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Comment by baxter001 | Hacker News Reader

As with most interesting problems, this legislation hasn't been written with a focus on what sort of end-results are easiest to arrive at a technical solution for. This article characterises that as 'magic wand regulating' -- I'd hate to see an alternative where EU directives contain explicit technical implementation guidance!

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> As with most interesting problems, this legislation hasn't been written with a focus on what sort of end-results are easiest to arrive at a technical solution for. This article characterises that as 'magic wand regulating' -- I'd hate to see an alternative where EU directives contain explicit technical implementation guidance!

There are multiple ways to create bad legislation. One is to require a specific solution, but another is to require a result that no known solution can produce.

This is not really about technical solutions. It's about an understanding of how computers work. The underlying assumption is that companies _will_ build technology that is as good as the law requires it to be. Large companies very well might, but this is a killer for small businesses.

Let's legislate that all cars must attain 150 mpg and cost less than $10,000. The EU proposals are approaching that kind of absurdity.

The Renault Twizy falls into that category. You need to find a better absurd example in the future ;).

It's an electric car, so no oil consumption (parent talks bout mpg)

There is an mpg equivalent for electric cars based on the idea that 1 US gallon of petrol is 33.7 kWh.

Cool, didn't know that, thanks

That's 70% of the entire energy contents of the gasoline. You don't get anywhere near that kind of efficiency even on large electrical generators. 16.2 kWh is way more realistic.

Ah good to know :)

Let's just use the standard HN response here: your business model is not my problem. If you can't make that car, maybe cars shouldn't be permitted to exist.

Also: That all the cars are expensive and do X to limit MPG are because of lazy manufacturers, nothing in the law says they have to do it that way.

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