Automakers & Making America Great Again

Looking for a new car, I tried to buy American. It wasn’t just because Donald Trump kept going on and on about making America great again by bringing back well-paying jobs, like the auto industry had when I was growing up. Heck, that was the plan when Barack Obama first got elected. Obama did bail out General Motors and Chrysler, and some jobs were saved, which is a good thing.

So when Motor Trend magazine declared the Chevy Bolt its 2017 Car of the Year—and Car and Driver included GM’s all-electric, 238- miles-per-charge highway cruiser in its Top Ten—I rushed out and bought one. It’s the new American Dream: Make America great again and protect the environment. How could I go wrong when the EPA told me to expect $4,250 in fuel-cost savings over five years?

I live in downtown Los Angeles, where I once again get to view the picturesque San Gabriel Mountains thanks primarily to California’s toughest-in-the-nation restrictions on auto emissions. Consumers are playing a big part as well. Around 40% of America’s clean air vehicles have been sold in the Golden State, which even chips in a hefty $2,500 rebate to anyone buying an electric car. Another incentive is a federal subsidy three times that amount.