05-09-2006, 05:08 PM
Feds Seek to Toughen MPG Standards
The Daily Auto Insider
Friday, May 5, 2006
May 2006
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta asked Congress to give the administration immediate authority to raise the corporate average fuel economy of the nation's passenger car fleet, the Detroit News reported.
"If we are given authority to reform the CAFE system for passenger cars, we can improve fuel efficiency by requiring manufacturers to apply fuel-saving technologies rather than giving them an incentive to build smaller cars," Mineta said.
Current fuel economy standards were signed into law in 1975. At the time, they doubled fuel economy targets for cars from an average 13.5 mpg in 1975 to 27.5 in 1985. There's been no change in the standards in two decades. The industry currently averages about 29 mpg for passenger cars.
Mineta urged new fuel economy rules for passenger cars based on the system recently adopted for pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles, but he noted that any revisions to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program for cars would require 18 months' lead time for manufacturers, which would likely delay any changes until the 2009 or 2010 model years.
The Daily Auto Insider
Friday, May 5, 2006
May 2006
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta asked Congress to give the administration immediate authority to raise the corporate average fuel economy of the nation's passenger car fleet, the Detroit News reported.
"If we are given authority to reform the CAFE system for passenger cars, we can improve fuel efficiency by requiring manufacturers to apply fuel-saving technologies rather than giving them an incentive to build smaller cars," Mineta said.
Current fuel economy standards were signed into law in 1975. At the time, they doubled fuel economy targets for cars from an average 13.5 mpg in 1975 to 27.5 in 1985. There's been no change in the standards in two decades. The industry currently averages about 29 mpg for passenger cars.
Mineta urged new fuel economy rules for passenger cars based on the system recently adopted for pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles, but he noted that any revisions to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program for cars would require 18 months' lead time for manufacturers, which would likely delay any changes until the 2009 or 2010 model years.