We may be witnessing the death of America's car culture, and it's not dying of old age.

People are still buying lots of cars. But there's been a concerted push by government bureaucrats

and environmentalists to transform car ownership from a source of pride to a source of guilt.

Ever since Henry Ford built the Model T, cars have been central to the American experience.

That's because cars are more than just another way to get from Point A to Point B.

They allow us to go wherever we want, whenever we want, with whomever we want.

Think about it. With trains, planes, and buses, the routes are planned, and the schedule is timed.

Only cars allow you to be spontaneous. When you get behind the wheel, you are in control. You are free.

The very reason people love cars, personal freedom, is also why regulators can't stand them.

Government at all levels craves control. And when it comes to your car, they want you off the road.

So are the environmentalists with whom they have made common cause.

This antagonism toward America's car culture can be traced back to the 1970s.

In response to the Arab oil embargo in the early part of that decade, Congress passed

the National Fuel Economy Standards for Cars and Light Trucks. These standards known as

CAFE, short for corporate average fuel economy, forced automakers to increase fuel efficiency.

Rather than let the free market decide what kind of cars customers wanted to buy,

the government decided to do the dictating. Their regulations have cost car companies and

consumers many billions of dollars. But in the last decade or so, the government's heavy hand has

come down harder than ever. Beginning in 2009, the Obama administration sought to dramatically

increase CAFE requirements. These Obama-era standards make cars more expensive,

around $4,000 per new vehicle, according to economist Salim Firth and David Kreitzer.

This prices millions of middle-class families out of the new car market.

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