21.6 MPG: June auto sales fail CAFE requirements
Time for the EPA to get real
At least in the real world
The average fuel economy rating for all vehicles sold in June hit 21.6 mpg according to TrueCar via Reuters, down from 21.9 mpg in May.
Despite higher gas prices and red hot small car sales, such as the Chevy Cruze, US auto sales are still not meeting CAFE requirements in the real world.
According to CAFE standards, average passenger car fuel economy is 27.5 mpg, while for trucks it is 22.2 mpg. With cars making up a significant percent of June sales, one would assume that combined mpg for June sales should easily top 22.2mpg. It’s the law.
Even more alarming, the EPA’s CAFE ratings are often still over-estimated for many commuters. For example, the current CAFE formula is skewed towards highway miles. Consequently, in many urban and suburban environments, regular congestion pushes real world fuel economy well below the EPA’s estimates. Consequently, in the real world, the June fleet is probably achieving even less than 21.9 mpg.
While there has been a lot of talk about increasing CAFE standards, maybe the first step should be transparency. Make 22.2 mpg mean 22.2 mpg in the real world.
Indigo,
This would also work.
Unfortunately, just like a gasoline tax increase, there is zero chance it would ever implemented by Congress……
Oh… Add a special $5,000/year add-on for Hummers, so as to get them into the junkyard faster (where they belong).
There is a third option: Make the vehicle registration fees dependent on fuel economy.
For example:
– $50/year for 50 MPG+ vehicles
– $100/year for 35-49 MPG
– $1,000/year for 20-34 MPG
– $5,000/year for 10-19 MPG
– $10,0000/year for sub-10 MPG
If we truly look to the government to solve our oil dependence problem there are only two paths they can take:
1. Higher fuel economy standards like CAFE which affects the supply side
2. Increased fuel taxes, which impacts the demand side
This post pretty much confirms that strategy number one is not working…..