It is bad enough when accountants, and not engineers, mandate the cars and trucks we drive. But the most significant car designer for the next generation of automobiles will be someone with no background at all in the industry—and possibly even an ethos that could be considered anti-motoring. That man?

The next president of the United States.

The two candidates for the most powerful office in the world, senators John McCain and Barack Obama, are preaching many of the same themes, and their automotive party platforms are actually quite similar. Both say they want more fuel-efficient vehicles, and both profess to admire (but not actually understand much about) hybrids. They also share a desire to use government to legislate technological advancement.

The liberal love affair with hybrids, combined with an ignorance of their shortcomings, can be seen in the Democratic party’s statement that “We’ll dramatically increase the fuel efficiency of automobiles,” while Senator Obama himself proposes a $7000 tax credit to buyers of the plug-in variety—even though none are on sale yet, and no one knows how well they’ll perform in the real world—and his pledge to get one million on the road by 2015, as part of his ‘green economy’.

Senator McCain isn’t much more thoughtful; though he says, “We’ll encourage the development of flex-fuel, hybrid, and electric automobiles” and claims we need to change the way we fuel our transportation network, his most concrete proposal so far is an ‘X Prize’ of $300 million for an electric car battery breakthrough.

More recently both candidates began pushing hard for the implementation of legislation to provide between $25 and $50 billion in low-interest loans to help the Detroit 3 and their suppliers to convert assembly lines, retrain workers and engineers, and fund more R&D into increases in fuel efficiency. Tied to (my) cheap (taxpayer) money will be guidelines on that research, potentially castrating more beneficial lines of inquiry. Near-term solutions like advanced clean diesels, compression-ignition gasoline engines, or cellulosic ethanol-based strategies may fall to the wayside as the funds flow down very specific pathways that are easy to encompass in a stump speech or sound bite.

It’s as if the politicos have learned nothing from the corn ethanol fiasco. Just a few years ago, my esteemed leaders decided that fuel would solve all of our problems, and created huge incentives, through farm subsidies and legislation, for it. Now, with food prices doubling around the world and more ground water pollution from the increased farming that produces it, it’s anathema to talk ethanol, and those elected representatives deride what they themselves created.

If either candidate keeps their promises, US citizens will soon be driving smaller and less powerful cars and trucks. The recent trend towards dynamics-enhancing rear-wheel drive is already dead, an early casualty to new CAFE fuel economy rules. But of more concern is the ongoing battle between California and its allies and the US federal government over automotive carbon output. States’ rights advocates claim that those in Washington shouldn’t tell ‘em how to regulate cars’ and trucks’ output. If they succeed in their mission, all America will end up with much stricter fuel economy standards than those already implemented, since those states represent about 40% of all new car sales, and the manufacturers can’t afford to sell cars to only half the country. About the only vehicles that meet the proposed standards are the Prius and Jetta TDI—very exciting for all of us who love automobiles.

Neither candidate has made his feelings known about this particular issue, despite its importance. Democrats lean more towards regulation (of all sorts), and Obama is very vocal in his support for anything that he feels could combat global warming. He traded in his V8-powered Chrysler 300C for a Ford Escape Hybrid once it become politically expedient. On the other hand, Republicans are often for states’ rights, which wouldn’t be good for enthusiasts (or anyone who might actually need a truck or SUV) either.

Two possible rays of hope on the Republican ticket are that potential first lady Cindy McCain has been to Bob Bondurant’s racing school multiple times—and apparently loves to drive fast—and that GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s husband is a world champion snowmobile racer.

It’s not just my fellow Americans who will be affected, though. European and Asian manufacturers may have to make serious adjustment to comply with tight new regulations in this, the planet’s largest market. Worldwide product-line integration dictates that these changes will affect motorists everywhere, even in countries where petrol is still cheaper than water. Note that Cadillac has no replacement for the Northstar V8; it’s almost all direct-injection sixes, thank you sir. You too may share in my beloved leaders’ desire to determine what wheel you spend your time behind over the next decade.

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