How Jimmy Carter Influenced the Auto Industry

In 1977, during the Carter administration, the musical group Kansas released the timeless classic entitled “Dust in the Wind” with the clear message: “Now don’t hold on. Nothing lasts forever except the earth and the sky.”

An international icon passed away today: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100 at his home in Plains, GA, after more than twenty-two (22) months in hospice care. At his death, Jimmy Carter was the oldest living former president, having overtaken George HW Bush (94.5 years old) in 2019.

President Carter influenced many areas – from international diplomacy to multi-billion dollar corporations – and the world will certainly remember and celebrate his legacy in the days ahead. According to the nearly 900 pages of Stuart E. Eizenstat’s book “President Carter: The White House Years,” Carter may have been the most underrated president of all time, which was backed up earlier this year by the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project.

When it comes to the automobile industry, President Carter had a tremendous, positive impact that is worth remembering because, like all influential figures throughout history, he helped set in motion the momentum for improvements that last across generations. Let’s look at at least two major changes that began during his presidency: a greener strategy and functional safety.

A more environmentally friendly strategy

Unfortunately, there are few “all-time” lists that put the Carter administration at the top – in part because Jimmy Carter is better known for his exploits after the White House than for his work – but such a list does Carter rightly called the “Greenest” President of all time.” Carter recognized, and even expressed it in his infamous speech nicknamed the “Malaise Speech” (also known as the Crisis of Confidence Speech), that “we cannot continue to use 40 percent more energy than we produce.” If we use oil If we import, we also import inflation plus unemployment.”

Why? Perhaps first and foremost, Carter established the Department of Energy and a national energy policy that included energy conservation, price controls, and new technologies. For the first time there was a nationwide discussion about alternative fuels and energies. When it was inaugurated in 1977, the test stand was heated with around 1,000 square meters of solar thermal panels. “Just as a similar synthetic rubber company helped us win World War II, we will mobilize America’s resolve and ability to win the energy war.” Additionally, I will soon introduce legislation to Congress that would establish the world’s first solar bank Landes is calling for what will help us achieve the critical goal of sourcing 20 percent of our energy from solar energy by the year 2000.” (*NOTE: Actual numbers as of February 2023 were 21.5% and came exclusively from renewable energy, including 3.4% solar energy.)

In this spirit, Carter helped revitalize and strengthen both the struggling Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA). The EPA was founded 11 years before CERCLA, or Superfund, but was not given sufficient authority until Carter helped give the agency a much larger budget and the power to enforce rules and clean up. In the environmental message to Congress in May 1977, Carter put forward: “Emissions controls for automobiles that will help achieve clean air goals but enable the achievement of stringent fuel economy standards (and) government implementation of inspection and maintenance programs.” in heavily polluted areas to ensure that automobiles continue to meet emissions control requirements during use.”

For the NHTSA, corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards in 1978 were an embarrassingly low 18 miles per gallon. At the end of the Carter administration, NHTSA announced that fuel efficiency standards should reach 48 mpg by 1995. Opponents of these regulations, such as Bob Lutz, have argued over the years that CAFE standards such as “…fight obesity by telling clothing manufacturers they can only produce small sizes,” but comparing actual CAFE performance to standards shows, that this early wisdom drove the national fuel economy strategy. Such regulations remain the most likely reason that technologies such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels will eventually become mainstream.

“We have the most skilled workforce with innovative genius, and I firmly believe we have the national will to win this (energy crisis) war.” – Former President Carter

Functional safety

Carter recognized the importance of functional safety and helped support and encourage organizations to protect consumers.

In 1972, during the Nixon Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was created to “…protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction “Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the country more than $1 trillion annually.” During the nearly fifty-year monitoring period, deaths and injuries due to product safety have declined.

Recognizing the need for product safety, Jimmy Carter signed a bill in 1978 that provided further authorization for the CPSC. “The Consumer Product Safety Commission has had a difficult five-year history,” Carter said at the signing, “but it has a critical mission: to protect the health and safety of Americans.” In considering this legislation, the Administration and Congress “We have examined the problems facing this agency and … it now has the opportunity to carry out effective and responsible work.”

Those with only a passing familiarity with United States law would argue that the CPSC has no jurisdiction over on-road vehicles, especially after NHTSA clarified its jurisdiction in 2005. Many micromobility vehicles with a maximum speed of less than 20 miles per hour (20 miles per hour), however, appear to fall under the jurisdiction of the CPSC regardless of whether they are used on a road or not. Several major automobile manufacturers and suppliers produce such micromobility products.

Regardless of the exact jurisdiction, decades after Carter’s revival of the CPSC, there are over 50,000 database entries when searching for “cars” – which are typically products used in a vehicle, such as: B. Car seats – but the overlapping protection and the functional safety philosophy introduced cannot be ignored.

Author’s note

No matter your nationality or age, President Carter’s Crisis of Confidence Speech is worth reading in its entirety. Although some believe the speech played a role in his defeat by Reagan the following year, many of his words still ring true today. “In conclusion, I would like to say this: I will do my best, but I will not do it alone.” It was a cry for unification.

Perhaps we should revive this sentiment in honor of his death.