FLINT, Michigan — There is an old saying that those who don’t learn from the mistakes of others are destined to repeat them.
Before Congress finalizes ill-conceived fuel economy standards that would almost double gasoline mileage by 2025, while boosting costs of the average vehicle by some $3,000 and pricing millions of Americans out of the market, it could learn a lesson from a similar misguided experience 40 years ago.
In the late 1970s, President Jimmy Carter, citing a need to reduce U.S. dependence on OPEC oil, mandated a 53 percent increase in fuel economy over seven years.
