[skiptamali]

Is it fair to reward consumers who drive fuel efficient vehicles? Is it fair to punish those who drive fuel inefficient vehicles?
This article describes examples of the above issue in foreign countries.
I have to admit that I'm a supporter. Recently, I learned that 3 or 4 people living in the same apartment building as me drive to the same work location in their own personal vehicles- some with SUVs. Maybe if there was more financial incentive (than the current price of gas), they would consider piling into one car and sharing the 45 min trip.
Some simply cannot erase their commutes, but carpooling, better choices in efficient personal vehicles, and the use of public transportation when possible would help. What does everyone else think? How much can you ask of people before it becomes unfair?

[DomusAlbion]

The market punishes them. If they can afford the higher costs well more power to them. It won't be long before there is rationing; then the most efficient vehicles are the winners. (except for the black market, ofcourse)

[SILENTTODD]

Good thinking skiptamali! Your neighbors will soon come around to this point of view by about the time gas reaches $5 a gallon this summer.
I personally made this transition 10 years ago. Not because of Peak Oil and the price of gasoline, but because the 91 Freeway in Southern California allows car/van pools free access to the "Fast/Toll" lanes to get to work. I rode a van pool for a year to get to work. What it cost me did not save me money, but it was faster because we used the toll lanes for free.

The next step you and your neighbors need to consider is moving close enough to your work so you can ride a bike (within 10 miles) or a motor scooter (15miles). I did this 10 years ago. I now live just over 2 miles from where I work and I ride one of my bikes everyday (I have 4 of them). If you ride a bike for all your local needs you have a very minimal gas bill each month (mine is about $70 because I still go out to the Mojave desert each month for my hobby of amateur astronomy. Other than that, I could actually live without a car where I am.

[TWilliam]

How much can you ask of people before it becomes unfair?

As a teacher of mine once pointed out, "Life isn't fair".
As far as rewarding the energy-frugal and punishing the energy-hoggish well... nice idea, but as one may expect of our illustrious leaders, I seem to recall someone posting on this site a couple years back that at least one state here in the U.S. was considering levying an additional tax against those who bought hybrid cars. Why? Because since they use less gasoline, they contribute less 'point-of-sale' tax revenue to (supposedly) help with road upkeep. Nevermind that they are usually considerably lighter than SUVs & dualie pickups (even with the batteries) so contribute less wear and tear on the roads, or that they contribute less greenhouse gas per mile driven. They're hurting our porkbarrels, dammit!

[max_in_wa]

...As a teacher of mine once pointed out, "Life isn't fair". ...

I heard it this way: "Fair" is just another four letter F word.
As to the question, of course it would be fair to make those most responsible for the consumption mess we are in pay their fair share of it. Simply put, if demand for motor fuel was half what it is today, our prices wouldn't be so out of hand. The people responsible for the excess demand should shoulder the lion's share of the burden.

Now, it isn't only efficiency that is an issue, it is also excessive commuting. So to tackle both issues, there could be a graduated tax on gas based on gallons used per month:
10 or less: 0%
10+ to 15: 10%
15+ to 20: 20%
20+ to 25: 35%
25+ to 30: 40%
30+ to 35: 50%
etc. till the price hits the moon.

A vehicle that gets 50 mpg would be able to travel 500 miles tax free per month, which really isn't bad at all. That's a lot of traveling, and even going over a couple hundred wouldn't be killer.
A less delicate instrument would be an excise tax based on weight, say a dime per pound, anything under 1500 pounds free, but if over 1500, you pay the whole weight.
It would be fair to apply different rules would apply to commercial vehicles.

[TWilliam]

So to tackle both issues, there could be a graduated tax on gas based on gallons used per month:
10 or less: 0%
10+ to 15: 10%
15+ to 20: 20%
20+ to 25: 35%
25+ to 30: 40%
30+ to 35: 50%
etc. till the price hits the moon.
A vehicle that gets 50 mpg would be able to travel 500 miles tax free per month, which really isn't bad at all. That's a lot of traveling, and even going over a couple hundred wouldn't be killer.
A less delicate instrument would be an excise tax based on weight, say a dime per pound, anything under 1500 pounds free, but if over 1500, you pay the whole weight.
It would be fair to apply different rules would apply to commercial vehicles.

We've had the so-called 'gas-guzzler tax' since 1980, and it's done little to dissuade people from purchasing low mileage vehicles - tho' many have argued that the exemption for vehicles over 6,000 actually encouraged people to buy big SUVs and such, which seems likely - so I'm not so sure such a scheme would be all that effective. Of course on the other hand, the gas-guzzler tax is a one-time penalty, as would be a one-time excise based on weight, whereas a graduated consumption tax would be an ongoing penalty, so it might be more effective. Seems to me it might be a bit difficult to implement tho'...

[Byron100]

Why mess with complicated tax schemes and the like?
Let's keep things REAL simple and just pass some straight-forward legislation to curb this problem. I propose that NO non-commercial vehicle which gets less than 40 mpg (later raised to 50, 60, 70 mpg over time) be allowed off any assembly line anywhere in the US, as well as imported from any country, effective next year. And no driving "commercial" vehicles for private use, either...this needs to be punished by outright confiscation.
There you have it..no new taxes, no onerous driving restrictions, etc, etc. Now, why more people don't think this is a good idea is way beyond me...

[TWilliam]

Why mess with complicated tax schemes and the like?
Let's keep things REAL simple and just pass some straight-forward legislation to curb this problem. I propose that NO non-commercial vehicle which gets less than 40 mpg (later raised to 50, 60, 70 mpg over time) be allowed off any assembly line anywhere in the US, as well as imported from any country, effective next year. And no driving "commercial" vehicles for private use, either...this needs to be punished by outright confiscation.
There you have it..no new taxes, no onerous driving restrictions, etc, etc. Now, why more people don't think this is a good idea is way beyond me...

Good idea for the longer term, but not much help for the immediate problem because a) the average lifespan for a vehicle is ~15 years and it would take nearly this long to completely switch out the existing fleet of vehicles in the U.S., and b) all those new, high mileage vehicles require ENERGY to be built, about 10 barrels of oil equivalent each.
The bottom line here anyway that people keep ignoring is this: lifestyles WILL be changing. You can kick and scream and gnash your teeth and wring your hands and pound the table all you want, but you WILL be driving less (if at all) in the not-too-distant future. 'Happy motoring' is soon to be only a memory...
(I like the confiscation idea. One other behavior that I suggest be likewise punished by confiscation: driving alone in a vehicle with capacity for more than one person.)

[max_in_wa]

We've had the so-called 'gas-guzzler tax' since 1980, and it's done little to dissuade people from purchasing low mileage vehicles - tho' many have argued that the exemption for vehicles over 6,000 actually encouraged people to buy big SUVs and such, which seems likely - so I'm not so sure such a scheme would be all that effective. Of course on the other hand, the gas-guzzler tax is a one-time penalty, as would be a one-time excise based on weight, whereas a graduated consumption tax would be an ongoing penalty, so it might be more effective. Seems to me it might be a bit difficult to implement tho'...

I hadn't thought about the gas guzzler tax. I do think as a one time hit though, it doesn't really have much effect.
It would be somewhat difficult to set up a consumption based system, but not ridiculously hard. All cars already come with a unique identifier (license plate). With a little bar code in the corner, gas consumption could be easily tracked and the price paid modified accordingly. It would still take a significant investment for gas station tech though.
The excise tax i was thinking of would be a yearly tax. Not as effective as a per gallon system, but more effective than a "once and done" guzzler tax. Japan does this -- the yearly cost to register a 660 cc mini car is very cheap, and the cost to register larger vehicles increases very rapidly to "very expensive".

[TWilliam]

The excise tax i was thinking of would be a yearly tax. Not as effective as a per gallon system, but more effective than a "once and done" guzzler tax. Japan does this -- the yearly cost to register a 660 cc mini car is very cheap, and the cost to register larger vehicles increases very rapidly to "very expensive".

We already have that tho', after a fashion anyway. It's based on the so-called 'blue book' value of the vehicle, not on weight, but the bigpig-mobiles tend to have a higher appraisal than the econo-boxes. Tho' of course there are exceptions.
The barcode setup you suggest might work; could have a sticker similar to the ones that you get for your plates and require that it be scanned before being permitted to purchase fuel. The IT infrastructure needed for a universal database and nationwide linkup with ALL service stations to keep track might be a bit pricey tho'. You'd also have to work out a way to tie in 'gas-can' purchases to prevent that particular end run.

Hmmm... maybe integrating the barcode into the driver's license rather than the vehicle tag...

[skiptamali]

Good thinking skiptamali! Your neighbors will soon come around to this point of view by about the time gas reaches $5 a gallon this summer....
The next step you and your neighbors need to consider is moving close enough to your work so you can ride a bike (within 10 miles) or a motor scooter (15miles).

SilentTodd, I agree with you. I don't own a car! I ride the bus or rapid transit, and walk or bike the shorter distances. Most days I work from home, but when I do go in, the 3 mile journey is taken by electric bus. I may live in a pretty small apartment, but personally, the time, money and quality of life tradeoffs are all worth it. Less driving around means fewer expenses and less stress, on top of obvious environmental benefits. I wouldn't go back to commuting by car, noo sir.