Automakers all on board with new CAFE requirements
California's EPA waiver no longer neededIn the last 24 hours I've noticed quite a bit of news regarding how US automakers are now on board with President Obama's plans to increase fuel economy and reduce CO2 tailpipe emissions. While they claim its about unified standards, I think its all about the money.
Not so long ago, many from the US auto industry claimed that such requirements were impossible to meet. Funny how bankruptcy and dependency on tax-payer money changed that opinion. Today, automakers need every dollar they can get out of the government. Maybe we should push them even harder?
Anyway, better late than never I guess.
Labels: fuel economy
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:05 AM
3 Comments:
U.S. cars consume twice as much fuel as European and Japanese cars. The average in the U.S. market stands at 22.6 mpg, compared with 40.3 mpg in Europe and 40.6 mpg in Japan. Those are staggering differences, and they make us wonder why it will take American automakers until 2020 to reach a mandated average fuel-efficiency rating of 35 mpg, when European and Japanese automakers already do.
Wow, I had no idea the difference in mpg was so great with the rest of the world.
Hmm, does that 40 mpg figure take into account the different formulas I've heard are used in the US vs the UK, for example?
it's all about gas prices i believe. regardless of new CAFE regs, if gas prices don't increase somewhat significantly in the next several years, it will take even longer for US cars to catch up to europe and japan.
still, the US could probably catch up rather quickly if it just outlawed all large trucks, suvs and vans. unfortunately, those are the only vehicles that us automakers have been able to achieve any profitability with in north america.
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