More efficient cars good for U.S.

Like a lot of guys my age, I grew up fascinated by cars. I idolized the Pontiac Firebird in “Smokey and the Bandit” and the array of exotic cars from “Cannonball Run.” I had a small, precious stack of hand-me-down copies of Road and Track that I practically memorized. I waited patiently for the Indy 500 to come around each year, setting aside the day to watch.

Americans cherish our autonomy, and for me turning 16 meant gaining a new sense of freedom.

I still love cars, though being a father of four means choosing my next ride based on seating capacity and cargo space over speed. More than that, though, I understand that my love of things that go vroom is at odds with my role as a father. Watching Formula 1 races with my kids on Sundays, I can’t help but reflect on the statement, “We do not inherit the world from our parents, we borrow it from our children.” So I see the importance of balancing the thrill of a 1,000 horsepower machine flinging itself around a racetrack with figuring out how to get every mile out of a gallon of gas.

And as much as Americans love the autonomy and thrill of cars, we equally dislike laws that tell us what to do. That is what makes one of the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act such a win. Instead of mandating what kind of cars we can buy, it extends the $7,500 tax credit for electric or plug-in hybrid cars that make more efficient cars more affordable (bonus: many are made in America).

One of the improved aspects of this program is extending it to used cars (a $4,000 credit will be available). This will place more of these vehicles in reach of more Americans.

The best part is that this also increases American autonomy. Consider the wild fluctuations in the price of gas over the last two years. While the cost of electricity also fluctuates, the cost per mile for electric vehicles is about half that of gas-powered cars and over 98% of our electricity is generated inside the U.S.

Meanwhile, we all know that whenever there is any kind of crisis, global oil prices spike and prices at the pump rise more quickly and stay higher for longer than crude prices.

While gas production has been hampered by the lingering effects of the pandemic, oil companies are posting record-breaking profits. They have no reason to change the situation. Even if we had enough oil production, refining, and transport capacity to sustain our own needs here in America, no oil company is going to sell gas here for $3 per gallon when they can get $4 in Mexico or $5 in Europe. Oil companies are not beholden to the American public, not tethered by patriotism, and they don’t care about “America First.” Oil companies are loyal to one thing: shareholders.

So if American oil companies have no reason to find ways to ease prices, what expectation can we have that OPEC countries or Vladimir Putin would do anything to bring down prices at the pump?

The truth is that very few countries that make up the world’s major oil producers share our interests and because oil is traded on a global market, we have always been at the mercy of the world’s major oil-producing countries.

Not long ago we sent $1 billion a day to other countries for oil.

Not long ago we sent our soldiers and sailors to defend our oil interests abroad. And still today foreign countries can pull levers making our lives more or less painful.

There is nothing you and

I — the average consumer — can do to affect the global supply of oil. But we can control demand, and one of the easiest ways is to buy more efficient cars.

As we reduce our consumption of oil, we reduce the power foreign countries have over our economy and international affairs generally. Even climate change deniers should be able to see the benefit of taking away Putin’s primary source of income and global influence.

The Inflation Reduction Act may not do much to lower inflation in the short term, but over the long haul it could have a huge impact on American autonomy. I’ll gladly trade the roar of an engine for that.