Failure to raise CAFE only sidesteps issue.(Chicago Tribune)

CHICAGO _ Corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) laws dictate the mileage each automaker's fleet of vehicles must obtain in the United States.

Neither Japan nor Europe have CAFE laws.

Of course, you don't find many Ford Expeditions traveling in Tokyo or London like you do in the United States. Fueling an Expedition takes a couple hours' pay in the United States, but a couple days' pay in Japan or Europe.

Consumers in Japan and Europe don't relish pouring a couple days' pay into the tank, so they demand small, high-mileage vehicles.

Consumers in the United States don't relish squeezing into a car the size of a suitcase and prefer a vehicle the size of a ship when it takes only a couple hours' pay to fill it with energy.

Days ago the Senate rejected …