This is from Pram's GAO link:


I believe they are grossly overestimating the impact this stuff will really have. I see a new idiot light that people ignore even more than the Check Engine light.

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“Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.” - Lord Palmerston

Ah, thanks. That makes sense and seems to explain my own personal observations as well.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Based on what? They conducted a study. What did you do?

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Yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he’s president he’ll take on, and I quote, 'the old boys’ network in Washington.' I’m not making this up. This is somebody been in Congress for 26 years, who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign. And now he tells us that he’s the one who’s gonna take on the old boys' network,” he said. “In the McCain campaign that’s called a staff meeting!- Obama, 9/17/2008

BO didn't say his tire pressure energy plan would would solve the energy crisis. What he did say is it would "actually, probably have" the same affect on the fuel shortage problem as drilling for oil "under McCain's feet".

Properly inflated tires can save as much as 3-4% in fuel economy. If you extrapolate that out over the total number of cars driven in the US, it could be a savings of 3-4%. This, of course, assumes that all tires on all cars driven in the US are under inflated. This, of course, is not true.

It was a bone head idea that has come back to bite him in the ass. Obama attempting to sound intelligent. And it's good to see that the BO supporters are now trying to spin it as a bone head idea from McCain's campaign. (See OP) Nice try.

They conducted a study?!? Well that certainly changes things. It’s odd that they would cite so many other studies, but they skipped this one. In fact, they didn’t even mention it. “It expects that 90 percent of drivers with TPMS technology will check and reinflate their tires” sounds like they’re just relying on an overly optimistic estimate.

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“Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.” - Lord Palmerston

I just noticed Pramjockey's GAO report isn't in this thread. Here's a link to the report I've been quoting:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07246r.pdf

I apologize for any confusion.

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“Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.” - Lord Palmerston

I find it odd that the same people that talk about personal responsibility and that individual Americans should solve problems rather than government are now making fun of Obama for suggesting individuals do that very thing rather than offering a government solution. If he was to have suggested the government get involve and mandate something that would have conserved fuel then they would be shouting out the stereotypical socialist charge they usually dish out. He actually has released energy proposals that are available on his web site. This happens to be something in addition that people can do that will conserve fuel and makes sense to at least bring up if we are serious about reducing consumption of fuel. Anyway, one of the new trends in my town is to put nitrogen in tires since it leaks out much slower. If it saves fuel then I'm all for it. Instead of looking for one silver bullet to solve this problem it will take a combination of many things together that can make a difference in the sum total of them. Tire maintenance happens to be one of them. Making childish remarks making fun of it and giving out devices to check tire pressure that say "Obama's energy plan" are not productive and lower the level of debate.

We've got a Jeep Liberty w/the sensors. It's pretty cool and quite accurate, it warns when you lose about 10% pressure, plenty early. It's an especially good reminder and has saved me a lot of hassles with slow leak punctures (We drive a lot).

But my Mazda 3 doesn't have it, I don't think it's common yet.

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This land was made for you and me
-Woody Guthrie

I don't know how most people maintain their cars, what I do is every Sat. morning I check all fluid levels, clean the air filter, check the tires, wiper blades, twice a year I drain and flush the cooling system and spark plugs in both my truck and wifes car. These simple things will keep a car running in good shape for a long time. These are common things that almost everyone can and should do.

If he were to make such a suggestion, he’d be too late. The regulations are already mandatory and are being phased in, effective for all new passenger cars and light trucks produced for the 2008 model year.

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“Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.” - Lord Palmerston

A car's life is what, ten years. $1.50 to $2.30 a year. This is what BHO's pinning his hopes on ?

And the idiot light only comes on if the pressure is grossly, dangerously low.

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Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Jesus loves you, allah wants you dead

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

Per the infamous GAO report quoted here, being aware of one's underinflated tires will save $15-23 over the LIFE of the car. That's not even .1% much less 3%.

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Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

Jesus loves you, allah wants you dead

"Every government interference in the economy consists of giving an unearned benefit, extorted by force, to some men at the expense of others."

Ayn Rand

And I'm not saying I am personally against any such regulation. The point I'm making is that when he suggest anything as far as regulation it's socialism according to many outspoken "conservatives" yet when he suggest something that is a matter of individual responsibility and personal action (which conservatives generally say they are in favor of) then he is picked on for that. To sum up anything he says will be attacked no matter what it is. I would be willing to bet that if we could convince the campaigns to switch their energy policies before releasing them then the same people would attack Obama's anyway. Otherwise they would be critical of both candidates and they would each be getting both some analysis on here. Instead most people have made up their minds and are reinforcing it now. Don't get me wrong I would say that I could find a way to be critical of most things both candidates say. It's just amazing how many threads are negative against one of the candidates and so much fewer on the other with virtually no praise at all for either. I actually like both candidates in relation to the ones in the last few elections and I wouldn't want to see the same against McCain either really if he was taking all the heat from partisans.

Can you teach me how to drain and flush the spark plugs? I haven't been doing that.

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This land was made for you and me
-Woody Guthrie

I really don’t like such regulations. This, in particular, seems like virtually useless gimmickry that will benefit garage mechanics a lot more than vehicle owners. I seriously doubt the projected $15 to $23 fuel savings will be enough to pay for even one sensor when it goes bad. God forbid the sensors actually cause a problem after years and miles of wear. Oh well, considering my current transportation situation, I won’t have to worry about these things for another decade and a half. As far as personal responsibility goes, I agree, and don’t have a problem with it. Keeping tires properly inflated would help, not as much as drilling and certainly not as much as refining the 1.5 trillion barrels of shale oil we possess, but it is a simple step that would help the situation.

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“Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.” - Lord Palmerston