The Department of Transportation Friday announced new fuel economy standards averaging 27.3 miles per gallon for model year 2011 cars and light trucks.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) said the standards are disappointing and are slightly weaker than those suggested by the Bush Administration last spring.
The standards are also based on an unrealistically low gasoline price forecast of $2.51 per gallon in 2030.
"The new Administration had only two months to develop the rule, which must be issued before April 1. We hope that the Administration will do better for 2012 and beyond, when it has had the opportunity to conduct an analysis from scratch," the ACEEE said in a statement.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) credited the Obama administration with doing "damage control" by limiting the reach of the flawed analysis to only one year.
"NHTSA had to meet a tight deadline and was stuck using methodology and data that overestimate the cost and underestimate the benefits of higher fuel economy," the UCS said in a statement.
The UCS said the NHTSA should rely on independent analysis instead of trusting the auto industry’s inflated technology cost estimates.
According to a release on the website of Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the White House indicated that as it sets standards for Model Year 2012 and beyond, it will take a comprehensive look at changing the NHTSA’s methodology.
Markey is one of several legislators who sent a letter to the White House urging such changes.
The Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that they are working together on a comprehensive set of fuel efficiency rules. Those rules are expected later this year for vehicles through the 2015 model year.
In 2007, Congress passed a law requiring vehicles to achieve at least 35 mpg by 2020, a 40% increase over the current standard of about 25 mpg.
The standard issued Friday removed draft language the Bush administration inserted into the rule that attempted to block California and other states from implementing their own clean car standards.
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Why have fuel economy standards at all? Obviously people want to buy cars and tracks that don’t meet the standards, so DOT is putting standards in place to coerce the consumer into buying more fuel efficient vehicles. Perhaps a better solution is to label the vehicles better (much like a jar of peanut butter) so that people can read on the label both the gas mileage, and the pollution potential of the vehicle they are about to purchase. Perhaps if consumers had better information at the time of purchase, they might purchase a vehicle that’s a little easier on the environment.