CAFE Blue

Here's a basic roundup from the Detroit Free Press on yesterday's announcement about about changes to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards:

Ford Motor Co. Chairman and CEO Bill Ford told reporters Tuesday night that he was pleased that the federal government has proposed a new way of classifying vehicles. "Our current system doesn't work terribly well," Ford said. "I do like the fact it's a new approach." The proposal does not affect vehicles classified as cars or the heaviest vehicles, such as the Ford Excursion or Hummer H2, which continue to be exempt from federal fuel economy rules. The rules would divide light trucks -- minivans, SUVs, pickups and selected station wagons -- into six categories based on their so-called footprint, or roughly the distance between the axles multiplied by the distance between the tires. Each category would have a different fuel-economy standard, which would increase by about 0.5 mile per gallon per year. By creating separate categories for the biggest regulated vehicles, the new system presumably would help General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., the market leaders in sales of the biggest pickups and SUVs. If approved by April 2006, the rules would phase in with the 2008 model year. For three years, automakers would be able to choose between the old and new systems. All automakers would have to use the new method starting with the 2011 model year.

And here's what the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) had to say in response:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) proposed standards would require SUVs, pickups and minivans (so-called light trucks) to increase their fuel economy by roughly 1.8 mpg over four years. These increases are offset by a provision in the recent energy bill that extends a loophole permitting automakers to garner extra credit for vehicles that can run on alternative fuels, but rarely do. In 2010, UCS projects the new standards could reduce a modest 900 million gallons of fuel, while the extended loophole would increase fuel use by one billion gallons, more than offsetting the savings. The administration’s claim of saving 10 billion gallons of gasoline with this proposal amounts to less than one month's worth of gasoline saved over 15 years. UCS analysis indicates that closing existing loopholes—including requiring light trucks to meet today’s car standard of 27.5 mpg within five model years—could reduce 11 billion gallons of gasoline in one year alone, 2015, saving consumers $14 billion.  Closing the fuel economy gap between cars and light trucks would cut fuel costs for truck buyers by at least 25 percent, equivalent to reducing gasoline prices to below $2.00 per gallon from today’s record high of more than $2.60. [...] The fuel economy of the new U.S. car and truck fleet peaked at 26 mpg in 1987, but today is hovering around 24 mpg, a 20-year low, helping to push U.S. oil dependence to an all-time high.  As a result, the U.S. now depends on imports for 60 percent of our oil, and we send more than $350,000 to other countries every minute just to keep it flowing. This rulemaking represented an opportunity to address this problem by pushing the auto industry to put existing fuel-saving technology to work throughout the nation’s vehicle fleet, making them more competitive in a future of continued high gas prices.