Will This Work Here? France Levies Annual Fees On Gas Hogs To Fund New Car Subsidies

Be careful not to follow in the footsteps of France. Government is way to involved and should let the industry evolve with more efficient vehicles. Instead this would have a negative IMMEDIATE impact on a significant portion of the industry.

Why would we want it to work here? Social engineering based on fairy tales + another tax grab for government. When I see these hypocritical heads of state riding bicycles I'll consider their "green" arguments. Until then, it's just another way for the kings to distinguish themselves from the masses.

Perhaps France should concentrate on keeping their newest citizens from burning entire automobiles, as I imagine that's far worse for the environment.

Would the new car subsidies affect all cars that aren't gas hogs? or would it only affect high mileage vehicles? If it's the latter, a $1000 fee would render these vehicles almost free due to the numbers of gas guzzlers sold compared to fuel efficient vehicles.

It is unclear from the post. But it appears ownership of a gas hog will cost you annually in the form of a fee rather than a one time charge.

Well that's silly, they already pay more taxes at the pump.

I see the reasoning behind a high annual "penalty" fee for owning a gas-guzzler. How many average consumers in the US would realistically think twice before purchasing that full-size SUV for no specific (functional) reason at all? And the annual fee can be reduced if the vehicle was purchased for a "documented" commercial/business purpose only.

This would maybe force the average price of a (gas-guzzler) SUV down --- manufacturers make huge profits from the larger vehicles b/c consumers are willing to (unknowingly) pay higher prices for them. Automakers are building Tahoes & Sequoias for the same cost to build a Camry or Impala (or maybe just a little bit more).

When automakers see a higher demand for SUVs & trucks, they quickly refocus production to meet that demand. When demand for smaller vehicles increase, they respond more slowly to keep those vehicles just barely available, effectively forcing average sale prices to rise b/c of "limited availability".

Another politically correct green tax, has France once asked industry for improved economy? This tax only keeps the working class/middle class poor.Have they ever took into consideration that maybe a family needs a large suv to transport the family? Maybe a family should get two small cars? Now we all know two eco boxes would burn more gas than one suv, not to mention all of the extra metal...I consider myself an environmentalist, but I hate PC tax grabs.