Obama to announce CAFE program for MY 2017-2025 on Friday
27 July 2011
On Friday, President Obama will hold an event at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC to announce the next round of a coordinated national program to improve fuel efficiency for Model Years 2017-2025 cars and light-duty trucks.
Reports suggest that the Administration and the auto industry are converging on a 54.5 mpg US (4.32 L/100km) target by 2025.
The expected decision to back a framework came after the Obama administration agreed to lower its proposal from 56.2 mpg by 2025—by giving light trucks a smaller increase. The administration will now only hike light trucks by 3.5 percent from 2017-21 on average. Smaller trucks will face a higher annual increase, while the largest light trucks will face a higher increase.
Before automakers formally sign off on the agreements, some key details remain to be worked out before automakers approve the agreements...The new plan calls for hiking fuel efficiency for light trucks 3.5 percent annually from 2017-21 and then by 5 percent from 2022-25. The plan would hike car efficiency 5 percent annually over the period. The plan is also carving out special rules for “work trucks”—heavier light duty vehicles used for construction.
Automakers has to formally sign off or approve government regulations? Is that the best way to get meaningful regulations? For those of us who still think that regulations are designed and applied by governments to protect the people, this is a major blow.
Posted by: HarveyD | 27 July 2011 at 02:26 PM
For those of us who still think that US automakers are American people, this is a welcome (maybe temporary) change in course.
The numbers will "include" credits which means the real MPG will be less. And the method used to calculate the MPG may further erode the actual improvement.
But Obama and the big 5 get a boost - so it's a win win, for them.
Real MPG will, I beleave, still be substantial.
A wim - win - win.
Posted by: ToppaTom | 27 July 2011 at 09:13 PM
Manufacturers sponsored regulations are always questionable.
People would often be better off without them.
Similar regulations are being designed by/for Alberta Tar Sands operators. Guess who they going to favor?
Posted by: HarveyD | 28 July 2011 at 07:56 AM
Ford's Mullaly was on Charlie Rose last night. He was very supportive of CAFE standards. As he said, it drives sales of the new technologies. Win, win.
Posted by: JMartin | 28 July 2011 at 04:10 PM
Someone whose name I didn't catch was on NPR today stating that the auto industry would prefer measures which shift consumer preference towards vehicles with higher fuel economy instead of merely dictating the product mix (to one which the public may not like).
Yes, that meant higher gas taxes. They'd work a lot faster than CAFE improvements too.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 28 July 2011 at 05:10 PM
The problem with CAFE alone, without increase in gas taxes, is that people will tend to drive more when their vehicles become more fuel efficient. The problem with urban sprawl will become worse. People tend to live farther and farther away from their work place, due to cheaper housing in newly developed area on the outer ring of a metropolitan area. This can erode much of the gain in fuel efficiency and make the roads more congested.
CAFE regulation should be in parallel with projecting a mandatory gradual increase in the price of petroleum about ~5% yearly. The gov. can adjust the gasoline tax either up and down regularly to achieve a ~5% increase in price yearly. The predictable future prices of petroleum will allow investment in alternative fuels to accelerate and will allow us to wean off petroleum.
Otherwise, with such a volatile pricing of petroleum, few investors in alternative fuels would want to take such a risk, and the consumers will be at the mercy of OPEC and Middle East politics for quite a long time to come.
If and when alternative fuels will make a dent in the fuel market, either it or OPEC will lower the prices of petroleum, and this will put alternative fuels out of the market...and the consumers will be price-gouged again!
Posted by: Roger Pham | 28 July 2011 at 07:04 PM
The problem with higher gas taxes, like higher CAFE, is that people will tend to drive more when their vehicles become more fuel efficient.
Posted by: ToppaTom | 28 July 2011 at 11:31 PM
@TT,
Right. Howver, when the gov. will tax fossil fuels higher than renewable fuels, the result will be a gradual weaning off fossil fuels and moving forward to renewable fuels without undue hardship onto the consumers.
The doubling of CAFE allows the gov. the moral authority to double the price of fossil fuels without causing the consumers to pay higher overall fuel bills.
Posted by: Roger Pham | 29 July 2011 at 10:22 AM