President Barack Obama greets Ford President and CEO of Ford Alan Mulally and other auto industry executives following his remarks on fuel efficiency standards for 2017-2025 model year cars and light-duty trucks during an event at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., July 29, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
On July 29,
President
Obama announced the
next phase in the Administration’s program to increase fuel efficiency and
reduce greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks sold in the United
States.
According to the White House, automaker fleets will now have
to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. This is about 2 mpg less than the
earlier fuel-economy target of 56.2 mpg that was proposed by the Obama Administration.
The 2017-2025 rule will begin to take effect in 2017.
Fuel economy standards, often referred to as “CAFE” (corporate average fuel
economy), for new vehicles are already slated to improve from an average of
27.3 mpg today, to 35.5 mpg by 2016.
The 2017-2025 rule is expected to include credits for the
automakers that incorporate some of the latest vehicle technology for reducing
fuel consumption, such as engine shut-off during idling and specially designed
louvered front grilles.
While automakers feel the new mpg number is within reach,
David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Reports’ auto test division,
favored the original target.
"A minimum standard of 56 miles per gallon is definitely
good for consumers and currently achievable, but 62 is even better.
Technologies to attain this level of improvement exist, and the automakers can incorporate them over the next 15 years.”
According to Champion, these advanced technologies are
currently on the market today. “In our testing, we’ve already seen highway
consumption of 55 mpg in a Toyota Prius hybrid and 49 mpg in a Volkswagen Golf
diesel.”
According to Consumer Reports’ findings, moving to 62 mpg by
2025 was estimated to save consumers about $6,000 in owner costs over the life
of the vehicle and cut U.S. gasoline consumption by one-third.
A recent Consumer Reports survey said car buyers want better
fuel economy and are willing to pay for it. In fact, 62% of survey respondents
said when they buy their next car, they expect to choose a model with better
gas mileage than their current car, and 58% said they were willing to pay extra
money for a more fuel-efficient vehicle.
According to the White House new standards will help consumers save an estimated
$1.7 trillion dollars in real fuel costs over the life of their vehicles.
By 2025, the standards are projected to save families an
estimated $8,200 in fuel savings over the lifetime of a new vehicle, relative
to the Model Year 2010 standard.
The White House reported that one of the biggest reasons for the new standards is to redyuce oil dependence.
"As our cars and trucks become more fuel efficient, we will
need to use less oil. Over the life of the program, the standards will save an
estimated 12 billion barrels of oil – nearly four years’ worth of consumption
by light-duty vehicles at current levels," Obama said.
By 2025, the standards for MY 2011-2025 will reduce oil
consumption by an estimated 2.2 million barrels a day – more than we import
from any country other than Canada.
As the vehicle fleet turns over and older
vehicles are replaced with more efficient ones, the oil savings from these
standards will grow, ultimately reaching over 4 million barrels a day – nearly
as much as we import from all OPEC countries combined.
The MY 2011-2025 standards are critical to meeting President
Obama’s goal of cutting oil imports by one-third by 2025, contributing over
half the savings needed to meet the President’s goal.
We would like to hear from you. Do you think that the
automakers will have trouble reaching the 54.5 mpg target within the next 14
years?
How do you think this will affect your work as an automotive
technician or shop owner? Do you think the increasing technology will cause
more or fewer service-related problems for your customers’ vehicles? E-mail us
at esunkin@babcox.com.
Sources: Reuters news, The White House and Consumer Reports
More Articles in Fuel System