Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumUS Finalizes 2025 Fuel Efficiency Standard of 54.5 MPG
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This builds on standards already finalized by the Department of Transportation and the EPA that increase fuel economy to 35.5 MPG by 2016. The new 54.5 MPG standard was finalized last July, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said on a conference call today that the final rule is essentially identical to that proposal.
Light trucks will have a bit more time to reach their standards, under the rules. There are curves, related to how quickly a car or truck has to reduce, said the EPAs Jackson, with steeper reductions in the earlier years for autos. Its a recognition that the technology for trucks needs more time.
Auto companies, which collaborated with federal regulators on the changes, have made substantial investments in electric cars and other new technologies that raise fuel efficiency. These tend to increase the cost of the car, but thats outweighed, maintains Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, by the savings in fuel costs. He estimated that the cost of a new car could be around $1,800 more by 2025, but that consumers would save $8,000 in fuel over the life of the car (equivalent to the lowering of gas prices by $1 a gallon), thanks to the new standards. And even those estimates of $1,800 could trend lower because of market competition and innovation.
There are some incentives in the rule for electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, natural gas vehicles, and vehicles which achieve greenhouse gas reductions outside of the fuel economy standard.
http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/08/28/us-finalizes-2025-fuel-efficiency-standard-of-54-5-mpg/
Nay
(12,051 posts)tech3149
(4,452 posts)My last car was a 98 Civic manual. The rated mpg was 32/37 and when I was living in NJ I don't think I ever got above 28 mpg. I'll admit I was a leadfoot, but in NJ if you aren't you'll probably get run over. Besides that I love road racing and loved to challenge my driving skills. Mpg wasn't ever a consideration just an indicator of when you needed to do some service work on the vehicle.
When I quit working in 02 I totally changed my driving style. I kept totally anal track of my mpg and was able to get 40 mpg regularly. Sometimes I even got above that but it depended on traffic and other conditions.
Without regard to what legislation or research can do to improve the situation we have the power in our hands to improve the situation.
Drive Smarter! Please?