Administration Announces Weak New Mileage Standards

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 […]

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