Dave Cooke

@ucsdave.bsky.social

351 Followers 695 Following

Using my white male privilege to rabble rouse companies and govt agencies into doing more. Midwest-grown, California-schooled, Senator-less citizen of the Douglass Commonwealth. This is a personal acct, but I'll still be mad about transportation issues.

"Are we the baddies?" meme with replacement text: "Am I reviewer 2?"
A map of DC showing that Ward 3 is far behind just about every other ward in building affordable housing since 2019.
Chart of highway funding over time, by revenue source.
Chart from the US Energy Information Administration showing gasoline prices in the U.S. were projected to drop to ~$2.40/gallon 2040-2050 under Biden-era transportation policies as compared to $3.25/gallon under the current administration's policies due to an over-reliance on oil and elimination of key incentives that were pushing towards an electrification transition.
Text clipping from the linked Energy Information Administration page: The United States remained a net crude oil importer in 2022, importing about 6.28 million barrels per day of crude oil and exporting about 3.58 million barrels per day. Some of the crude oil that the U. S. imports is refined by U. S. refineries into petroleum products--such as gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel, and jet fuel--that the U. S. later exports. Also, some of imported petroleum may be stored and later exported.
Quoted text from Experian: Q4 2025 Report State of the Automotive Finance Market Access an in-depth review of the U.S. Automotive Finance Market. This report analyzes trends for auto originations and portfolios during the second quarter (error: should say fourth quarter). Highlights include: - Average New Loan Amount Hit a Record High - Nearly 19% of Loan Payments Are Over $1,000 - Used Loan Amount Reached Highest Level Since 2022 - Consumers Saved Over 2% by Refinancing in Q4 2025
Quote from a New York Times article on how the U. S. auto industry has fucked itself into global uncompetitiveness by seeking to eliminate all meaningful environmental and emissions regulations on automobiles: "Matthew Beecham, a senior research analyst at S&P Global Mobility, an automotive company, said that given the uncertainties, automakers were likely to hedge their bets. They might expand their gasoline car lineups, he said, but most likely would not abandon electrification completely. And despite no penalties for violating the remaining fuel economy standards, there was unlikely to be “wholesale lawbreaking,” he said, because state rules and investor scrutiny could keep companies in check. “Expect tactical shifts toward profitable trucks, not open defiance,” he added."
3 panel image: 1) man biking with stick in hand; 2) man biking sticks stick in spokes of front wheel; 3) self-sabotaged biker falls to the ground.
Text from SAE paper reviewing vehicle pollution control costs. Conclusions In these comparisons of various ex ante estimates of costs with ex post price changes for passenger cars subject to new clean air regulatory requirements, we find that real price changes have been generally lower than any of the estimates. While EPA estimates tended to be closest to the observed price changes, there were only limited cases where the price change actually fell within the range estimated by EPA. Further, the data give a limited indication that EPA estimates for enhanced evaporative controls ($10) and onboard vapor recovery ($6) may have fallen slightly below the actual price impact. However the limitations of the available data plus ancillary information on changes in the PGM markets make it impossible to place much confidence in this conclusion. For estimates by industry stakeholders, we saw a general pattern of ex ante estimates substantially exceeding actual price changes. For example, refining industry estimates for fuel-related costs ranged from nearly twice to up to four times the observed price changes. On the vehicle side, the cumulative impact of overestimates by manufacturers for the 1994 through 2001 model years may be as much as nearly $500 per vehicle.
Block of summarizing text from analysis by Alan Baum and Dan Luria, two automotive analysts: 1) New car purchases have shifted upmarket due in large part to growing income inequality that favors upper-middle class and upper-income buyers who have the means and the interest to buy a higher-priced product. 2) Automakers understand this trend and have modified their offerings to emphasize higher price/higher trim level products that provide them higher profitability. 3) The global trend in the auto industry to sell more crossovers and fewer cars is by far the most important factor in the increase in new vehicle prices.
Three pie charts showing the relative income distribution for households purchasing vehicles. Figure caption: While used-car buyers have only slightly higher household incomes than the typical household, new-car buyers have significantly higher earnings. Households making more than $100,000 annually purchase nearly half of all new, privately owned cars.
A comparison of Ford wholesale sales (most of which are to automotive dealers) by country for 2022, 2023, and 2024, showing that North American sales are over half of their unit sales.
Table I-2 of the proposal to completely obliterate the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Corporate Average Fuel Economy program, showing that the light-duty vehicle fleet in 2024 achieved a 35.4 mile per gallon standard, on average, which is higher than the administration's proposed standard for 2031 of 34.5 miles per gallon.
Fuel economy reporting data for model year 2021 showing a fleet-average fuel economy of 35.0 miles per gallon against a standard of 35.1 miles per gallon.
Text from NHTSA's proposed CAFE rule: "NHTSA projects that the amended standards would correspond to the industry fleetwide average for all light-duty vehicles of roughly 34.5 miles per gallon (mpg) in model year 2031."
Bar chart Title: Vehicles and Discuss Fuels are Larger Transportation Costs than Roads or Transit Where is the money coming from? $1.665 trillion from private vehicle ownership $304 billion from commercial trucking $206 billion from public funding $10 billion from transit users Where is the money going? $442 billion to the oil industry $1.075 trillion to automotive industries $182 billion to other businesses $118 billion to government funding and services $275 billion for spending on roads $82 billion for spending on transit Total 2021 transportation sector spending: $2.2 trillion
A bar chart showing the inputs and outputs for the $2.2 trillion in 2021 transportation sector spending in the United States. Where's the money coming from? $1.655 trillion from private vehicle ownership. $304 billion from commercial trucking. $206 billion in general public funding. $10 billion from transit users. Where's the money going? $442 billion to the oil industry. $1.075 trillion to the automotive industry. $182 billion to other businesses. $118 billion to general government funding and services. $275 billion to spending on roads. $82 billion to spending on transit.
Televangelist praying, "Jesus, I see what you've done for other people, and I want that for me."
Screenshot of US EPA Virtual Public Hearing on Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards during the testimony of Dave Cooke, Union of Concerned Scientists, shown on screen with EPA panelists.
Section 7.3 of the District of Columbia's Temporary Traffic Control Manual, covering Sign Placement. Guidance: Signs should be located on the right side of the roadway unless otherwise specified in this Manual.
The CAFE standard only applies to internal combustion cars and light trucks, and the law that established the regulation says the Transportation Department can’t consider "alternative fuels" in its calculations.
While liberal voters — the most likely buyers of EVs — leaned towards both supporting requirements for car companies to sell more electric models and keeping California’s ability to set stronger-than-federal emissions standards, they don’t like the credit-trading system state officials devised to make that happen. More than half of Democrats surveyed — 56 percent — said they oppose “allowing carmakers to sell their extra credits to other carmakers” that don’t hit their sales targets, while only 20 percent said they support the concept, according to the poll from Democratic consultant and pollster Evan Roth Smith.
Screenshot from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The black knight, having lost all his limbs in a duel with King Arthur, tells his opponent, "All right, we'll call it a draw" while sitting immobile and defenseless on the ground.
Chart title: Effectiveness of the Federal Fuel Tax Has Dropped by More than 80 percent. Shown: A chart with five bars showing the relative change in value of the federal fuel tax, per mile, compared to 1993 (100%). An increased share of miles from freight trucks results in a 9.2% increase in income per mile, while increased vehicle efficiency since 1993 has decreased the value taken in per mile by 17.1%. Electric vehicles do not contribute to the fuel tax but comprise 2.1% of miles traveled, a further decrease. But increased in the cost of road building, which is what the fuel tax is largely spent on, has resulted in a 78.6% decrease in the value of federal fuel tax since 1993, leading to an overall value of just 19% in 2023 compared to 1993.
A bar chart indicating the percent of national Medium and Heavy Duty Vehicle population by Typical Daily Operating Range. Less than or equal to 50 miles = 71 percent, 51 to 100 miles = 15 percent, 101 to 200 miles = 6 percent, 201 to 500 miles = 4 percent, greater than or equal to 501 miles = 5 percent. (Numbers may not add to 100 percent due to rounding)
Fuel economy standards that diminish the strength of America's auto industry and deny Americans the full range of affordable ICE vehicles they need and are willing to pay for cannot satisfy the "technological feasibility" and "economic practicability" requirements of the governing law. The purpose of the CAFE program is not to force the electrification of the Nation's auto fleets; it is to establish the maximum average fuel economy standards that are realistic and feasible for fleets of vehicles of all sizes and uses that run on combustible liquid fuels like gasoline and diesel fuel and that the auto industry is capable of producing and selling in sufficient volume to meet the real-world market demand of American buyers.
Excerpted text of a letter from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation to President Trump. Improve Roadway Safety By refocusing its efforts on comprehensive and collaborative solutions, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has an opportunity to meaningfully reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. NHTSA recently issued a final rule mandating Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) and Pedestrian Automatic Emergency Braking (PAEB) in new vehicles beginning in 2029. Rather than leverage a voluntary commitment automakers made to NHTSA in 2016 to deploy AEB technology, the final rule mandates technology that is inconsistent with regulations implemented in other parts of the world and likely to result in aggressive and unpredictable braking that will frustrate drivers. Alliance for Automotive Innovation urges your administration to re-open the AEB rule and to foster a collaborative and solutions-oriented approach to roadway safety.
Photo of Chapter 1 in "On Tyranny." DO NOT OBEY IN ADVANCE. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.