Amidst rising oil and gas prices, the Bush Administration yesterday announced its new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks. Environmentalists say the proposed rule changes will do nothing to help American motorists at the pump, nor will they reduce America’s dependence on imported oil.
The new standards appear to raise the current light truck standard of 22.2 miles per gallon (mpg) in model year 2007 to a fleet-wide standard of 24 mpg by model year 2011.
However, the new standards actually exempt vehicles weighing from 8,500 to 10,000 pounds– such as the Hummer H2, Ford Excursion, and some models of the Chevy Suburban– all vehicles that achieve very poor mileage due to their size.
Environmentalists argue that the Bush Administration should make use of the latest in automotive technology and establish a more stringent fleet-wide average standard. Ironically, General Motors is already producing a vehicle in China that achieves 43 miles per gallon.
“Instead of harnessing America’s technological know-how to require light trucks and autos to meet a 40-mile per gallon (mpg) average standard,” said Anna Aurilio, U.S. PIRG legislative director, “the Administration has proposed a pathetically weak increase in light truck miles per gallon standards and has given automakers an opportunity to game the system by increasing the size of their SUVs and other light trucks.”
According to the Sierra Club, a 40-mpg standard would save the average driver $2,200 in fuel savings over the lifetime of a vehicle. [2] The distribution of light trucks into six size-based categories was supported by the big three U.S. automakers, General Motors, Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler AG.
Department of Transportation Secretary Norman T. Mineta boasts that, “This is a plan that will save gas and result in less pain at the pump for motorists without sacrificing safety.”
But Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club’s Global Warming Program, says the new standards will do nothing to help consumers save money at the gas pump, reduce oil dependence or curb global warming. “At a time when Americans are paying record prices for gas, the Bush administration has sided with its cronies in the auto industry and rejected real solutions,” said Becker.
“Unfortunately, the proposed gains in fuel economy are likely to be eliminated as a result of the radical overhaul of the current structure,” the Sierra Club said in a statement released yesterday.
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