental Defense, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Technologies already in use include four valves for each cylinder, which allows more power from a smaller, lighter engine, and computer-controlled fuel injection, which increases efficiency and cuts pollution.

More changes are coming. For example, gas-electric hybrids are increasingly common, but have been used in some cases more to make the vehicle accelerate faster than to go farther on a gallon of gasoline.

Indeed, Mark P. Mills, a physicist and energy expert, said that improvements in vehicle efficiency would not reduce consumption because without a significant rise in gasoline prices to encourage buyers to save fuel, most people would simply take advantage of the advances to demand bigger, faster vehicles.

Quite, stick up the Federal gas tax. You know it makes sense.