There's a lot of work to do. For example:
The proposals by 16 states to adopt CO2-based emissions standards over and above the federal mandate for 35 mpg by 2020 should be junked. Immediately. The auto industry is a national industry. It makes no sense for individual states to be allowed to impose regulations that add cost and complexity to new vehicle design, engineering, and manufacturing. It makes no sense automakers (and in this case, that includes Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and the other transplants) should be forced to spend time and money in the courts fighting this.
To ensure Detroit builds fuel-efficient vehicles, there needs to be some mechanism in place to encourage consumers to buy them in the absence of high gas prices. Despite what most politicians in Washington believe, Ford and GM in particular already make and sell millions of highly fuel-efficient vehicles-in Europe and Asia, where gas is $6 to $8 a gallon. The past 30 years has proven conclusively American consumers have no interest in buying small cars, or cars with expensive fuel-saving technologies such as hybrid or diesel powertrains, without a financial incentive. Whether you like it or not, America now has a unique opportunity to completely reinvent its auto industry. Yes, there will be a cost, though I'd argue it will be way less than bailing out the banks, and the human misery of 12 percent unemployment. We should seize that opportunity. It's time to care.