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Study estimates fuel economy improvements to US light-duty vehicles from 1975–2018 saved 2T gallons of fuel, 17B tons of CO2

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A team from the University of Tennessee and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has the fuel savings due to fuel economy improvements over the past 43 years amount to approximately two trillion gallons of gasoline. Fleet-wide fuel economy gains produced large fuel savings. Greene et al.

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PNNL team develops onboard fuel separation technology to enable octane-on-demand for improved fuel economy

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Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed an onboard separation system that could support increased fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions as part of an octane-on-demand fuel-delivery system. Unfortunately, these engines exacerbate engine knock.

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DOE proposes revising procedures for calculating petroleum-equivalent fuel economy of EVs for use in CAFE calculations

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The US Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing a significant revision in its procedures for calculating a value for the petroleum-equivalent fuel economy of EVs for use in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT). Background. Proposed PEF.

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Studies highlight effects of different gasoline components on fuel economy, combustion and emissions

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Researchers at Jilin University (China) have investigated the effect of gasoline components on fuel economy, combustion and emissions in a GDI (gasoline-direct-injection) engine. The team subsequently followed up this first study with a second, exploring the effects in a PFI (port-fuel-injection) engine.

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Cummins progressing with lightweight downsized T2B2 diesel for pickup; 40% improvement in fuel economy over gasoline V8

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At the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Annual Merit Review meeting in Washington, DC last week, Michael Ruth from Cummins noted that the DOE program target for the project is a fuel economy (CAFE) target of 26 mpg (9.05 Cost of the new engine relative to gasoline baseline. Earlier post.). l/100 km) for a vehicle of that size.

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CARB releases results of multi-year E15 study; multiple air quality benefits with slight reduction in fuel economy

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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released the results of a multiyear study evaluating exhaust emissions from the use of California Reformulated Gasoline (CaRFG) that contains 15 volume percent ethanol (E15). California currently limits the ethanol content of gasoline to 10 percent.

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MIT study finds fuel economy standards are 6-14 times less cost effective than fuel tax for reducing gasoline use

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In a study published in the journal Energy Economics , MIT researchers have found that a fuel economy standard is at least six to fourteen times less cost effective than a fuel tax when targeting an identical reduction in cumulative gasoline use (20% by 2050). —Karplus et al.