Federal Proposal: 35.5 MPG by 2016, National Standard on Emissions Limits
Heralding a "new era in automotive history," the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency today proposed a national fuel economy standard of 35.5 mpg by 2016. If made law, the new standard would be more stringent than the 2007 CAFE law, which mandated 35 mpg fleet average for passenger cars and light trucks by 2020.
It would also require model year 2016 vehicles to meet an estimated combined average emission level of 250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile, marking the first time a national limit on tailpipe emissions has been proposed.
The national program, which has broad automaker support would:
- Increase fuel economy by approximately five percent every year
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 950 million metric tons
- Save the average car buyer more than $3,000 in fuel costs over the life of the car
- Conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil
Under the proposal, automakers could follow one national standard instead of three (DOT, EPA, and a state standard), greatly increasing efficiency.
"These proposed standards would help consumers save money at the gas pump, help the environment and decrease our dependence on oil -- all while ensuring that consumers still have a full range of vehicle choices," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Automobile manufacturers, which have been meeting with the administration for months concerning the new rules, would meet the proposed standards by improving engine efficiency, transmissions, tires and A/C systems, and by making start-stop technology more prevalent. The new rules would likely encourage the development of more hybrid and clean diesel vehicles.
Earlier estimates put the increased manufacturing cost of the new rules at $1,300 per vehicle. But those costs may be partially offset by the new national emissions standard, which would eliminate the current need for automakers to build different vehicles to meet various state emissions standards. It's uncertain how much the new rules might impact cost of new cars for the consumer.
NHTSA and EPA are providing a 60-day comment period.The proposal details and information about how to submit comments are at both the EPA and NHTSA.
- Posted by
- Joanne Helperin September 15, 2009, 11:15 AM
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- Categories:
- Automotive Consumer News, Fuel Economy, Hybrids and Alternative Fuels
What gets me is all this whining about "the current need for automakers to build different vehicles to meet various state emissions standards". Stop. In my line of work, when we come across requirements that differ in stringency, we just design to the strictest standards and roll with it. You don't have to maintain separate inventories, and you can even get some breaks on raw material purchase price in sufficient quantities. So when an automaker says that there's a "need" to build separate vehicles for separate standards, they're BSing you. It's their CHOICE to build two different vehicles. But they don't HAVE to.
Exactly, greenpony. This complaint is left over from the days when California-spec cars required additional emissions hardware that cost actual dollars to add. These days there's no additional hardware--at most there's a different fuel/air map programmed into the ECM.