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Under the plan, Detroit's beloved dinosaur, thumping its chrome-plated tail, is doomed for the swamps of extinction. The new plan will impose an excise tax on the purchase of large cars. Under consideration as a fallback plan is a gasoline tax, beginning with 5¢ per gal. and rising at regular intervals to 50¢ or $1 in order to discourage Americans from buying big gas-guzzling autos. According to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, which the new Administration is embracing, each manufacturer by 1980 must produce a line of cars that achieve an average 20 m.p.g.; by 1985 the average must be 27.5 m.p.g. That is now an impossible goal unless auto engineers make dramatic—and unexpected—breakthroughs in engine efficiency and the use of lighter metals for body construction. Says Schlesinger: "A lighter car that gives 25 m.p.g., v. a heavier car that gives 12 m.p.g., is a relatively minor issue compared with not having cars at all."
PRICE DECONTROL
During his campaign, Carter promised to remove federal controls that hold artificially low the price of some domestically produced natural gas. Under the present counterproductive regulations, gas piped across state lines sells for anywhere from 29¢ to $1.44 per 1,000 cu. ft., depending on when wells started flowing, v. an uncontrolled price of about $2 for gas produced and sold in the same state. That leads to hoarding of supplies within the producing states and shortages elsewhere. The plan will end that by extending federal authority to intrastate, as well as interstate natural gas while raising prices to a level comparable to those of oil. On the oil front, there will also be reforms. Under the present system, there are two different prices for domestic oil, both substantially below the price of imported oil (now selling at about $12.50 per bbl. at Middle East ports). Full decontrol would send domestic oil prices up a third, and the Administration fears the political and inflationary impact. The probable compromise: a gradual relaxation of price controls with a ceiling, or "cap," on the maximum price.
SOLAR ENERGY
At his Inaugural parade, Jimmy Carter's reviewing stand was warmed by a specially constructed solar heating unit as a demonstration of his dedication to the cleanest and most abundant energy source available within existing technology. The energy package will provide federal funds for accelerated research leading to solar electrical generation. It will also give income tax credits up to $2,000 to homeowners who install solar heating units.
STRATEGIC OIL RESERVE
President Ford ordered stockpiling of half a billion bbl. of oil in the U.S. by 1982. Carter will advance the date to 1980. In the event of a new embargo, that amount of oil would give the U.S. just under a one-month reserve at present consumption rates, a small but worthwhile drop in the bucket.
NUCLEAR POWER