Lutz: New fuel regulations will hike GM prices by an average $6,000

Our favorite GM executive Bob Lutz said yesterday that the new CAFE 35 regulations imposed by Congress last month would add $6,000 to the price of an average GM car by the end of the 2010.

“We’ve done even more research and it’s going to be in the range of $4,000 to $10,000 with an average of about $6,000,” Lutz said. “This is going to be a net average of cost of $6,000 per vehicle which will have to be passed onto the consumer. The good news is it won’t come all at once, because 35 mpg doesn’t kick in all at once.”

The law, passed last month, calls for a 40 percent increase in fuel-economy for an industrywide requirement of 35mpg by 2020.

Lutz stated that the average American citizen will be forced to hold on to their cars longer, increasing the value of used vehicles.

The vice chairman of GM also disputed the idea that GM could simply fight the regulations by importing its European diesel models over to the U.S.

“The thought that we can solve all our problems by adopting European diesel is pie in the sky,” Lutz said.

 

Source: The Detroit News

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