A follow-up to the fuel economy standards post

The Tax They Didn't Tell You About

I don't agree with everything they say, like small cars being unsafe, but they do make some good points.

Fine, say the populist politicians. Stick it to the automakers. But do they really think Ford and GM will pick up the tab? Of course not. It'll be you, as GM's Lutz made clear in comments Sunday.

"We've done even more research," Lutz said, "and (the cost per car of new CAFE standards is) going to be in the range of $4,000 to $10,000, with an average of about $6,000."

Let's put that in perspective. The average cost of an automobile in 2006 was $27,958, according to the Comerica (NYSE:CMA PRZ) (NYSE:CMA) Automotive Affordability Index. So our new energy bill is, in effect, going to be a 21.4% tax hike on the current car prices.