As if motorists weren’t already horrified by the prospect of paying more than $5 a gallon for gas, CEO Dan Akerson is asking members of Congress to propose a new tax on gas. Akerson believes that charging consumers an extra $1 per each gallon of gas will cause them to take a closer look at hybrid and electric vehicles. While Akerson is probably right, his idea is a bit shortsighted. Adding a tax to gas would also cause those that rely on public transportation to get hit with high fees. Some citizens would end up ditching their cars altogether.
Members of the automotive industry might be frustrated with slow sales, but the fact is that consumers are still buying. GM cannot effectively ‘bully’ car shoppers into opting for fuel conserving cars in place of gas guzzling SUVs. In due time, when auto makers have developed a wider range of fuel economic cars, buyers will be more keen on the idea of driving electric vehicles. As of now, there are few pickup trucks or mini vans that are energy efficient.
As it stands, no one in Congress is willing to even think about nominating a bill that would ask Americans to pay more at the pumps. Perhaps GM and Akerson need to go back to the drawing board if this is the best idea that they have for getting the automotive industry back on track. Instead of imposing a gas tax, maybe GM would be better served by slashing the prices on new energy efficient vehicles.
