<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML+RDFa 1.0//EN"
  "http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/DTD/xhtml-rdfa-1.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" version="XHTML+RDFa 1.0" dir="ltr" prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns# article: http://ogp.me/ns/article# book: http://ogp.me/ns/book# profile: http://ogp.me/ns/profile# video: http://ogp.me/ns/video# product: http://ogp.me/ns/product# c: http://s.opencalais.com/1/pred/ sys: http://s.opencalais.com/1/type/sys/ lid: http://s.opencalais.com/1/type/lid/ cat: http://s.opencalais.com/1/type/cat/ resolved: http://s.opencalais.com/1/type/er/ cgeo: http://s.opencalais.com/1/type/er/Geo/ eventfact: http://s.opencalais.com/1/type/em/r/ entity: http://s.opencalais.com/1/type/em/e/ cld: http://s.opencalais.com/1/linkeddata/pred/ content: http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/ dc: http://purl.org/dc/terms/ foaf: http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/ rdfs: http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema# sioc: http://rdfs.org/sioc/ns# sioct: http://rdfs.org/sioc/types# skos: http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core# xsd: http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#">

<head profile="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml/vocab">
    <meta charset="utf-8" /><script type="text/javascript">(window.NREUM||(NREUM={})).loader_config={xpid:"XAcAVFVADAsBVFhQBQM="};window.NREUM||(NREUM={}),__nr_require=function(t,n,e){function r(e){if(!n[e]){var o=n[e]={exports:{}};t[e][0].call(o.exports,function(n){var o=t[e][1][n];return r(o||n)},o,o.exports)}return n[e].exports}if("function"==typeof __nr_require)return __nr_require;for(var o=0;o<e.length;o++)r(e[o]);return r}({1:[function(t,n,e){function r(t){try{s.console&&console.log(t)}catch(n){}}var o,i=t("ee"),a=t(15),s={};try{o=localStorage.getItem("__nr_flags").split(","),console&&"function"==typeof console.log&&(s.console=!0,o.indexOf("dev")!==-1&&(s.dev=!0),o.indexOf("nr_dev")!==-1&&(s.nrDev=!0))}catch(c){}s.nrDev&&i.on("internal-error",function(t){r(t.stack)}),s.dev&&i.on("fn-err",function(t,n,e){r(e.stack)}),s.dev&&(r("NR AGENT IN DEVELOPMENT MODE"),r("flags: "+a(s,function(t,n){return t}).join(", ")))},{}],2:[function(t,n,e){function r(t,n,e,r,s){try{p?p-=1:o(s||new UncaughtException(t,n,e),!0)}catch(f){try{i("ierr",[f,c.now(),!0])}catch(d){}}return"function"==typeof u&&u.apply(this,a(arguments))}function UncaughtException(t,n,e){this.message=t||"Uncaught error with no additional information",this.sourceURL=n,this.line=e}function o(t,n){var e=n?null:c.now();i("err",[t,e])}var i=t("handle"),a=t(16),s=t("ee"),c=t("loader"),f=t("gos"),u=window.onerror,d=!1,l="nr@seenError",p=0;c.features.err=!0,t(1),window.onerror=r;try{throw new Error}catch(h){"stack"in h&&(t(8),t(7),"addEventListener"in window&&t(5),c.xhrWrappable&&t(9),d=!0)}s.on("fn-start",function(t,n,e){d&&(p+=1)}),s.on("fn-err",function(t,n,e){d&&!e[l]&&(f(e,l,function(){return!0}),this.thrown=!0,o(e))}),s.on("fn-end",function(){d&&!this.thrown&&p>0&&(p-=1)}),s.on("internal-error",function(t){i("ierr",[t,c.now(),!0])})},{}],3:[function(t,n,e){t("loader").features.ins=!0},{}],4:[function(t,n,e){function r(t){}if(window.performance&&window.performance.timing&&window.performance.getEntriesByType){var o=t("ee"),i=t("handle"),a=t(8),s=t(7),c="learResourceTimings",f="addEventListener",u="resourcetimingbufferfull",d="bstResource",l="resource",p="-start",h="-end",m="fn"+p,w="fn"+h,v="bstTimer",y="pushState",g=t("loader");g.features.stn=!0,t(6);var b=NREUM.o.EV;o.on(m,function(t,n){var e=t[0];e instanceof b&&(this.bstStart=g.now())}),o.on(w,function(t,n){var e=t[0];e instanceof b&&i("bst",[e,n,this.bstStart,g.now()])}),a.on(m,function(t,n,e){this.bstStart=g.now(),this.bstType=e}),a.on(w,function(t,n){i(v,[n,this.bstStart,g.now(),this.bstType])}),s.on(m,function(){this.bstStart=g.now()}),s.on(w,function(t,n){i(v,[n,this.bstStart,g.now(),"requestAnimationFrame"])}),o.on(y+p,function(t){this.time=g.now(),this.startPath=location.pathname+location.hash}),o.on(y+h,function(t){i("bstHist",[location.pathname+location.hash,this.startPath,this.time])}),f in window.performance&&(window.performance["c"+c]?window.performance[f](u,function(t){i(d,[window.performance.getEntriesByType(l)]),window.performance["c"+c]()},!1):window.performance[f]("webkit"+u,function(t){i(d,[window.performance.getEntriesByType(l)]),window.performance["webkitC"+c]()},!1)),document[f]("scroll",r,{passive:!0}),document[f]("keypress",r,!1),document[f]("click",r,!1)}},{}],5:[function(t,n,e){function r(t){for(var n=t;n&&!n.hasOwnProperty(u);)n=Object.getPrototypeOf(n);n&&o(n)}function o(t){s.inPlace(t,[u,d],"-",i)}function i(t,n){return t[1]}var a=t("ee").get("events"),s=t(18)(a,!0),c=t("gos"),f=XMLHttpRequest,u="addEventListener",d="removeEventListener";n.exports=a,"getPrototypeOf"in Object?(r(document),r(window),r(f.prototype)):f.prototype.hasOwnProperty(u)&&(o(window),o(f.prototype)),a.on(u+"-start",function(t,n){var e=t[1],r=c(e,"nr@wrapped",function(){function t(){if("function"==typeof e.handleEvent)return e.handleEvent.apply(e,arguments)}var n={object:t,"function":e}[typeof e];return n?s(n,"fn-",null,n.name||"anonymous"):e});this.wrapped=t[1]=r}),a.on(d+"-start",function(t){t[1]=this.wrapped||t[1]})},{}],6:[function(t,n,e){var r=t("ee").get("history"),o=t(18)(r);n.exports=r,o.inPlace(window.history,["pushState","replaceState"],"-")},{}],7:[function(t,n,e){var r=t("ee").get("raf"),o=t(18)(r),i="equestAnimationFrame";n.exports=r,o.inPlace(window,["r"+i,"mozR"+i,"webkitR"+i,"msR"+i],"raf-"),r.on("raf-start",function(t){t[0]=o(t[0],"fn-")})},{}],8:[function(t,n,e){function r(t,n,e){t[0]=a(t[0],"fn-",null,e)}function o(t,n,e){this.method=e,this.timerDuration=isNaN(t[1])?0:+t[1],t[0]=a(t[0],"fn-",this,e)}var i=t("ee").get("timer"),a=t(18)(i),s="setTimeout",c="setInterval",f="clearTimeout",u="-start",d="-";n.exports=i,a.inPlace(window,[s,"setImmediate"],s+d),a.inPlace(window,[c],c+d),a.inPlace(window,[f,"clearImmediate"],f+d),i.on(c+u,r),i.on(s+u,o)},{}],9:[function(t,n,e){function r(t,n){d.inPlace(n,["onreadystatechange"],"fn-",s)}function o(){var t=this,n=u.context(t);t.readyState>3&&!n.resolved&&(n.resolved=!0,u.emit("xhr-resolved",[],t)),d.inPlace(t,y,"fn-",s)}function i(t){g.push(t),h&&(x?x.then(a):w?w(a):(E=-E,O.data=E))}function a(){for(var t=0;t<g.length;t++)r([],g[t]);g.length&&(g=[])}function s(t,n){return n}function c(t,n){for(var e in t)n[e]=t[e];return n}t(5);var f=t("ee"),u=f.get("xhr"),d=t(18)(u),l=NREUM.o,p=l.XHR,h=l.MO,m=l.PR,w=l.SI,v="readystatechange",y=["onload","onerror","onabort","onloadstart","onloadend","onprogress","ontimeout"],g=[];n.exports=u;var b=window.XMLHttpRequest=function(t){var n=new p(t);try{u.emit("new-xhr",[n],n),n.addEventListener(v,o,!1)}catch(e){try{u.emit("internal-error",[e])}catch(r){}}return n};if(c(p,b),b.prototype=p.prototype,d.inPlace(b.prototype,["open","send"],"-xhr-",s),u.on("send-xhr-start",function(t,n){r(t,n),i(n)}),u.on("open-xhr-start",r),h){var x=m&&m.resolve();if(!w&&!m){var E=1,O=document.createTextNode(E);new h(a).observe(O,{characterData:!0})}}else f.on("fn-end",function(t){t[0]&&t[0].type===v||a()})},{}],10:[function(t,n,e){function r(t){var n=this.params,e=this.metrics;if(!this.ended){this.ended=!0;for(var r=0;r<d;r++)t.removeEventListener(u[r],this.listener,!1);if(!n.aborted){if(e.duration=a.now()-this.startTime,4===t.readyState){n.status=t.status;var i=o(t,this.lastSize);if(i&&(e.rxSize=i),this.sameOrigin){var c=t.getResponseHeader("X-NewRelic-App-Data");c&&(n.cat=c.split(", ").pop())}}else n.status=0;e.cbTime=this.cbTime,f.emit("xhr-done",[t],t),s("xhr",[n,e,this.startTime])}}}function o(t,n){var e=t.responseType;if("json"===e&&null!==n)return n;var r="arraybuffer"===e||"blob"===e||"json"===e?t.response:t.responseText;return h(r)}function i(t,n){var e=c(n),r=t.params;r.host=e.hostname+":"+e.port,r.pathname=e.pathname,t.sameOrigin=e.sameOrigin}var a=t("loader");if(a.xhrWrappable){var s=t("handle"),c=t(11),f=t("ee"),u=["load","error","abort","timeout"],d=u.length,l=t("id"),p=t(14),h=t(13),m=window.XMLHttpRequest;a.features.xhr=!0,t(9),f.on("new-xhr",function(t){var n=this;n.totalCbs=0,n.called=0,n.cbTime=0,n.end=r,n.ended=!1,n.xhrGuids={},n.lastSize=null,p&&(p>34||p<10)||window.opera||t.addEventListener("progress",function(t){n.lastSize=t.loaded},!1)}),f.on("open-xhr-start",function(t){this.params={method:t[0]},i(this,t[1]),this.metrics={}}),f.on("open-xhr-end",function(t,n){"loader_config"in NREUM&&"xpid"in NREUM.loader_config&&this.sameOrigin&&n.setRequestHeader("X-NewRelic-ID",NREUM.loader_config.xpid)}),f.on("send-xhr-start",function(t,n){var e=this.metrics,r=t[0],o=this;if(e&&r){var i=h(r);i&&(e.txSize=i)}this.startTime=a.now(),this.listener=function(t){try{"abort"===t.type&&(o.params.aborted=!0),("load"!==t.type||o.called===o.totalCbs&&(o.onloadCalled||"function"!=typeof n.onload))&&o.end(n)}catch(e){try{f.emit("internal-error",[e])}catch(r){}}};for(var s=0;s<d;s++)n.addEventListener(u[s],this.listener,!1)}),f.on("xhr-cb-time",function(t,n,e){this.cbTime+=t,n?this.onloadCalled=!0:this.called+=1,this.called!==this.totalCbs||!this.onloadCalled&&"function"==typeof e.onload||this.end(e)}),f.on("xhr-load-added",function(t,n){var e=""+l(t)+!!n;this.xhrGuids&&!this.xhrGuids[e]&&(this.xhrGuids[e]=!0,this.totalCbs+=1)}),f.on("xhr-load-removed",function(t,n){var e=""+l(t)+!!n;this.xhrGuids&&this.xhrGuids[e]&&(delete this.xhrGuids[e],this.totalCbs-=1)}),f.on("addEventListener-end",function(t,n){n instanceof m&&"load"===t[0]&&f.emit("xhr-load-added",[t[1],t[2]],n)}),f.on("removeEventListener-end",function(t,n){n instanceof m&&"load"===t[0]&&f.emit("xhr-load-removed",[t[1],t[2]],n)}),f.on("fn-start",function(t,n,e){n instanceof m&&("onload"===e&&(this.onload=!0),("load"===(t[0]&&t[0].type)||this.onload)&&(this.xhrCbStart=a.now()))}),f.on("fn-end",function(t,n){this.xhrCbStart&&f.emit("xhr-cb-time",[a.now()-this.xhrCbStart,this.onload,n],n)})}},{}],11:[function(t,n,e){n.exports=function(t){var n=document.createElement("a"),e=window.location,r={};n.href=t,r.port=n.port;var o=n.href.split("://");!r.port&&o[1]&&(r.port=o[1].split("/")[0].split("@").pop().split(":")[1]),r.port&&"0"!==r.port||(r.port="https"===o[0]?"443":"80"),r.hostname=n.hostname||e.hostname,r.pathname=n.pathname,r.protocol=o[0],"/"!==r.pathname.charAt(0)&&(r.pathname="/"+r.pathname);var i=!n.protocol||":"===n.protocol||n.protocol===e.protocol,a=n.hostname===document.domain&&n.port===e.port;return r.sameOrigin=i&&(!n.hostname||a),r}},{}],12:[function(t,n,e){function r(){}function o(t,n,e){return function(){return i(t,[f.now()].concat(s(arguments)),n?null:this,e),n?void 0:this}}var i=t("handle"),a=t(15),s=t(16),c=t("ee").get("tracer"),f=t("loader"),u=NREUM;"undefined"==typeof window.newrelic&&(newrelic=u);var d=["setPageViewName","setCustomAttribute","setErrorHandler","finished","addToTrace","inlineHit","addRelease"],l="api-",p=l+"ixn-";a(d,function(t,n){u[n]=o(l+n,!0,"api")}),u.addPageAction=o(l+"addPageAction",!0),u.setCurrentRouteName=o(l+"routeName",!0),n.exports=newrelic,u.interaction=function(){return(new r).get()};var h=r.prototype={createTracer:function(t,n){var e={},r=this,o="function"==typeof n;return i(p+"tracer",[f.now(),t,e],r),function(){if(c.emit((o?"":"no-")+"fn-start",[f.now(),r,o],e),o)try{return n.apply(this,arguments)}catch(t){throw c.emit("fn-err",[arguments,this,t],e),t}finally{c.emit("fn-end",[f.now()],e)}}}};a("setName,setAttribute,save,ignore,onEnd,getContext,end,get".split(","),function(t,n){h[n]=o(p+n)}),newrelic.noticeError=function(t){"string"==typeof t&&(t=new Error(t)),i("err",[t,f.now()])}},{}],13:[function(t,n,e){n.exports=function(t){if("string"==typeof t&&t.length)return t.length;if("object"==typeof t){if("undefined"!=typeof ArrayBuffer&&t instanceof ArrayBuffer&&t.byteLength)return t.byteLength;if("undefined"!=typeof Blob&&t instanceof Blob&&t.size)return t.size;if(!("undefined"!=typeof FormData&&t instanceof FormData))try{return JSON.stringify(t).length}catch(n){return}}}},{}],14:[function(t,n,e){var r=0,o=navigator.userAgent.match(/Firefox[\/\s](\d+\.\d+)/);o&&(r=+o[1]),n.exports=r},{}],15:[function(t,n,e){function r(t,n){var e=[],r="",i=0;for(r in t)o.call(t,r)&&(e[i]=n(r,t[r]),i+=1);return e}var o=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty;n.exports=r},{}],16:[function(t,n,e){function r(t,n,e){n||(n=0),"undefined"==typeof e&&(e=t?t.length:0);for(var r=-1,o=e-n||0,i=Array(o<0?0:o);++r<o;)i[r]=t[n+r];return i}n.exports=r},{}],17:[function(t,n,e){n.exports={exists:"undefined"!=typeof window.performance&&window.performance.timing&&"undefined"!=typeof window.performance.timing.navigationStart}},{}],18:[function(t,n,e){function r(t){return!(t&&t instanceof Function&&t.apply&&!t[a])}var o=t("ee"),i=t(16),a="nr@original",s=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty,c=!1;n.exports=function(t,n){function e(t,n,e,o){function nrWrapper(){var r,a,s,c;try{a=this,r=i(arguments),s="function"==typeof e?e(r,a):e||{}}catch(f){l([f,"",[r,a,o],s])}u(n+"start",[r,a,o],s);try{return c=t.apply(a,r)}catch(d){throw u(n+"err",[r,a,d],s),d}finally{u(n+"end",[r,a,c],s)}}return r(t)?t:(n||(n=""),nrWrapper[a]=t,d(t,nrWrapper),nrWrapper)}function f(t,n,o,i){o||(o="");var a,s,c,f="-"===o.charAt(0);for(c=0;c<n.length;c++)s=n[c],a=t[s],r(a)||(t[s]=e(a,f?s+o:o,i,s))}function u(e,r,o){if(!c||n){var i=c;c=!0;try{t.emit(e,r,o,n)}catch(a){l([a,e,r,o])}c=i}}function d(t,n){if(Object.defineProperty&&Object.keys)try{var e=Object.keys(t);return e.forEach(function(e){Object.defineProperty(n,e,{get:function(){return t[e]},set:function(n){return t[e]=n,n}})}),n}catch(r){l([r])}for(var o in t)s.call(t,o)&&(n[o]=t[o]);return n}function l(n){try{t.emit("internal-error",n)}catch(e){}}return t||(t=o),e.inPlace=f,e.flag=a,e}},{}],ee:[function(t,n,e){function r(){}function o(t){function n(t){return t&&t instanceof r?t:t?c(t,s,i):i()}function e(e,r,o,i){if(!l.aborted||i){t&&t(e,r,o);for(var a=n(o),s=h(e),c=s.length,f=0;f<c;f++)s[f].apply(a,r);var d=u[y[e]];return d&&d.push([g,e,r,a]),a}}function p(t,n){v[t]=h(t).concat(n)}function h(t){return v[t]||[]}function m(t){return d[t]=d[t]||o(e)}function w(t,n){f(t,function(t,e){n=n||"feature",y[e]=n,n in u||(u[n]=[])})}var v={},y={},g={on:p,emit:e,get:m,listeners:h,context:n,buffer:w,abort:a,aborted:!1};return g}function i(){return new r}function a(){(u.api||u.feature)&&(l.aborted=!0,u=l.backlog={})}var s="nr@context",c=t("gos"),f=t(15),u={},d={},l=n.exports=o();l.backlog=u},{}],gos:[function(t,n,e){function r(t,n,e){if(o.call(t,n))return t[n];var r=e();if(Object.defineProperty&&Object.keys)try{return Object.defineProperty(t,n,{value:r,writable:!0,enumerable:!1}),r}catch(i){}return t[n]=r,r}var o=Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty;n.exports=r},{}],handle:[function(t,n,e){function r(t,n,e,r){o.buffer([t],r),o.emit(t,n,e)}var o=t("ee").get("handle");n.exports=r,r.ee=o},{}],id:[function(t,n,e){function r(t){var n=typeof t;return!t||"object"!==n&&"function"!==n?-1:t===window?0:a(t,i,function(){return o++})}var o=1,i="nr@id",a=t("gos");n.exports=r},{}],loader:[function(t,n,e){function r(){if(!x++){var t=b.info=NREUM.info,n=l.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(setTimeout(u.abort,3e4),!(t&&t.licenseKey&&t.applicationID&&n))return u.abort();f(y,function(n,e){t[n]||(t[n]=e)}),c("mark",["onload",a()+b.offset],null,"api");var e=l.createElement("script");e.src="https://"+t.agent,n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n)}}function o(){"complete"===l.readyState&&i()}function i(){c("mark",["domContent",a()+b.offset],null,"api")}function a(){return E.exists&&performance.now?Math.round(performance.now()):(s=Math.max((new Date).getTime(),s))-b.offset}var s=(new Date).getTime(),c=t("handle"),f=t(15),u=t("ee"),d=window,l=d.document,p="addEventListener",h="attachEvent",m=d.XMLHttpRequest,w=m&&m.prototype;NREUM.o={ST:setTimeout,SI:d.setImmediate,CT:clearTimeout,XHR:m,REQ:d.Request,EV:d.Event,PR:d.Promise,MO:d.MutationObserver};var v=""+location,y={beacon:"bam.nr-data.net",errorBeacon:"bam.nr-data.net",agent:"js-agent.newrelic.com/nr-1071.min.js"},g=m&&w&&w[p]&&!/CriOS/.test(navigator.userAgent),b=n.exports={offset:s,now:a,origin:v,features:{},xhrWrappable:g};t(12),l[p]?(l[p]("DOMContentLoaded",i,!1),d[p]("load",r,!1)):(l[h]("onreadystatechange",o),d[h]("onload",r)),c("mark",["firstbyte",s],null,"api");var x=0,E=t(17)},{}]},{},["loader",2,10,4,3]);</script>
<script>var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime();</script>
<link rel="amphtml" href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles?amp" />
<meta property="author" content="Jonathan Smoke, opinion contributor" />
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://thehill.com/favicon.ico" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" />
<meta name="description" content="OPINION | In a measure of damaged or destroyed cars, Hurricane Harvey could well be the worst ever in the US." />
<meta name="keywords" content="Jonathan Smoke, Flood, Hurricane Harvey, flooding, floodwaters, Houston,," />
<meta name="generator" content="Drupal 7 (http://drupal.org)" />
<link rel="canonical" href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" />
<link rel="shortlink" href="http://thehill.com/node/349487" />
<meta property="fb:admins" content="581787871" />
<meta property="fb:admins" content="732535504" />
<meta property="fb:admins" content="100000299130732" />
<meta property="fb:pages" content="7533944086" />
<meta property="fb:app_id" content="566538590082898" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="TheHill" />
<meta property="og:type" content="article" />
<meta property="og:title" content="Hurricane Harvey: The worst disaster for automobiles ever" />
<meta property="og:url" content="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" />
<meta property="og:description" content="OPINION | In a measure of damaged or destroyed cars, Hurricane Harvey could well be the worst ever in the US." />
<meta property="og:updated_time" content="2017-09-06T18:20:01-04:00" />
<meta property="og:image" content="http://thehill.com/sites/default/files/flooded_cars.jpg" />
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" />
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Hurricane Harvey: The worst disaster for automobiles ever" />
<meta name="twitter:url" content="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" />
<meta name="twitter:description" content="OPINION | In a measure of damaged or destroyed cars, Hurricane Harvey could well be the worst ever in the US." />
<meta property="article:published_time" content="2017-09-06T18:20:05-04:00" />
<meta property="article:modified_time" content="2017-09-06T18:20:01-04:00" />
<meta name="dcterms.title" content="Hurricane Harvey: The worst disaster for automobiles ever" />
<meta name="dcterms.creator" content="Christine Ayala" />
<meta name="dcterms.description" content="OPINION | In a measure of damaged or destroyed cars, Hurricane Harvey could well be the worst ever in the US." />
<meta name="dcterms.date" content="2017-09-06T18:20-04:00" />
<meta name="dcterms.type" content="Text" />
<meta name="dcterms.format" content="text/html" />
<meta name="dcterms.identifier" content="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" />
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="/sites/all/modules/thehill/thehill_header_bidding/js/prebid.js" async ></script><script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="//www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js" async ></script>  <title>Hurricane Harvey: The worst disaster for automobiles ever | TheHill</title>
  <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/css/css_kShW4RPmRstZ3SpIC-ZvVGNFVAi0WEMuCnI0ZkYIaFw.css" media="all" />
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/css/css_TyulULwqW0HkHnXNHwZ9xOCK6j9t1UA26FxVjtykkQM.css" media="all" />
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/css/css_5eW3j7smu9FgwOVE8MiuPT3hapGwjIeTf9CDhK2qgUQ.css" media="all" />
<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/css/css_XWm-vjSMwHpDmAXZbW8cJUV6wEEQVwwQOLi99KqeoWI.css" media="all" />
  <!-- Krux interchange code (before the first ad call) -->
  <script class="kxint" data-namespace="thehill" type="text/javascript">
    window.Krux||((Krux=function(){Krux.q.push(arguments);}).q=[]);
    (function(){
      function retrieve(n){
        var k= 'kx'+'thehill_'+n, ls=(function(){
          try {
            return window.localStorage;
          } catch(e) {
            return null;
          }
        })();
        if (ls) {
          return ls[k] || '';
        } else if (navigator.cookieEnabled) {
          var m = document.cookie.match(k+'=([^;]*)');
          return (m && unescape(m[1])) || '';
        } else {
          return '';
        }
      }
      Krux.user = retrieve('user');
      Krux.segments = retrieve('segs') ? retrieve('segs').split(',') : [];
    })();
  </script>
  <script src="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/js/js_ZlbZCt9VIesFzM75iHKSbqRnsBoSHbjj0YQjK494mHI.js"></script>
<script>
  var PREBID_TIMEOUT = 2000;
  var AMAZON_SOURCE_ID = '3393';

  var adUnits = [ {
          code: 'dfp-ad-rightrail_top',
          sizes: [[300, 250], [300, 600], [300, 1050]],
          bids: [{
              bidder: 'openx',
              params: {
                  unit: '538678508',
                   delDomain: 'thehill-d.openx.net'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'appnexus',
              params: {
                  ID: '9114213'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'sonobi',
              params: {
                  ad_unit:'/1107919/RightRail_top_300x250_ROS_asynch',
                   dom_id:'dfp-ad-rightrail_top'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'rubicon',
              params: {
                  accountId: '15654',
                   siteId: '102722',
                   zoneId: '482104'
              }
          }]
      },{
          code: 'dfp-ad-leaderboard',
          sizes: [[728, 90], [970, 90], [970, 250], [970, 415], [970, 500], [1237, 500]],
          bids: [{
              bidder: 'openx',
              params: {
                  unit: '538678500',
                   delDomain: 'thehill-d.openx.net'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'appnexus',
              params: {
                  ID: '9114153'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'sonobi',
              params: {
                  ad_unit:'/1107919/Leaderboard_728x90_ROS_asynch',
                   dom_id:'dfp-ad-leaderboard'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'rubicon',
              params: {
                  accountId: '15654',
                   siteId: '102722',
                   zoneId: '482104'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'amazon'
          }]
      },{
          code: 'dfp-ad-rightrail_bottom',
          sizes: [[300, 250], [300, 600], [300, 1050]],
          bids: [{
              bidder: 'openx',
              params: {
                  unit: '538678507',
                   delDomain: 'thehill-d.openx.net'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'appnexus',
              params: {
                  ID: '9114211'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'sonobi',
              params: {
                  ad_unit:'/1107919/RightRail_bottom_300x250_ROS_asynch',
                   dom_id:'dfp-ad-rightrail_bottom'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'rubicon',
              params: {
                  accountId: '15654',
                   siteId: '102722',
                   zoneId: '484056'
              }
          }]
      },{
          code: 'dfp-ad-mosad_1',
          sizes: [[300, 250]],
          bids: [{
              bidder: 'openx',
              params: {
                  unit: '538678494',
                   delDomain: 'thehill-d.openx.net'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'sonobi',
              params: {
                  ad_unit:'/1107919/Content_300x250_ROS_asynch',
                   dom_id:'dfp-ad-mosad_1'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'appnexus',
              params: {
                  ID: '9114211'
              }
          },{
              bidder: 'rubicon',
              params: {
                  accountId: '15654',
                   siteId: '102722',
                   zoneId: '484056'
              }
          }]
} ];

  var pbjs = pbjs || {};
  pbjs.que = pbjs.que || [];

  pbjs.que.push(function() {
      pbjs.enableSendAllBids();
  });</script>
<script>
var googletag = googletag || {};
googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || [];  googletag.cmd.push(function() {
    googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad();
  });
</script>
<script>
  pbjs.que.push(function() {
    pbjs.addAdUnits(adUnits);

    var A9Adaptor = function A9Adaptor() {
        return {
            callBids: function(p) {
                pbjs.loadScript('//c.amazon-adsystem.com/aax2/amzn_ads.js', function() {
                    amznads.getAdsCallback(AMAZON_SOURCE_ID, function() {
                        pbjs.bidsAvailableForAdapter('amazon');
                    });
                });
            }
        };
    };
    pbjs.registerBidAdapter(A9Adaptor, 'amazon');

    pbjs.bidderSettings = {
standard: {
        alwaysUseBid: false,
        adserverTargeting: [{
            key: "hb_bidder",
          	val: function(bidResponse) {
        	return bidResponse.bidderCode;
          }
        }, {
            key: "hb_adid",
            val: function(bidResponse) {
                return bidResponse.adId;
            }
        }, {
            key: "hb_pb",
          	val: function(bidResponse) {
            var cpm = bidResponse.cpm;
            if (cpm < 3.00) {
              return (Math.floor(cpm * 100) / 100).toFixed(2);
            } else if (cpm < 5.00) {
              return (Math.floor(cpm * 20) / 20).toFixed(2);
            } else if (cpm < 10.00) {
              return (Math.floor(cpm * 10) / 10).toFixed(2);
            } else if (cpm < 25.00) {
              return (Math.floor(cpm * 2) / 2).toFixed(2);
            } else {
              return '25.00';
        
            }
            }
        }]

      },
openx: {
	alwaysUseBid: true,
	adserverTargeting: [{
		key: "oxb",
 		val: function(bidResponse) {
 			var bid;
 			if (bidResponse.cpm < 20) {
 				//Penny Bid Buckets
 				bid = ((Math.floor(bidResponse.cpm * 100) / 100) * 100).toFixed(0);
 			} else {
 				//Twenty dollar bucket
 				bid = "2000";
 			}
 			//Returns creativeSize_bidBucket as the value
 			return bidResponse.width + "x" + bidResponse.height + "_" + bid;
 		}
 	}]
}
      };
    pbjs.requestBids({
      bidsBackHandler: sendAdserverRequest
    });
  });

  function sendAdserverRequest() {
    if (pbjs.adserverRequestSent) return;
    pbjs.adserverRequestSent = true;
    googletag.cmd.push(function() {
      pbjs.que.push(function() {
        pbjs.setTargetingForGPTAsync();
        try{ amznads.setTargetingForGPTAsync('amznslots');} catch(e){}
        googletag.pubads().refresh();
      });
    });
  }

  setTimeout(function() {
    sendAdserverRequest();
  }, PREBID_TIMEOUT);
</script>
<script>
googletag.slots = googletag.slots || {};</script>
<script src="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/js/js_8pEoWnUr8ijKw1SExt7kT6gNr85MGL-IZJyQGXvJRP0.js"></script>
<script src="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/js/js_CU3-wpoRjXqQUzVH_fXkSKR_o43ZvBVuw8S_WXUsfTY.js"></script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.slots["rightrail_top"] = googletag.defineSlot("1107919/RightRail_top_300x250_ROS_asynch", [[300, 250], [300, 600], [300, 1050]], "dfp-ad-rightrail_top")
  .addService(googletag.pubads());
});
</script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.slots["rightrail_bottom"] = googletag.defineSlot("1107919/RightRail_bottom_300x250_ROS_asynch", [[300, 250], [300, 600], [300, 1050]], "dfp-ad-rightrail_bottom")
  .addService(googletag.pubads());
});
</script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.slots["leaderboard"] = googletag.defineSlot("1107919/Leaderboard_728x90_ROS_asynch", [[728, 90], [970, 90], [970, 250], [970, 415], [970, 500], [1237, 500]], "dfp-ad-leaderboard")
  .addService(googletag.pubads());
});
</script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.slots["mosad_1"] = googletag.defineSlot("1107919/Content_300x250_ROS_asynch", [300, 250], "dfp-ad-mosad_1")
  .addService(googletag.pubads());
});
</script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.slots["infinite_scroll_separator"] = googletag.defineSlot("1107919/infiniteScroll_separator", [[970, 250], [300, 250], [728, 90], [1006, 500], [970, 90], [1340, 500], [1237, 500]], "dfp-ad-infinite_scroll_separator")
  .addService(googletag.pubads());
});
</script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.slots["new_1x1_asynch"] = googletag.defineSlot("1107919/1x1_asynch", [1, 1], "dfp-ad-new_1x1_asynch")
  .addService(googletag.pubads());
});
</script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.slots["1x1_oop"] = googletag.defineSlot("1107919/1x1_asynch", [1, 1], "dfp-ad-1x1_oop")
  .addService(googletag.pubads());
googletag.defineOutOfPageSlot("1107919/1x1_asynch", "dfp-ad-1x1_oop-oop")
  .addService(googletag.pubads());
});
</script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
googletag.slots["modal_window_ad"] = googletag.defineSlot("1107919/Interstitial_ROS_asynch", [[400, 400], [640, 480], [770, 600], [768, 1024]], "dfp-ad-modal_window_ad")
  .addService(googletag.pubads());
});
</script>
<script src="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/js/js_TWesmZWxzUZ3DU050sz8QrIU986Uz2SjL2n2joX_XYk.js"></script>
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
  googletag.pubads().setTargeting("ksg", Krux.segments);
  googletag.pubads().setTargeting("kuid", Krux.user);
  googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest();
  googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs();
  googletag.pubads().setTargeting("Article", "349487");
  googletag.pubads().setTargeting("Category", "Energy & Environment");
  googletag.pubads().setTargeting("Section", "Contributors");
  googletag.pubads().setTargeting("Tarmeta", ["Jonathan Smoke","Flood","Hurricane Harvey","flooding","floodwaters","Houston","","hurricane","harvey","the","worst","disaster","for","automobiles"]);
  googletag.pubads().setTargeting("Video", "False");
  
  googletag.enableServices();
});
</script>
<script src="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/js/js_UlgQwqBztlTNwD8PYNXSwCVbJHJOJiHEsF-8ZKBt8yE.js"></script>
<script>(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js","ga");ga("create", "UA-10188146-1", {"cookieDomain":"auto"});ga("set", "dimension1", "Jonathan Smoke, opinion contributor");ga("send", "pageview");</script>
<script src="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/js/js_hgY7oFxKMm9xWldjfx5dyyc1uBk-Xr9cLVZLqMyhT6s.js"></script>
<script src="//thehill.com/sites/default/files/js/js_6EgLc18KmOJAyiFLuJcG73CEY8sYHG5Z038BfXyITkg.js"></script>
<script>
            next_data_url = '/continuous-scroll/349487';
            scroll_data_exclude[349487] = 349487;
            jQuery(document).ready(function () {
              startCache();
            });
</script>
<script>jQuery.extend(Drupal.settings, {"basePath":"\/","pathPrefix":"","ajaxPageState":{"theme":"thehill","theme_token":"4Nxnk0qdS3JxSV2-t37G2k6uj1ZIGLDQ2flGlpFg9gw","js":{"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/jquery\/1.7\/jquery.min.js":1,"misc\/jquery.once.js":1,"misc\/drupal.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/ui\/ui\/minified\/jquery.ui.core.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/ui\/ui\/minified\/jquery.ui.widget.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/ui\/ui\/minified\/jquery.ui.effect.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/ui\/ui\/minified\/jquery.ui.accordion.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/jquery_update\/replace\/ui\/ui\/minified\/jquery.ui.effect-highlight.min.js":1,"0":1,"1":1,"2":1,"3":1,"4":1,"5":1,"6":1,"7":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/menu_attach_block\/menu_attach_block.js":1,"sites\/all\/libraries\/colorbox\/jquery.colorbox-min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/colorbox\/js\/colorbox.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/colorbox\/styles\/default\/colorbox_style.js":1,"8":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/thehill\/thehill_misc\/js\/person-links.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/js\/continuous.scroll.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/thehill\/thehill_blocks\/js\/carousel\/jquery.caroufredsel.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/thehill\/thehill_blocks\/js\/carousel\/helper-plugins\/jquery.ba-throttle-debounce.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/thehill\/thehill_blocks\/js\/carousel\/helper-plugins\/jquery.mousewheel.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/thehill\/thehill_blocks\/js\/carousel\/helper-plugins\/jquery.touchSwipe.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/thehill\/thehill_blocks\/js\/carousel\/helper-plugins\/jquery.transit.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/thehill\/thehill_blocks\/js\/carousel\/thehill_carousel.js":1,"misc\/jquery.cookie.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/mostpopular\/js\/fade.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/mostpopular\/js\/mostpopular.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/disqus\/disqus.js":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/ajaxblocks\/ajaxblocks.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/js\/jquery.sticky-kit.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/js\/jquery.visible.min.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/js\/script.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/js\/dfp.gpt.logger.override.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/js\/overriden\/mostpopular.js":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/js\/opa.js":1,"9":1,"10":1,"11":1,"12":1,"13":1,"14":1,"15":1,"16":1,"17":1,"18":1,"19":1,"20":1,"21":1,"22":1,"23":1,"24":1,"25":1,"26":1,"27":1,"28":1},"css":{"modules\/system\/system.base.css":1,"modules\/system\/system.menus.css":1,"modules\/system\/system.messages.css":1,"modules\/system\/system.theme.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/date\/date_api\/date.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/date\/date_popup\/themes\/datepicker.1.7.css":1,"modules\/field\/theme\/field.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/menu_attach_block\/menu_attach_block.css":1,"modules\/node\/node.css":1,"modules\/search\/search.css":1,"modules\/user\/user.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/views\/css\/views.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/media\/modules\/media_wysiwyg\/css\/media_wysiwyg.base.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/chartbeat\/chartbeat.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/colorbox\/styles\/default\/colorbox_style.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/ctools\/css\/ctools.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/thehill\/thehill_misc\/css\/person-links.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/mostpopular\/css\/mostpopular-basic.css":1,"sites\/all\/modules\/mostpopular\/css\/mostpopular-full.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/system.menus.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/normalize.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/wireframes.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/layouts\/responsive-sidebars.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/page-backgrounds.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/tabs.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/pages.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/blocks.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/navigation.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/views-styles.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/nodes.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/comments.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/forms.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/fields.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/print.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/articles-teaser.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/font-awesome.min.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/opa.css":1,"sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/css\/opa-fix.css":1}},"chartbeat":{"uid":3100,"domain":"thehill.com","useCanonical":true,"noCookies":false},"colorbox":{"opacity":"0.85","current":"{current} of {total}","previous":"\u00ab Prev","next":"Next \u00bb","close":"Close","maxWidth":"98%","maxHeight":"98%","fixed":true,"mobiledetect":true,"mobiledevicewidth":"480px"},"ad_timeout":"25000","urlIsAjaxTrusted":{"\/blogs\/pundits-blog\/energy-environment\/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles":true},"thehill_mostpopular":{"sid":"1","iid":"1","tag":""},"thehill_carousel":{"carousels":{"#thehill-mostpopular-block .mostpopular--content ul":{"auto":false,"infinite":false,"circular":true,"next":"#most_popular_next","mousewheel":false,"swipe":{"onMouse":true,"onTouch":true},"items":5,"mostpopular":true,"direction":"up","scroll":{"items":5,"duration":1000,"timeoutDuration":2000}}}},"mostpopular":{"url":"\/mostpopular\/ajax"},"disqus":{"domain":"thehill-v4","url":"http:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/pundits-blog\/energy-environment\/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles","title":"Hurricane Harvey: The worst disaster for automobiles ever","identifier":"node\/349487","developer":1,"language":"en","sso":{"name":"TheHill","url":"\/user\/login?destination=disqus\/closewindow","logout":"\/user\/logout?destination=node\/349487","width":800,"height":600,"button":"http:\/\/thehill.com\/sites\/all\/themes\/thehill\/images\/print_logo.png","icon":"http:\/\/thehill.com\/favicon.ico"},"api_key":"MU2vV9R8hBF3W9kH0Zo2HKkiLqQY5ahOlvro6pPtNeOnnI6dQLfkIjd0OgRl9W6x","remote_auth_s3":"W10= ef374839431d606bd5e152dedae7280d10f226f3 1518605442"},"ajaxblocks":"blocks=mostpopular-1\/views-articles-articles_just_in\u0026path=node"});</script>
  <script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=ra-4e8f5d7e1bc8befe"></script>
  <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="2700"/><meta name="twitter:widgets:csp" content="on">
<!-- iOS -->
 <meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=396640962">
<!-- end iOS -->
<!-- START Nativo -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="//s.ntv.io/serve/load.js" async></script>
<!-- END Nativo -->
<!-- NDN Start -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="//launch.newsinc.com/js/embed.js"></script>
<!-- NDN End -->
  <!--[if lt IE 9]>
    <script>
      document.createElement('header');
      document.createElement('nav');
      document.createElement('section');
      document.createElement('article');
      document.createElement('aside');
      document.createElement('footer');
    </script>
  <![endif]-->
  <!-- Krux ControlTag for "The Hill" -->
  <script class="kxct" data-id="sf90wt710" data-timing="async" data-version="3.0" type="text/javascript">
    window.Krux||((Krux=function(){Krux.q.push(arguments)}).q=[]);
    (function()
      { var k=document.createElement('script');k.type='text/javascript';k.async=true; k.src=(location.protocol==='https:'?'https:':'http:')+'//cdn.krxd.net/controltag/sf90wt710.js'; var s=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(k,s); }
    ());
  </script>
</head>
<body class="html not-front not-logged-in one-sidebar sidebar-second page-node page-node- page-node-349487 node-type-blogs section-blogs" >
  <div id="skip-link">
    <a href="#main-content" class="element-invisible element-focusable">Skip to main content</a>
  </div>
            <div class="region region-before-header">
    <div id="block-system-main-menu" class="block block-system block-menu first last odd" role="navigation">
  <div class="expand-menu-header">
    <span class="expand-menu-close"></span>
    <a href="/"></a>
  </div>
  <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-1"><a href="/" class="menu__link menu__link">Home</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1"><a href="/" class="menu__link menu__link">News</a><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/senate" title="Senate" name="Senate" class="menu__link menu__link">Senate</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/house" class="menu__link menu__link">House</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/campaign" class="menu__link menu__link">Campaign</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/administration" class="menu__link menu__link">Administration</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/business-a-lobbying" class="menu__link menu__link">Business</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation" class="menu__link menu__link">Regulation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/media" class="menu__link menu__link">Media</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/blog-briefing-room" class="menu__link menu__link">Briefing Room</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/state-watch" class="menu__link menu__link">State Watch</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/latino" class="menu__link menu__link">Latino</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/ballot-box/polls" class="menu__link menu__link">Polls</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/1230-report" class="menu__link menu__link">12:30 Report</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/politics-101" class="menu__link menu__link">Politics 101</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/floor-action" class="menu__link menu__link">Floor Action</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/in-the-know" class="menu__link menu__link">In The Know</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/sunday-talk-shows" class="menu__link menu__link">Sunday Talk Shows</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1"><a href="/policy" class="menu__link menu__link">Policy</a><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/defense" class="menu__link menu__link">Defense</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/energy-environment" class="menu__link menu__link">Energy &amp; Environment</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/finance" class="menu__link menu__link">Finance</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/healthcare" class="menu__link menu__link">Healthcare</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/technology" class="menu__link menu__link">Technology</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/transportation" class="menu__link menu__link">Transportation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/international" class="menu__link menu__link">International</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/cybersecurity" class="menu__link menu__link">Cybersecurity</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/national-security" class="menu__link menu__link">National Security</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1"><a href="/regulation" class="menu__link menu__link">Regulation</a><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation/defense" class="menu__link menu__link">Defense</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation/energy-environment" class="menu__link menu__link">Energy &amp; Environment</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation/finance" class="menu__link menu__link">Finance</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation/healthcare" class="menu__link menu__link">Healthcare</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation/technology" class="menu__link menu__link">Technology</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation/transportation" class="menu__link menu__link">Transportation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation/international" class="menu__link menu__link">International</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation/cybersecurity" class="menu__link menu__link">Cybersecurity</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation/national-security" class="menu__link menu__link">National Security</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="menu__item is-active-trail is-expanded menu__item is-active-trail is-expanded expanded active-trail depth-1"><a href="/opinion-old" class="menu__link is-active-trail menu__link is-active-trail active-trail">Opinion</a><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-active-trail is-leaf menu__item is-active-trail is-leaf first leaf active-trail depth-2"><a href="/blogs/pundits-blog" class="menu__link is-active-trail menu__link is-active-trail active-trail">Contributors</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/opinion/columnists" class="menu__link menu__link">Columnists</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/contributor-application-form" class="menu__link menu__link">Become a contributor</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/congress-blog" class="menu__link menu__link">Congress Blog</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1 left"><a href="/video" class="menu__link menu__link left">Video</a><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/campaign" class="menu__link menu__link">Campaign</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/defense" class="menu__link menu__link">Defense</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/energy-environment" class="menu__link menu__link">Energy &amp; Environment</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/finance" class="menu__link menu__link">Finance</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/healthcare" class="menu__link menu__link">Healthcare</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/technology" class="menu__link menu__link">Technology</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/transportation" class="menu__link menu__link">Transportation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/international" class="menu__link menu__link">International</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/cybersecurity" class="menu__link menu__link">Cybersecurity</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/national-security" class="menu__link menu__link">National Security</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/sunday-shows" class="menu__link menu__link">Sunday Shows</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/events" class="menu__link menu__link">Events</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/lawmaker-interviews" class="menu__link menu__link">Lawmaker Interviews</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1"><a href="/podcasts" class="menu__link menu__link">Podcasts</a><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/podcasts/hillcast" class="menu__link menu__link">HillCast</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/podcasts/history-cast" class="menu__link menu__link">HistoryCast</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1 left single"><a href="/events" class="menu__link menu__link single left">Events</a><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/events" class="menu__link menu__link">Upcoming Events</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/events/past" class="menu__link menu__link">Past Events</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/events/about" class="menu__link menu__link">About</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/people" class="menu__link menu__link">People</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/homenews/campaign" class="menu__link menu__link">Campaign</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="/homenews/senate/368140-mcconnell-no-daca-fix-in-spending-bill" class="menu__link menu__link">McConnell: No DACA fix in spending bill</a></li>
</ul>  <div id="expand-menu-social-share">
    <div class="expand-menu-headline">Follow Us</div>
    <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheHill" class="social-share-facebook" target="_blank">Facebook</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=thehill" class="social-share-twitter-follow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.google.com/+thehill/posts" class="social-share-googleplus-follow" target="_blank">Google Plus</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-hill" class="social-share-linkedin" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;  </div>
  <div id="expand-menu-footer">
    <div class="expand-menu-headline"><a href="/">TheHill.com</a></div>
    &copy; 1996-2018 News Communication
    <ul class="links"><li class="menu-3055 first"><a href="/terms-and-conditions">Terms &amp; Conditions</a></li>
<li class="menu-3054 last"><a href="/privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a></li>
</ul>  </div>
</div>
  </div>
    <header id="header" role="banner" >
    <div>
      <div class="header_blocks">
                      </div>
      <div class="clear"></div>
      <div id="navigation">
        <nav id="main-menu" role="navigation">
          <div class="expanded-menu"></div>
                        <div class="region region-navigation">
    <div id="block-menu-menu-top-menu" class="block block-menu first last odd" role="navigation">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">Top menu</h2>
    
  <div class="menu-wrapper"><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded first expanded depth-1"><a href="/" class="menu__link menu__link">News</a><div class="menu-wrapper"><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/senate" class="menu__link menu__link">Senate</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/house" class="menu__link menu__link">House</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/administration" class="menu__link menu__link">Administration</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/campaign" class="menu__link menu__link">Campaign</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/business-a-lobbying" class="menu__link menu__link">Business</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/regulation" class="menu__link menu__link">Regulation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/media" class="menu__link menu__link">Media</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/blog-briefing-room" class="menu__link menu__link">Briefing Room</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/state-watch" class="menu__link menu__link">State Watch</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/latino" class="menu__link menu__link">Latino</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/ballot-box/polls" class="menu__link menu__link">Polls</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/1230-report" class="menu__link menu__link">12:30 Report</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/politics-101" class="menu__link menu__link">Politics 101</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/floor-action" class="menu__link menu__link">Floor Action</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/in-the-know" class="menu__link menu__link">In The Know</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/homenews/sunday-talk-shows" class="menu__link menu__link">Sunday Talk Shows</a></li>
</ul></div></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1"><a href="/policy" class="menu__link menu__link">Policy</a><div class="menu-wrapper"><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/defense" class="menu__link menu__link">Defense</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/energy-environment" class="menu__link menu__link">Energy &amp; Environment</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/finance" class="menu__link menu__link">Finance</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/healthcare" class="menu__link menu__link">Healthcare</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/technology" class="menu__link menu__link">Technology</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/transportation" class="menu__link menu__link">Transportation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/international" class="menu__link menu__link">International</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/cybersecurity" class="menu__link menu__link">Cybersecurity</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/policy/national-security" class="menu__link menu__link">National Security</a></li>
</ul></div></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1"><a href="/opinion" class="menu__link menu__link">Opinion</a><div class="menu-wrapper opa-opinion-menu"><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/opinion/columnists" class="menu__link menu__link">Columnists</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/blogs/congress-blog" class="menu__link menu__link">Congress Blog</a></li>
</ul><div class="opa-opinion-submenu">
            <a href="/opinion" class="opa-opinion-submenu-all">All Contributors</a>
            <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/campaign" class="menu__link menu__link">- Campaign</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/civil-rights" class="menu__link menu__link">- Civil Rights</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/criminal-justice" class="menu__link menu__link">- Criminal Justice</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/education" class="menu__link menu__link">- Education</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/energy-environment" class="menu__link menu__link">- Energy &amp; Environment</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/finance" class="menu__link menu__link">- Finance</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/healthcare" class="menu__link menu__link">- Healthcare</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/immigration" class="menu__link menu__link">- Immigration</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/international" class="menu__link menu__link">- International</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/judiciary" class="menu__link menu__link">- Judiciary</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/technology" class="menu__link menu__link">- Technology</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/white-house" class="menu__link menu__link">- White House</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="/contributor-application-form" class="menu__link menu__link">- Become A Contributor</a></li>
</ul>
            </div></div></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1"><a href="/video" class="menu__link menu__link">Video</a><div class="menu-wrapper"><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/campaign" class="menu__link menu__link">Campaign</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/defense" class="menu__link menu__link">Defense</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/energy-environment" class="menu__link menu__link">Energy &amp; Environment</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/finance" class="menu__link menu__link">Finance</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/healthcare" class="menu__link menu__link">Healthcare</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/technology" class="menu__link menu__link">Technology</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/transportation" class="menu__link menu__link">Transportation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/international" class="menu__link menu__link">International</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/cybersecurity" class="menu__link menu__link">Cybersecurity</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/national-security" class="menu__link menu__link">National Security</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/sunday-shows" class="menu__link menu__link">Sunday Shows</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/events" class="menu__link menu__link">Events</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/video/lawmaker-interviews" class="menu__link menu__link">Lawmaker Interviews</a></li>
</ul></div></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/podcasts/hillcast" class="menu__link menu__link">Podcasts</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-expanded menu__item is-expanded expanded depth-1"><a href="/events" class="menu__link menu__link">Events</a><div class="menu-wrapper"><ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-2"><a href="/events" class="menu__link menu__link">Upcoming Events</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-2"><a href="/events/about" class="menu__link menu__link">About</a></li>
</ul></div></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="/resources/classifieds/employer" class="menu__link menu__link">Jobs</a></li>
</ul></div>
</div>
  </div>
                                  <div class="region region-controls">
    <div id="block-social-share-social-share" class="block block-social-share first odd">

      
  <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheHill" class="social-share-facebook" target="_blank">Facebook</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=thehill" class="social-share-twitter-follow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.google.com/+thehill/posts" class="social-share-googleplus-follow" target="_blank">Google Plus</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-hill" class="social-share-linkedin" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;
</div>
<div id="block-search-form" class="block block-search last even" role="search">

      
  <form action="/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" method="post" id="search-block-form" accept-charset="UTF-8"><div><div class="container-inline">
      <h2 class="element-invisible">Search form</h2>
    <div class="form-item form-type-textfield form-item-search-block-form">
  <label class="element-invisible" for="edit-search-block-form--2">Search </label>
 <input title="Enter the terms you wish to search for." placeholder="TYPE TO SEARCH" type="text" id="edit-search-block-form--2" name="search_block_form" value="" size="0" maxlength="128" class="form-text" />
</div>
<div class="form-actions form-wrapper" id="edit-actions"><input type="submit" id="edit-submit" name="op" value="Search" class="form-submit" /></div><input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-gnmSbYiXHsswJWgRL11ljlFiQM7GgxKna9w48TSxC0s" />
<input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="search_block_form" />
</div>
</div></form>
</div>
  </div>
                  </nav>  
      </div>
    </div>
  </header><div id="page" class="page-new-layout">
  <div id="main" class="scrolling-content ">
      <div class="region region-highlighted">
    <div id="block-term-queue-0" class="block block-term-queue first odd">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">TRENDING:</h2>
    
  <ul class="term-queue-links"><li class="0 first"><a href="/person/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a></li>
<li class="1 last"><a href="/country/north-korea">North Korea</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="block-term-queue-16" class="block block-term-queue last even">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">FEATURED:</h2>
    
  <ul class="term-queue-links"><li class="0 first last"><a href="/podcasts/hillcast">HillCast</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
  </div>
      <div class="region region-top-page">
    <div id="block-dfp-leaderboard" class="block block-dfp first last odd">

      
  <div id="dfp-ad-leaderboard-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><!-- dfp_tag.tpl.php -->
<a href="#" class="hide_overlay"></a>
<div  id="dfp-ad-leaderboard" class="dfp-inner">
  <script type="text/javascript">
    googletag.cmd.push(function() {
      googletag.display("dfp-ad-leaderboard");
    });
  </script>
</div>

</div>
</div>
  </div>
        <div class="scrolling-content-item " data-url='/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles'>
              <div class="left-sidebar">
        <a href="/" title="TheHill" rel="home" alt="TheHill.com">
          <img class="logo" alt="TheHill.com" src="/sites/all/themes/thehill/images/redesign/thehill-logo-big.png" />
        </a>
          <div class="region region-column-left">
    <div id="block-views-articles-articles-just-in" class="block block-views first odd">

      
  <div id="block-views-articles-articles_just_in-ajax-content" class="ajaxblocks-wrapper"></div>
</div>
<div id="block-block-50" class="block block-block even">

      
  <div style="width:215px; height:200px; padding:0; margin:0;"></div>
</div>
<div id="block-block-52" class="block block-block last odd">

      
  <!-- Outbrain: Desktop Left Column -->
<div class="OUTBRAIN" data-src="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" data-widget-id="SB_1" data-ob-template="The Hill"></div> 
</div>
  </div>
        <div class="left-sidebar-space">&nbsp;</div>
              </div>
      <div class="content-wrapper">
                          <h1 class="title" id="page-title">Hurricane Harvey: The worst disaster for automobiles ever</h1>
                <div class="submitted-wrp">
    <span class="submitted-by">
    By Jonathan Smoke, opinion contributor - <span class="submitted-date">09/06/17 06:20 PM EDT</span>
  </span>
  <a href="/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles#bottom-story-socials" class="disqus-comments" data-disqus-identifier="node/349487"></a>  </div>
        <div class="blogs-social-wrp">
  <span  data-behavior="socialShareCount" data-href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" class="social-share-count">
  103</span>
  <div class="addthis_inline_share_toolbox_ru82"></div>
<div class="share-additional">
  <div class="share-linkedin">
    <script>
      ;(function(){
        var linkedinScriptEl = document.querySelector('script[src="//platform.linkedin.com/in.js"]');
        if (linkedinScriptEl == null) {
          var shareLinkedinEl = document.querySelector('.share-linkedin');
          var scriptEl = document.createElement('script');
          scriptEl.src = "//platform.linkedin.com/in.js";
          scriptEl.async = true;
          scriptEl.innerHTML = " lang: en_US";
          shareLinkedinEl.appendChild(scriptEl);
        }
      })();
    </script>
    <script type="IN/Share"></script>
  </div>
  <div class="share-stumbleupon">
    <su:badge layout="6"></su:badge>
    <script type="text/javascript">
      (function() {
        var li = document.createElement('script'); li.type = 'text/javascript'; li.async = true;
        li.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//platform.stumbleupon.com/1/widgets.js';
        var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(li, s);
      })();
    </script>
  </div>
</div>
<div class="share">
  <a href="mailto:?subject=TheHill.com%3A%20Hurricane%20Harvey%3A%20The%20worst%20disaster%20for%20automobiles%20ever&amp;body=From%20TheHill.com%3A%20%0A%0AOPINION%20%7C%20In%20a%20measure%20of%20damaged%20or%20destroyed%20cars%2C%20Hurricane%20Harvey%20could%20well%20be%20the%20worst%20eve...%0A%0Ahttp%3A//thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" class="email">&nbsp</a>  </div></div>
                    <div id="content" class="column" role="main">
                                                  


<article class="node-349487 node node-blogs view-mode-full clearfix" about="/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" typeof="sioc:Item foaf:Document">
    <header>
    <span property="dc:title" content="Hurricane Harvey: The worst disaster for automobiles ever" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span>      </header>
        <div class="content-img-wrp">
      <div class="content-img"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://thehill.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumb_small_article/public/flooded_cars.jpg?itok=VMpCC431" width="640" height="360" alt="Hurricane Harvey: The worst disaster for automobiles ever" /></div><div class="credits">&copy; Getty Images</div>    </div>
    <div class="content-with-sidebar-wrp">
    <div class="content-wrp">
      <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Once damages are finally tallied, Hurricane Harvey will likely prove to be among the worst, most-costly natural disasters to hit our United States. In addition to the heartbreaking loss of life, damages have been estimated by Moody’s Analytics to be in the range of $77 to $97 billion. That’s bigger than Sandy and getting close to Katrina — clearly a major tragedy.</p><p>Because of the nature of the damage — mainly flooding — and the landscape of Houston — mostly flat — the damage to the vehicles is particularly noteworthy. My team at Cox Automotive has taken a careful look at the situation in and around Houston and found the damage to be shocking. In fact, in a measure of damaged or destroyed automobiles, Hurricane Harvey could well be the worst ever in the United States.</p><p></p><div id="dfp-ad-mosad_1-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-mosad_1" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><span>ADVERTISEMENT</span><script type="text/javascript">
<!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!--
googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display("dfp-ad-mosad_1");});
//--><!]]>
</script></div></div>Texas in general, and the Houston Designated Market Area specifically, is a vehicle-centric world. Houston is big. It is the seventh largest by population in the U.S., made up of 20 counties and the city of Houston, the fourth most-populated city in America. The vehicle ownership rate in the Houston area is 94.4 percent, which is higher than the U.S. rate of 91 percent. Of the top 10 market areas in the U.S., only the Dallas-Fort-Worth market has a higher vehicle ownership rate, where 94.9 percent of households own a vehicle. For comparison, where Hurricane Sandy came ashore in 2012, only 71 percent of households owned vehicles.<p> </p><p>When Harvey hit, there were a lot of vehicles on the ground. With 5.6 million in operation, the market ranks eight in the country. And that number does not include new vehicle inventory at dealerships, which will push the count even higher.</p><p>The Houston market has a relatively young vehicle stock, as the market sees a higher share of new vehicle sales out of total vehicle sales compared to the country overall. Approximately 26 percent of the vehicles in Houston are model years 2014 or newer; for the U.S., that share is 22 percent. </p><p>The younger fleet of vehicles is also pricier in nature. The top selling vehicles in the area are pickup trucks, mostly Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Ram and Toyota Tundra. As the Houston market is also relatively affluent, luxury cars are also abundant.</p><p>Given what we know so far, the impact to Houston’s vehicle stock looks severe. We are estimating 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles were severely damaged or destroyed, which translates to between $2.7 billion and $4.9 billion in lost vehicle value, based on vehicle age in the market. For comparison, most estimates put vehicle loss during Sandy at 250,000; for Katrina, 200,000.</p><p>If Houston indeed lost 300,000 or more vehicles, it’s sobering to note that the entire market has seen only 325,000 new-vehicle sales in the last 12 months. That’s a year’s worth of new car sales underwater.</p><p>Sales of new and used vehicles typically fall in the month of a hurricane impacted area and then spike in months following. The New York market saw a 49 percent increase in new vehicle sales in November, the month following Sandy, which came ashore October 29, 2012.  That sales spike lasted two months. </p><p>A silver lining for this disaster is hard to find. Fortunately, the U.S. economy remains on solid ground.  Vehicle sales across the country remain strong as well, although down slightly from the all-time record set last year.</p><p>Houston is an automobile-dependent market. Without wheels, it will be difficult to complete the tasks of getting life back to normal. Vehicle pricing, however, will be an issue going forward. The increase in demand and decrease in supply, is expected to drive used vehicle values higher, and not just in Houston.  </p><p>Similar to what was observed with Sandy, we expect this increase in demand will be met with a shift in inventory from other markets to satisfy the Houston area. That movement in supply, in turn, will likely create a modest increase in used vehicle values well beyond Texas. </p><p>Currently, according to data from Kelley Blue Book, new car sale incentives are at their highest levels ever in the United States. One possible outcome from Harvey is a nationwide reduction in new-car incentives driven by reduced inventory. At the same time, for residents of Texas and Louisiana, many manufacturers are already running disaster relief incentives for those affected by the storm.</p><p>Much will depend on claims processing, which is why we will be paying attention to what the major insurance companies are reporting. State Farm, GEICO, Allstate and Progressive are the top auto insurers there, and reports at the end of last week indicated that over 100,000 claims had already been filed. They will likely move quickly once they can confirm loss.</p><p>Sadly, not all who lost vehicles will receive an insurance payout. As many as 20 percent of motorists in the market may be uninsured. Of those insured, approximately 14 percent are not cover for flood damage. Another 13 to14 percent of covered vehicles are likely to have been financially underwater.</p><p>Shoppers need to be on high alert to avoid the potential disaster of buying a flood damaged vehicle as well. Cars and water do not mix, and the catastrophic flooding should put buyers in Houston and elsewhere on high alert looking for the signs of flood damage — water residue in the spare tire well, moisture in the headlights, a sagging headliner, etc.</p><p>Labor Day Weekend is traditionally one of the big car-shopping weekends of the year. Last weekend, we began seeing the initial signs of the recovery.</p><p>According to data provided by Cox Automotive’s Dealer.com, which runs more than 60 percent of dealer websites in the U.S., online automotive shopping and research was brisk over Labor Day Weekend. Where the rest of the country was relatively flat compared to Labor Day Weekend 2016, the Houston market showed a 16 percent <u>increase</u> in overall dealership website traffic and a 26 percent increase in vehicle description page views.</p><p>Overall, though, the Houston market will take years to fully recover from a disaster of this magnitude. Pending the track of Hurricane Irma, now churning southeast of Florida, the recovery may be complicated further by a second major natural disaster. </p><p>But Texas is strong. I know this, as we UT Longhorns say, “Texas Fight!”</p><p><em>Jonathan Smoke is chief economist for Cox Automotive. The Cox Automotive family of brands includes Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, vAuto®, Xtime® and a host of others. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit </em><a href="http://www.coxautoinc.com/"><em>www.coxautoinc.com</em></a><em>.</em></p><hr /><div><em>The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.</em><strong><br /></strong></div></div></div></div>              <div class="article-tags">
          <span>Tags</span> <a href="/social-tags/jonathan-smoke" title="Jonathan Smoke">Jonathan Smoke</a> <a href="/social-tags/flood" title="Flood">Flood</a> <a href="/social-tags/hurricane-harvey" title="Hurricane Harvey">Hurricane Harvey</a> <a href="/social-tags/flooding" title="flooding">flooding</a> <a href="/social-tags/floodwaters" title="floodwaters">floodwaters</a> <a href="/social-tags/houston" title="Houston">Houston</a>        </div>
            <div id="bottom-story-socials" class="blogs-social-wrp">
        <div class="addthis_inline_share_toolbox_ru82"></div>
<div class="share-additional">
  <div class="share-linkedin">
    <script>
      ;(function(){
        var linkedinScriptEl = document.querySelector('script[src="//platform.linkedin.com/in.js"]');
        if (linkedinScriptEl == null) {
          var shareLinkedinEl = document.querySelector('.share-linkedin');
          var scriptEl = document.createElement('script');
          scriptEl.src = "//platform.linkedin.com/in.js";
          scriptEl.async = true;
          scriptEl.innerHTML = " lang: en_US";
          shareLinkedinEl.appendChild(scriptEl);
        }
      })();
    </script>
    <script type="IN/Share"></script>
  </div>
  <div class="share-stumbleupon">
    <su:badge layout="6"></su:badge>
    <script type="text/javascript">
      (function() {
        var li = document.createElement('script'); li.type = 'text/javascript'; li.async = true;
        li.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:' : 'http:') + '//platform.stumbleupon.com/1/widgets.js';
        var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(li, s);
      })();
    </script>
  </div>
</div>
<div class="share">
  <a href="mailto:?subject=TheHill.com%3A%20Hurricane%20Harvey%3A%20The%20worst%20disaster%20for%20automobiles%20ever&amp;body=From%20TheHill.com%3A%20%0A%0AOPINION%20%7C%20In%20a%20measure%20of%20damaged%20or%20destroyed%20cars%2C%20Hurricane%20Harvey%20could%20well%20be%20the%20worst%20eve...%0A%0Ahttp%3A//thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" class="email">&nbsp</a>  </div>      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
    </article>
            <div class="region region-content-bottom">
    <div id="block-disqus-disqus-comments-349487" class="block block-disqus first odd">

      
  <div id="disqus_thread"><noscript><p><a href="http://thehill-v4.disqus.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fblogs%2Fpundits-blog%2Fenergy-environment%2F349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles">View the discussion thread.</a></p></noscript></div>
</div>
<div id="block-block-51" class="block block-block last even">

      
  <!-- Outbrain Desktop Footer -->
<div class="OUTBRAIN" data-src="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" data-widget-id="AR_1" data-ob-template="The Hill"></div> 
</div>
  </div>
        </div>
                  <aside class="sidebars">
                          <section class="region region-sidebar-second column sidebar">
    <div id="block-block-9" class="block block-block first odd">

      
  <div style="height:100px; width:300px; background-color:#efefef; border:1px solid #000066; text-align:center;">

<p style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#000066; font-size: 20px; font-weight:bold; text-transform:uppercase;">Contributor's Signup</p>

<a href="/contributor-application-form" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#000066; font-size: 18px; font-weight:bold;">Sign up to become a Contributor</a>
</div>
</div>
<div id="block-dfp-rightrail-top" class="block block-dfp even">

      
  <div id="dfp-ad-rightrail_top-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><!-- dfp_tag.tpl.php -->
<a href="#" class="hide_overlay"></a>
<div  id="dfp-ad-rightrail_top" class="dfp-inner">
  <script type="text/javascript">
    googletag.cmd.push(function() {
      googletag.display("dfp-ad-rightrail_top");
    });
  </script>
</div>

</div>
</div>
<div id="block-mostpopular-1" class="block block-mostpopular odd">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">Most Popular</h2>
    
  <div id="block-mostpopular-1-ajax-content" class="ajaxblocks-wrapper"></div>
</div>
<div id="block-block-38" class="block block-block even">

      
  <!--Start Inform Slider-->
<div class="inform-embed"
    id="thehill_slider"
    data-type="VideoLauncher/Slider300x250"
    data-tracking-group="91690"
    data-config-id="32321"
    data-site-section="thehill_politics_story"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">_informq.push(['embed']);</script>
<!--End Inform Slider-->
</div>
<div id="block-dfp-rightrail-bottom" class="block block-dfp odd">

      
  <div id="dfp-ad-rightrail_bottom-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><!-- dfp_tag.tpl.php -->
<a href="#" class="hide_overlay"></a>
<div  id="dfp-ad-rightrail_bottom" class="dfp-inner">
  <script type="text/javascript">
    googletag.cmd.push(function() {
      googletag.display("dfp-ad-rightrail_bottom");
    });
  </script>
</div>

</div>
</div>
<div id="block-block-3" class="block block-block last even">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">More From The Web</h2>
    
  <!-- NewsMax -->
<div style="margin:20px 0;">
<div id="ArJ3hAAeLHQlnBN1sd1RthXxn5mzijNmf-LAAxFD"></div>
<script src="https://s.newsmaxfeednetwork.com/static/js/connectV5.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
    NM.init({
        widgetId: "ArJ3hAAeLHQlnBN1sd1RthXxn5mzijNmf-LAAxFD",
         template: "NM22"
    });
</script>
</div>
<!-- End NewsMax -->
</div>
  </section>
          </aside>
              </div>          <div class="region region-cs-separator">
    <div id="block-dfp-infinite-scroll-separator" class="block block-dfp first last odd">

      
  <div id="dfp-ad-infinite_scroll_separator-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><!-- dfp_tag.tpl.php -->
<a href="#" class="hide_overlay"></a>
<div  id="dfp-ad-infinite_scroll_separator" class="dfp-inner">
  <script type="text/javascript">
    googletag.cmd.push(function() {
      googletag.display("dfp-ad-infinite_scroll_separator");
    });
  </script>
</div>

</div>
</div>
  </div>
    </div> <!-- cs-end -->
      </div>
            <div class="page-bottom">
      <div class="region region-footer-bottom">
    <div id="block-thehill-blocks-footer-signup" class="block block-thehill-blocks first last odd">

      
  <div class="simple-signup-form">
  <div class="text">Don't miss a brief. <span>Sign up for our daily email.</span></div>
  <form action="/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles" method="post" id="thehill-blocks-signup-form" accept-charset="UTF-8"><div><div class="form-item form-type-textfield form-item-email">
  <label for="edit-email">Your Email </label>
 <input placeholder="" type="text" id="edit-email" name="email" value="" size="60" maxlength="128" class="form-text" />
</div>
<div class="form-item form-type-textfield form-item-list">
 <input class="hidden form-text" type="text" id="edit-list" name="list" value="" size="60" maxlength="128" />
</div>
<input type="submit" id="edit-submit--2" name="op" value="Sign Up" class="form-submit" /><input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-n3dhA7siVYAoEGXMNvgyVaCqdrJpsUGgnfmIFnav1JU" />
<input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="thehill_blocks_signup_form" />
</div></form></div>


</div>
  </div>
    <a href="/" title="TheHill" rel="home" alt="TheHill.com">
      <img class="logo" alt="TheHill.com" src="/sites/all/themes/thehill/images/redesign/thehill-logo-footer.png" />
    </a>
      <div class="region region-bottom-column1">
    <div id="block-menu-menu-home" class="block block-menu first odd" role="navigation">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">News</h2>
    
  <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-1"><a href="/homenews/senate" class="menu__link menu__link">Senate</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/homenews/house" class="menu__link menu__link">House</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/homenews/campaign" class="menu__link menu__link">Campaign</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/homenews/administration" class="menu__link menu__link">Administration</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/regulation" class="menu__link menu__link">Regulation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/homenews/media" class="menu__link menu__link">Media</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/blogs/blog-briefing-room" class="menu__link menu__link">Briefing Room</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/latino" class="menu__link menu__link">Latino</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/polls" class="menu__link menu__link">Polls</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/homenews/1230-report" class="menu__link menu__link">12:30 Report</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/blogs/floor-action" class="menu__link menu__link">Floor Action</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/blogs/in-the-know" class="menu__link menu__link">In The Know</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/homenews/sunday-talk-shows" class="menu__link menu__link">Sunday Talk Shows</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="/" class="menu__link menu__link">More</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="block-menu-menu-policy-menu" class="block block-menu even" role="navigation">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">Policy</h2>
    
  <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-1"><a href="/policy/defense" class="menu__link menu__link">Defense</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/policy/energy-environment" class="menu__link menu__link">Energy &amp; Environment</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/policy/finance" class="menu__link menu__link">Finance</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/policy/healthcare" class="menu__link menu__link">Healthcare</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/policy/technology" class="menu__link menu__link">Technology</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/policy/international" class="menu__link menu__link">International</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/policy/transportation" class="menu__link menu__link">Transportation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/policy/cybersecurity" class="menu__link menu__link">Cybersecurity</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/policy/national-security" class="menu__link menu__link">National Security</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="http://thehill.com/policy" class="menu__link menu__link">More</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="block-menu-menu-video" class="block block-menu odd" role="navigation">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">Video</h2>
    
  <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/hilltube" class="menu__link menu__link">Latest</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/defense" class="menu__link menu__link">Defense</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/energy-environment" class="menu__link menu__link">Energy &amp; Environment</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/finance" class="menu__link menu__link">Finance</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/healthcare" class="menu__link menu__link">Healthcare</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/technology" class="menu__link menu__link">Technology</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/transportation" class="menu__link menu__link">Transportation</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/international" class="menu__link menu__link">International</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/cybersecurity" class="menu__link menu__link">Cybersecurity</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/national-security" class="menu__link menu__link">National Security</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/sunday-shows" class="menu__link menu__link">Sunday Shows</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/video/events" class="menu__link menu__link">Events</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="/hill-tube" class="menu__link menu__link">More</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="block-menu-menu-opinion" class="block block-menu last even" role="navigation">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">Opinion</h2>
    
  <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/columnists/brent-budowsky" class="menu__link menu__link">Brent Budowsky</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion/columnists" class="menu__link menu__link">Columnists</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/blogs/congress-blog" class="menu__link menu__link">Congress Blog</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-active-trail is-leaf menu__item is-active-trail is-leaf leaf active-trail depth-1"><a href="/blogs/pundits-blog" class="menu__link is-active-trail menu__link is-active-trail active-trail">Contributors</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="/opinion" class="menu__link menu__link">More</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
  </div>
      <div class="region region-bottom-column2">
    <div id="block-menu-menu-anchor-menu" class="block block-menu first odd" role="navigation">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">TheHill.com</h2>
    
  <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-1"><a href="/privacy-policy" class="menu__link menu__link">Privacy Policy</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/terms-and-conditions" class="menu__link menu__link">Terms &amp; Conditions</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/contact" class="menu__link menu__link">Contact</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/contact/subscriptions" class="menu__link menu__link">Subscriptions</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="/contact/advertise" class="menu__link menu__link">Advertise</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="block-menu-menu-resources" class="block block-menu even" role="navigation">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">Resources</h2>
    
  <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-1"><a href="/hill-apps" class="menu__link menu__link">The Hill Apps</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="http://mobile.thehill.com" class="menu__link menu__link">Mobile Site</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/people/" class="menu__link menu__link">People</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="/resources/rss-feeds" class="menu__link menu__link">RSS</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="block-menu-menu-menu-contributors" class="block block-menu odd" role="navigation">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">Contributors</h2>
    
  <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first last leaf depth-1"><a href="/contributor-application-form" class="menu__link menu__link">Become a Contributor</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="block-menu-menu-contact-us" class="block block-menu last even" role="navigation">

        <h2 class="block__title block-title">Other Areas</h2>
    
  <ul class="menu"><li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf first leaf depth-1"><a href="/special-reports/special-reports" class="menu__link menu__link">Special Reports</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/galleries" class="menu__link menu__link">Galleries</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf leaf depth-1"><a href="/classifieds" class="menu__link menu__link">Classifieds</a></li>
<li class="menu__item is-leaf menu__item is-leaf last leaf depth-1"><a href="/resources/classifieds/employer" class="menu__link menu__link">Jobs</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
  </div>
    <div class="clearer"></div>
    <div class="copyright-wrp">
        <div class="region region-copyright">
    <div id="block-thehill-blocks-copyright" class="block block-thehill-blocks first odd">

      
  <p>The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax</p><p>The contents of this site are &copy;2018 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.</p>
</div>
<div id="block-dfp-new-1x1-asynch" class="block block-dfp even">

      
  <div id="dfp-ad-new_1x1_asynch-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><!-- dfp_tag.tpl.php -->
<a href="#" class="hide_overlay"></a>
<div  id="dfp-ad-new_1x1_asynch" class="dfp-inner">
  <script type="text/javascript">
    googletag.cmd.push(function() {
      googletag.display("dfp-ad-new_1x1_asynch");
    });
  </script>
</div>

</div>
</div>
<div id="block-dfp-1x1-oop" class="block block-dfp last odd">

      
  <div id="dfp-ad-1x1_oop-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><!-- dfp_tag.tpl.php -->
<a href="#" class="hide_overlay"></a>
<div  id="dfp-ad-1x1_oop" class="dfp-inner">
  <script type="text/javascript">
    googletag.cmd.push(function() {
      googletag.display("dfp-ad-1x1_oop");
    });
  </script>
</div>
  <div id="dfp-ad-1x1_oop-oop" class="dfp-tag-wrapper">
    <script type="text/javascript">
      googletag.cmd.push(function() {
        googletag.display("dfp-ad-1x1_oop-oop");
      });
    </script>
  </div>

</div>
</div>
  </div>
    </div>
  </div>
  <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js"></script>
</div>
  <div id="dfp-ad-overlay">
    <div id="block-dfp-modal-window-ad" class="block block-dfp first last odd">

      
  <div id="dfp-ad-modal_window_ad-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><!-- dfp_tag.tpl.php -->
<a href="#" class="hide_overlay"></a>
<div  id="dfp-ad-modal_window_ad" class="dfp-inner">
  <script type="text/javascript">
    googletag.cmd.push(function() {
      googletag.display("dfp-ad-modal_window_ad");
    });
  </script>
</div>

</div>
</div>
  </div>
    <div class="region region-page-bottom">
    <script type="text/javascript">
  var _sf_async_config=Drupal.settings.chartbeat;
  _sf_async_config.sections = "Contributors, Contributors - Energy & Environment";
  _sf_async_config.authors = "Jonathan Smoke, opinion contributor";
  _sf_async_config._demo = "publish_date=2017-09-06,editor=Christine Ayala";
  (function(){
    function loadChartbeat() {
      window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime();
      var e = document.createElement('script');
      e.setAttribute('language', 'javascript');
      e.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript');
      e.setAttribute('src', '//static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat.js');
      document.body.appendChild(e);
    }
    var oldonload = document.ready;
    document.ready = (typeof document.ready != 'function') ?
       loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); };
  })();
</script><!-- Begin comScore Tag -->
          <script>
            var _comscore = _comscore || [];
            _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "10314615", c3: "", c4: "http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles", c5: "", c6: "", c15: "" });
            (function() {
              var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true;
              s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js";
              el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);
            })();
          </script>
          <noscript>
            <img src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=10314615&c3=&c4=http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/349487-hurricane-harvey-the-worst-disaster-for-automobiles&c5=&c6=&c15=&cv=2.0&cj=1" />
          </noscript>
      <!-- End comScore Tag --><noscript><div style="display:none;"><img src="//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-51dZx4IkAE4Zk.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt="Quantcast"/></div></noscript><script type="text/javascript" async="async" src="http://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js"></script><!-- This site is converting visitors into subscribers and customers with OptinMonster - http://optinmonster.com -->
<!-- script>var om5654d81483af7,om5654d81483af7_poll=function(){var r=0;return function(n,l){clearInterval(r),r=setInterval(n,l)}}();!function(e,t,n){if(e.getElementById(n)){om5654d81483af7_poll(function(){if(window['om_loaded']){if(!om5654d81483af7){om5654d81483af7=new OptinMonsterApp();return om5654d81483af7.init({"s":"13086.5654d81483af7","staging":0,"dev":0,"beta":0});}}},25);return;}var d=false,o=e.createElement(t);o.id=n,o.src="//a.optnmnstr.com/app/js/api.min.js",o.async=true,o.onload=o.onreadystatechange=function(){if(!d){if(!this.readyState||this.readyState==="loaded"||this.readyState==="complete"){try{d=om_loaded=true;om5654d81483af7=new OptinMonsterApp();om5654d81483af7.init({"s":"13086.5654d81483af7","staging":0,"dev":0,"beta":0});o.onload=o.onreadystatechange=null;}catch(t){}}}};(document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0]||document.documentElement).appendChild(o)}(document,"script","omapi-script");</script --><!-- / OptinMonster -->

<!--START Lightbox Javascript-->
<script type="text/javascript">
    /*<![CDATA[*/ window.lightboxjs || function (c) { function g(b, d) { d && (d += (/\?/.test(d) ? "&" : "?") + "lv=1"); c[b] || function () { var i = window, h = document, j = b, g = h.location.protocol, l = "load", k = 0; (function () { function b() { a.P(l); a.w = 1; c[j]("_load") } c[j] = function () { function m() { m.id = e; return c[j].apply(m, arguments) } var b, e = ++k; b = this && this != i ? this.id || 0 : 0; (a.s = a.s || []).push([e, b, arguments]); m.then = function (b, c, h) { var d = a.fh[e] = a.fh[e] || [], j = a.eh[e] = a.eh[e] || [], f = a.ph[e] = a.ph[e] || []; b && d.push(b); c && j.push(c); h && f.push(h); return m }; return m }; var a = c[j]._ = {}; a.fh = {}; a.eh = {}; a.ph = {}; a.l = d ? d.replace(/^\/\//, (g == "https:" ? g : "http:") + "//") : d; a.p = { 0: +new Date }; a.P = function (b) { a.p[b] = new Date - a.p[0] }; a.w && b(); i.addEventListener ? i.addEventListener(l, b, !1) : i.attachEvent("on" + l, b); var q = function () { function b() { return ["<head></head><", c, ' onload="var d=', n, ";d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].", d, "(d.", g, "('script')).", i, "='", a.l, "'\"></", c, ">"].join("") } var c = "body", e = h[c]; if (!e) return setTimeout(q, 100); a.P(1); var d = "appendChild", g = "createElement",
    i = "src", k = h[g]("div"), l = k[d](h[g]("div")), f = h[g]("iframe"), n = "document", p; k.style.display = "none"; e.insertBefore(k, e.firstChild).id = o + "-" + j; f.frameBorder = "0"; f.id = o + "-frame-" + j; /MSIE[ ]+6/.test(navigator.userAgent) && (f[i] = "javascript:false"); f.allowTransparency = "true"; l[d](f); try { f.contentWindow[n].open() } catch (s) { a.domain = h.domain, p = "javascript:var d=" + n + ".open();d.domain='" + h.domain + "';", f[i] = p + "void(0);" } try { var r = f.contentWindow[n]; r.write(b()); r.close() } catch (t) { f[i] = p + 'd.write("' + b().replace(/"/g, String.fromCharCode(92) + '"') + '");d.close();' } a.P(2) }; a.l && q() })() }(); c[b].lv = "1"; return c[b] } var o = "lightboxjs", k = window[o] = g(o); k.require = g; k.modules = c }({}); /*]]>*/</script><script type="text/javascript">window.lightboxlib = lightboxjs.require("lightboxlib", "//www.lightboxcdn.com/vendor/ee48a214-dcd9-4d76-af7b-dd194f9094db/lightbox.js?mb=" + (new Date().getTime()));</script>
<!--END Lightbox Javascript-->
<!-- AdBlock Log -->
<script type="text/javascript">
    (function() {
        function async_load(script_url){
            var protocol = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://' : 'http://');
            var s = document.createElement('script'); s.src = protocol + script_url;
            var x = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; x.parentNode.insertBefore(s, x);
        }
        bm_website_code = '06AB34319FAE40A0';
        jQuery(document).ready(function(){async_load('asset.pagefair.com/measure.min.js')});
        jQuery(document).ready(function(){async_load('asset.pagefair.net/ads.min.js')});
    })();
</script>
<!-- End Ad Block Log -->
  </div>
<script>
    var dataLayer = {
      "page": {
        "author": "Jonathan Smoke, opinion contributor",
        "section": "Contributors, Contributors - Energy & Environment",
        "keywords": "Jonathan Smoke, Flood, Hurricane Harvey, flooding, floodwaters, Houston,,"
      },
      "user": {
        "userid" : ""
      }
    };
</script>
<script>var _qevents = _qevents || [];(function() {var elem = document.createElement("script");elem.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://secure" : "http://edge") + ".quantserve.com/quant.js";elem.async = true;elem.type = "text/javascript";var scpt = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];scpt.parentNode.insertBefore(elem, scpt);})();_qevents.push({qacct:"p-51dZx4IkAE4Zk"});</script>
<script>  var disqus_shortname = 'thehill-v4';
  (function () {
      var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true;
      s.type = 'text/javascript';
      s.src = '//' + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/count.js';
      (document.getElementsByTagName('HEAD')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('BODY')[0]).appendChild(s);
  }());</script>
<script>    (function(d, s, id) {
      var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
      if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
      js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
      js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=566538590082898&version=v2.9";
      fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
    }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script>
  <div id="fb-root"></div>
  <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">window.NREUM||(NREUM={});NREUM.info={"beacon":"bam.nr-data.net","licenseKey":"962df17ac8","applicationID":"48109222","transactionName":"YwRXYBQFWhEEUUYNV1pOdFcSDVsMSlxdAF1rEVRTAztCCwBF","queueTime":0,"applicationTime":615,"atts":"T0NUFlwfSR8=","errorBeacon":"bam.nr-data.net","agent":""}</script></body>
</html>
