Michigan Law Makers Insulted With Symbolic Use Of Prius By Congress

Well in this case the Prius might actually be the best example of what congress wants.

Not saying the Prius is a bad vehicle, but a Ford escape hybrid wouldn't suffice?

The politicians were trying to make a point...typical of them to completely F*** it up. Leave things to moron politicians and we get things like......Expensive oil, needless wars, ridiculous laws against EVERYTHING.....

It should be mandatory all Congressman and wimmin drive a '57 Chevy Bel Aire ;)

Save the planet, get rid of the Prius!

We should mandate that all lawmakers have a degree in business / engineering.

el34: You must be an pro-union, anti-free trade, ignorant redneck liberal based upon all of the posts you've made. I would like meet you in person and kick your sorry ass.

It would be similar to the German govt. celebrating the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, or Octoberfest with delicious American microbrews.

then they should have made a 'cool' hybrid and made themselves the example.

fools

I guess in this beautiful country we call U.S.A. there is always room for ignorant batards. So what Americans can't invent or let's say at least "re-invent the wheel", they can only critize with jelousy...and out of all places it's motor city state who address the insult...well go figure!

I agree with you about the auto industry's (like most major industries) heavy lobbying and bribing of officials, but free markets don't benefit the people without government oversight. A true free market is prone to collusion, monopolization, and price fixing. (see US vs. Microsoft)

Also, It does bother me that the thing which defines environmentally conscious is the PRIUS. But I guess it's the best example of an environmentally friendly automobile. It would be cooler if they used a bicycle or walking shoes. As an aside: I think the prius is a false symbol of environmental awareness. Someone had to manufacture the batteries to put into the prius and that's not exactly environmentally friendly.

The problem for Detorit is that despite some recent movement on the environmental front (including the decent hybrid GM SUVs), they still cannot come close to Prius in meeting the new CAFE standards. This should be a wake up call to them.

It sure would have been fantastic to have that bill roll up in an EV1 though. Guess thats not possible. How 'bout in a Volt, thats even less likely.

As of last year (2006) Toyota built 15 million vehicles in the USA .

http://www.caranddriver.com/dailyautoinsider/10631/toyota-built-15-million-vehicles-in-us.html

so what, you think that makes toyota an american company?

It means that business is not represented by soil alone . In fact many "domestic" cars use imported parts and if Toyota is making cars in the USA then they are hiring and providing jobs HERE .

Just like Toyota outsources --so does General Motors .
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=178600931

From link --
"So whether it's in Brazil or Poland or Shanghai, we need the presence there to support our business," he said. In fact, GM is growing its business in many other countries, including India, while business has dropped in the United States."

so whats your point? Just because GM is making cars in India or China doesn't make GM an Indian or Chinese company.

Once again, random ranting of American hating Japanophiles. Go ahead, de-boost me. Why couldn't these lawmakers have shown up in a Tahoe hybrid or some other domestic vehicle that has good fuel economy (they do exist, contrary to whiny people's beliefs).

This goes to show how short-sighted and ignorant politicians are (both in Washington and California). Upwards of 3% of the US economy is related to the auto industry here in the US, and they slap us in the face with a Japanese vehicle.

What about the Ford escape hybrid? Couldn't they have used that? For Christ sake, they weren't trying to save fuel from the congressman's office to Capital Hill, they were trying to make a statement. Their statement was that they don't give a s*** for American engineering & industry, so long as they stay in power and their buddies keep making the billions.

And for all of you who think these politicians give a rats ass about fuel economy, go to Washington and see what the lawmakers drive. All expensive German/Japanese sports cars / Luxury cars with poor fuel economy.

Damn hypocrite lawmakers. 35mpg eh?!?! I hope people like spending an extra 5-10K per vehicle.

I understand the Congressmen’s side of the story, and Pelosi perhaps could’ve handled it better (her House has the worst public opinion rating ever), but the US auto industry has enjoyed preferential laws and lobbying for decades (CAFE). Yes, the presentation of this bill can be seen as insulting (can you imagine the impact if a prototype Volt were used instead?), but the US auto industry is finally getting a much-needed wake-up call IMO (and possibly shaking up the heavily-lobbied US oil industry at the same time).

American auto industry ingenuity seems to have largely stagnated since the 1970’s oil crisis (Pinto? Vega? Mustang II? Gremlin?). Incremental technology improvements (such as “hybrid-izing”) probably won’t get their current platforms to 35 MPG, so a clean sheet approach will most likely be needed, thus hopefully reviving American auto ingenuity like the peak of the 1940’s through 1960’s.

I work as an engineer for a domestic auto company (I won't say which one for anonymity sake). We do engineer our vehicles to the same (sometimes better) levels as the Asians. Truth of the matter is, contractors buy pickups, Detroit makes pickups, end of story.

If America wants high mileage vehicles, then let up on emission regulations for diesels. Just let up a little bit and fuel economy skyrockets.

can these two douches be any more f*****g retarded? we'll see.