Idealogian

Big Brother?

To Avoid Fuel Limits, Subaru Is Turning a Sedan Into a Truck

The Subaru Outback sedan looks like any other midsize car, with a trunk and comfortable seating for four adults.

But Subaru is tweaking some parts of the Outback sedan and wagon this year to meet the specifications of a light truck, the same regulatory category used by pickups and sport utilities. Why? Largely to avoid tougher fuel economy and air pollution standards for cars.

. . .

Subaru's strategy highlights what environmentalists, consumer groups and some politicians say is a loophole in the fuel economy regulations that has undermined the government's ability to actually cut gas consumption. The average fuel economy for new vehicles is lower now than it was two decades ago, despite advances in fuel-saving technology.

"This is a new low for the auto industry, and it would make George Orwell proud," said Daniel Becker, a global warming expert at the Sierra Club.

I'll admit to never having read 1984 or Animal Farm, but I'm not quite sure what Orwell has to do with this. I thought "Orwellian" refers to a completely totalitarian state, with no room for individuality. If anything, this is the exact opposite, where all that's needed to appease government regulation is a symbolic gesture to circumvent the rules.

Am I off base, or has "Orwell" just become the buzzword of choice whenever anyone wants to go off on an anti-government tirade?

(A Google Search turns up no explanation of Mr. Becker's statement, but it does turn up some questions regarding his intellectual integrity.)