U.S Auto Makers Disagree with McCain on 'Tire Inflation'

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Obama suggested that proper tire pressure would help reduce energy dependence. But since making that statement, McCain and his campaign have been criticizing him and making fun of him by saying that inflating your tires will not make the U.S. energy independent.

At the Sturgis rally he said:

“My opponent doesn’t want to drill. He doesn’t want nuclear power. He wants you to inflate your tires…We’re not going to achieve energy independence by inflating our tires.”

Obama didn’t say that “tire inflation” alone will solve energy independence; he said it should be one of the methods we adopt along with an alternative energy plan. McCain prefers off-shore drilling, even though it will take a minimum of 10 years to get the oil to market.

Automakers disagreed with McCain’s views, and today in a post on the Wonk Room, Charles Territo, the director of communications for the Auto Alliance gave the following facts. He said that checking tire pressure regularly helps save fuel:

• The Department of Energy estimates that 1.2 billion gallons of fuel were wasted in 2005 as a result of driving on under-inflated tires.
• Fuel efficiency is reduced by 1% for every 3 PSI that tires are under-inflated.
• Proper tire inflation can save the equivalent of about 1 tank of gas per year.
• Proper tire inflation also reduces CO2 emissions.
• Experts estimate that 25% of automobiles are running on tires with lower than recommended pressure, because people don’t know how to check their tires or don’t realize that tires naturally lose air over time.

Territo and his team checked the tire pressure for members of Congress and their staff last week and found that most of them had under-inflated tires, which significantly reduces the fuel economy of their cars.

Also, checking tire pressure is one of the most-used and recommended hyper-miling methods. There are hyper-miling techniques that helps double the fuel economy of cars.

What does McCain feel now about this “tire inflation” scenario? He has switched his position dramatically and now endorses Obama’s:

"Obama a couple of days ago said that we ought to all inflate our tires, and I don’t disagree with that. The American Automobile Association strongly recommends it."