ArcaMax

Ask Chevy how many diesel-powered Cruzes they sell. The answer, Alex, is not many. Because they cost too much. And because it's a Chevy.

Meanwhile, in Europe, there are diesel-powered versions of practically every passenger car, from the humblest economy car all the way up to the highest-end cars (and SUVs, too). In Europe, diesels are not for-the-rich-only.

Here, they are.

Because of an out-of-control EPA and federal regulatory apparat that has imposed unreasonable - economically impossible to deal with - emissions rigmarole on diesel engines. If you have any doubt about this, ask yourself whether it's an emissions-free-for-all in Western European countries like Germany and France. Do you believe their governments allow soot-spewing stinkpots on the road?

The problem is not that the diesels are "dirty." It is that the EPA is out-of-control. This anti-democratic bureaucracy, subject to no vote, accountable to no American citizen, simply decrees standards that must be complied with irrespective of cost - or benefit. And that is the nut of the problem here.

The people never had a say in this. No one ever empowered EPA to decide that a less-than-1-percent reduction in the overall output of oxides of nitrogen is worth whatever it costs to achieve compliance. EPA does not have to consider the economic impact of its fatwas. It simply issues fatwas - and leaves it up to the targeted industry to comply. Regardless of cost.

The American people get no say. They simply get to pay. The best they can do is "call their representative" - which is like calling a "customer service" line in Mumbai to complain about a defective toaster. Even Congress can do very little to rein in the EPA.

Because Congress has abdicated its legal obligation under the Constitution to pass laws. It has given to the EPA (and other federal "agencies") de facto authority to legislate. What else is it, after all, when the EPA can issue a regulatory fatwa that has the force of law, that must be complied with? This mess could be dealt with, if Congress would grow a pair. It need not even abolish the EPA (which would be like trying to abolish Kudzu in the South). However, it could actually pass a law to the effect that any diesel-powered passenger car that meets European emissions standards is automatically legal for sale in all 50 U.S. states.

Remember: European diesel emissions standards are not lax. They are in fact very strict. But they are different than EPA's loony standards. And it is the cost of complying with both the European and the U.S. standards that is keeping clean, high-efficiency diesels (some of which deliver 60 MPG or more) out of the U.S. market. There is no legitimate reason for that. EPA is run by maniacs, that's all. It's time to chain them to a wall in a nicely padded room.

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www.ericpetersautos.com or EPeters952@aol.com for comments.