Oh no!, Bob's not going to like this! NHTSA to propose 36mpg by 2015!
Filed under: MPG, Legislation and Policy
Bob Lutz's worst nightmare appears to be on the horizon. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters is expected to unveil proposed regulations for fuel economy today that go beyond what Congress mandated in last December's Energy Bill. NHTSA appears set to require cars to achieve a fleet average of 35.7mpg of 2015 while trucks will have to get to 26.7mpg. That amounts to an average annual increase of 4.6 percent which goes beyond the 4 percent bump required by congress. In order to meet these new requirements carmakers are going to have to dramatically increase the implementation of technologies, like hybrids, biofuels, electrification and most of all reduce power. In the arcane workings of Washington, Congress defines the requirements for fuel economy in energy bills. Meanwhile the Department of Transportation, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration actually defines the specific regulations that automakers have to work to. Why a safety agency is responsible for fuel economy regs remains a mystery. Finally, the Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for enforcement. The proposals will still have to go through a public comment period before they are enacted and we're still waiting for comment from the automakers. Meanwhile it's not clear what if any impact this will have on the battle between the automakers and California over that state's proposals to regulate CO2 emissions which would effectively increase mileage standards. We live in very interesting times.
[Source: Detroit News]
Rendered Speculation: 2010 Toyota Prius
Production Volt could be the guest of honor at GM Centennial party!
Next-gen Prius to get solar panel to drive accessories
Is Tesla using Dodge Magnum body shells for White Star mules?
No brainer of the day! GM to bring Chevy Beat to US market
Autoblog Green Podcast #24
Popular Mechanics to debunk the "run your car on water" myth
T. Boone Pickens unveils "The Plan" - big on wind power and natural gas
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-22-2008 @ 8:45AM
dantellocy said...
PROOF READ.
Reply
4-22-2008 @ 10:06AM
EVan said...
The Energy Bill contains a loophole for ethanol. Meeting these fuel economy regulations won't be difficult for automakers at all, which isn't a bad thing.
Either way, fuel economy regulations are dumb. We're at the end of cheap oil, public demand will be much more effective than any regulation can ever aim to be. Yet the regulations will still punish automakers pursuing niche markets that have little to do with the overall mass consumption of energy.
Reply
4-22-2008 @ 11:20AM
Cervus said...
They can mandate all they want, but the fact remains that $4 will produce results very fast anyway. Assuming we don't have shortages and a sharp recession.
Reply
4-22-2008 @ 11:58AM
Student Driver said...
"Oh know," are you kidding?
Reply
4-22-2008 @ 12:43PM
Tim Russell said...
WTF does NTHSA have to do with MPG? They're suposed to be handling the safety end of things. I'd bet all the automakers would fight this tooth and nail because that gives them about 6 years to meet the new reg and that's not enough time since the design cycle is usually 3-4 years.
Reply
4-22-2008 @ 2:27PM
KarenRei said...
Close the ethanol loophole, and this will be huge.
I'd wager that GM doesn't want to bet the company on a loophole that could be closed without much notice. They might exploit it some, but I don't think they want to have to go from very lax standards to the 2015 standard with only one year notice.
Reply
4-22-2008 @ 4:48PM
Scorch said...
Its comforting to know that important public policy decisions are being made by someone with absolutely no technological or economic know-how. There's no way any automaker could possibly meet this without going out of business. Why doesn't she just pull out all the stops and demand that CAFE be raised to a mandatory million-billion miles per gallon by the end of the year.
Reply
4-22-2008 @ 5:20PM
Nathaniel Sears said...
its perfectly do able. i just came back from France and London and they don't seem to have any problems making small efficient cars their. how hard can it be to get them to meet us saftey regulation in 6 years?
Reply
4-23-2008 @ 4:05AM
mike said...
>>Its comforting to know that important public policy decisions are being made by someone with absolutely no technological or economic know-how.
Were you referring to the Auto-Industry CEO's as a Group?
Reply
4-24-2008 @ 1:56AM
motorman said...
looks like my 430HP 2008 corvette will be worth more down the road as these types of cars will be in demand.
Reply
4-24-2008 @ 4:04PM
Dad said...
"Oh no!, Bob's not going to like this! NHTSA to propose 36mpg by 2015"
Sam, just another one of your fricking opinions expressed as "fact". Sheesh, give your dislike of the guy a rest.
Reply