New CAFE Standard: 35mpg by 2016
05-18-09, 12:31 PM
#1
New CAFE Standard: 35mpg by 2016
This is the real deal. This isn't going to get dragged out by lawsuits, because the auto execs and the governors are on board. Mileage standards will increase each year, until they hit 35mpg in 2016.
Do you think this will increase the resale value of higher-performance cars, as they become scarcer and scarcer in American showrooms?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22650.html
Do you think this will increase the resale value of higher-performance cars, as they become scarcer and scarcer in American showrooms?
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22650.html
President Barack Obama will announce plans on Tuesday for a national fuel-economy and greenhouse-gas standard for automobiles in an effort to give more certainty to car companies as they struggle for survival, industry and administration sources told POLITICO on Monday.
The national emissions policy for autos, which will ramp up to a new standard of about 35 miles per gallon in 2016, will harmonize the corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standard and the Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse-gas standard.
That way, officials explain, industry will not have to worry that the administration will regulate those on separate tracks.
The administration will bill the tailpipe-emissions announcement as historic because it avoids a patchwork of standards and has won agreement from so many stakeholders, including automakers, state governments, the Department of Transportation and the EPA.
California had been seeking permission to establish its own greenhouse-gas reduction standard for tailpipe emissions but now can be expected to ultimately accept the federal standard.
In secret conversations, the Obama administration has lined up support from many state governments and a huge array of domestic and foreign automakers, including GM, Ford, Chrysler, BMW and many more.
Auto executives are flying into Washington from around the world for the White House announcement.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is expected to attend, the sources said.
The CAFE standard was established by Congress in 1975 in response to the Arab Oil embargo.
On Obama’s seventh day in office, he directed his Transportation Department to establish higher fuel-efficiency standards for carmakers' 2011 model year “so that we use less oil and families have access to cleaner, more-efficient cars and trucks.”
“This rule will be a down payment on a broader and sustained effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” he said. “Going forward, my administration will work on a bipartisan basis in Washington and with industry partners across the country to forge a comprehensive approach that makes our economy stronger and our nation more secure.”
This announcement implements a uniform standard for a later date.
The national emissions policy for autos, which will ramp up to a new standard of about 35 miles per gallon in 2016, will harmonize the corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standard and the Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse-gas standard.
That way, officials explain, industry will not have to worry that the administration will regulate those on separate tracks.
The administration will bill the tailpipe-emissions announcement as historic because it avoids a patchwork of standards and has won agreement from so many stakeholders, including automakers, state governments, the Department of Transportation and the EPA.
California had been seeking permission to establish its own greenhouse-gas reduction standard for tailpipe emissions but now can be expected to ultimately accept the federal standard.
In secret conversations, the Obama administration has lined up support from many state governments and a huge array of domestic and foreign automakers, including GM, Ford, Chrysler, BMW and many more.
Auto executives are flying into Washington from around the world for the White House announcement.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is expected to attend, the sources said.
The CAFE standard was established by Congress in 1975 in response to the Arab Oil embargo.
On Obama’s seventh day in office, he directed his Transportation Department to establish higher fuel-efficiency standards for carmakers' 2011 model year “so that we use less oil and families have access to cleaner, more-efficient cars and trucks.”
“This rule will be a down payment on a broader and sustained effort to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” he said. “Going forward, my administration will work on a bipartisan basis in Washington and with industry partners across the country to forge a comprehensive approach that makes our economy stronger and our nation more secure.”
This announcement implements a uniform standard for a later date.
05-18-09, 05:46 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
But a better move, IMO, would be to let the market and consumer preferences dictate what kind of vehcles will be built, not government mandates. A good portion of the auto-buying public may not want the type of vehicles that will predominate by 2016 if this proposed rulemaking goes through. Some people still need or want big vehicles that can tow heavy loads. If the industry is forced to build mostly small, high-mileage vehicles (that cost more) to met the CAFE rule, the public many not buy many of them, and that will, of course, mean a big market in used cars instead.
We saw that, to some extent, back in the 1970s, with the first emission and CAFE requirements. The government forced cars with detuned engines on a public that, at the time, didn't want them. The public, even those who bought the 70's-vintage cars, often rebelled by removing catalytic converters, advancing the spark timing, substituting cooler-running spark plugs, and using cheaper leaded gas rather than the unleaded the new cars required. EPA then retaliated by forcing local emissions tests for registration renewal, thereby thwarting the will of the auto-buying public even more. Fortunately, electronic fuel-injection eventually cured a lot of the 1970's drivability problems, but now, the government is uping the ante even more.
So, in a nutshell, as I see it, if the government wants more auto sales and a better economy, don't dictate any more about auto design than is necessary.
Of course, there are some things I myself would like to see required in all new cars, like a real spare tire instead of donuts, hold-up struts for the hood instead of prop-rods, and swivel-snap outside mirrors instead of rigidly-mounted ones. But, I realize that my own opinion is just that....my own, and not necesarily shared by others, and for that reason should not necessarily be made into law just because I want it.
We saw that, to some extent, back in the 1970s, with the first emission and CAFE requirements. The government forced cars with detuned engines on a public that, at the time, didn't want them. The public, even those who bought the 70's-vintage cars, often rebelled by removing catalytic converters, advancing the spark timing, substituting cooler-running spark plugs, and using cheaper leaded gas rather than the unleaded the new cars required. EPA then retaliated by forcing local emissions tests for registration renewal, thereby thwarting the will of the auto-buying public even more. Fortunately, electronic fuel-injection eventually cured a lot of the 1970's drivability problems, but now, the government is uping the ante even more.
So, in a nutshell, as I see it, if the government wants more auto sales and a better economy, don't dictate any more about auto design than is necessary.
Of course, there are some things I myself would like to see required in all new cars, like a real spare tire instead of donuts, hold-up struts for the hood instead of prop-rods, and swivel-snap outside mirrors instead of rigidly-mounted ones. But, I realize that my own opinion is just that....my own, and not necesarily shared by others, and for that reason should not necessarily be made into law just because I want it.
Last edited by mmarshall; 05-18-09 at 05:56 PM.
05-18-09, 05:49 PM
#5
Lexus Champion
the technology is there, just costs a bit more.....BRING IT!!!
nope and here's why --- do you think a person making 6+ figures and driving a Mercedes S class or BMW 7 series really cares what mileage the car gets? no...so make the Mercedes S class and BMW 7 series get 35 mpg.....as I said above -- the technology is already there!
Last edited by bagwell; 05-18-09 at 05:56 PM.
05-18-09, 06:01 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by bagwell
nope and here's why --- do you think a person making 6+ figures and driving a Mercedes S class or BMW 7 series really cares what mileage the car gets? no...so make the Mercedes S class and BMW 7 series get 35 mpg.....as I said above -- the technology is already there!
05-18-09, 08:34 PM
#7
you can say goodbye to luxury cars, more crap legislation. You buy only what the govt says now. You know its easier on the planet using an older vehicle than buying a new one that requires new raw materials and energy to manufacture. Too bad these environmentalists don't get this logic. To conform to this a combination of increased prices and less desireability will have to come about to meet some of these changes. Not everyone wants to drive a corolla
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05-18-09, 08:34 PM
#8
Of course, there are some things I myself would like to see required in all new cars, like a real spare tire instead of donuts, hold-up struts for the hood instead of prop-rods, and swivel-snap outside mirrors instead of rigidly-mounted ones. But, I realize that my own opinion is just that....my own, and not necesarily shared by others, and for that reason should not necessarily be made into law just because I want it.
05-18-09, 08:46 PM
#9
Pole Position
Good move. Now does this address all the crazy formulations of gasoline across all the states too?!? Take care of that and rectify the price disparity of diesel with gasoline and we *are* on the way.
WRT dictating fuel economy, I'm against it. I prefer they simply implement a gasoline tax which would then allow the free market to decide how badly they want less fuel efficient cars.
WRT dictating fuel economy, I'm against it. I prefer they simply implement a gasoline tax which would then allow the free market to decide how badly they want less fuel efficient cars.
05-18-09, 09:05 PM
#10
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05-18-09, 09:18 PM
#11
youre not gonna get the same engine to make 35-42 mpg (both these numbers for the 2016 requirement are floating around now). They should've increased the federal tax on gas if they wanted to push manufacturers to make more fuel efficient vehicles. Not make up some arbitrary mpg number that who knows if its even possible without having to drive a yaris or corolla. Govt keeps wanting all these safety features and requirements on cars increasing its weight yet wants to keep fuel consumption down? Counterproductive much? The most economical means to reduce fuel consumption is to make the car lighter. All these mpg and emission regulations are just going to drive up the price on your cars. Better keep that old car America instead of buying a new one its more friendly to the environment anyways.
Last edited by 4TehNguyen; 05-18-09 at 09:22 PM.
05-18-09, 09:25 PM
#12
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05-18-09, 09:31 PM
#13
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youre not gonna get the same engine to make 35-42 mpg (both these numbers for the 2016 requirement are floating around now). They should've increased the federal tax on gas if they wanted to push manufacturers to make more fuel efficient vehicles. Not make up some arbitrary mpg number that who knows if its even possible without having to drive a yaris or corolla. Govt keeps wanting all these safety features and requirements on cars increasing its weight yet wants to keep fuel consumption down? Counterproductive much? The most economical means to reduce fuel consumption is to make the car lighter. All these mpg and emission regulations are just going to drive up the price on your cars. Better keep that old car America instead of buying a new one its more friendly to the environment anyways.
Uhhh, Europe/Asia have much more stringent guidelines in regards to emmissions/fuel economy and higher gas prices and have so for decades. We are spoiled here and car companies know this. That is why Germans, Italy, Japan etc make most of their profits here and value sales here. We buy big guzzlers. The car markets in Europe/Asia continue to grow, even with tons of taxes.
The luxury market WILL NOT collapse, it will evolve. Europe's luxury market is fine and continues to grow, they just sell much more smaller cars and smaller engine cars and diesels.
05-18-09, 10:10 PM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
Uhhh, Europe/Asia have much more stringent guidelines in regards to emmissions/fuel economy and higher gas prices and have so for decades. We are spoiled here and car companies know this. That is why Germans, Italy, Japan etc make most of their profits here and value sales here. We buy big guzzlers. The car markets in Europe/Asia continue to grow, even with tons of taxes.
The luxury market WILL NOT collapse, it will evolve. Europe's luxury market is fine and continues to grow, they just sell much more smaller cars and smaller engine cars and diesels.
The luxury market WILL NOT collapse, it will evolve. Europe's luxury market is fine and continues to grow, they just sell much more smaller cars and smaller engine cars and diesels.
Here's some food for thought, $5.00 per gallon gasoline (with taxes to get it to that level) probably could accomplish the same thing. Controversial for sure.
